Pavilion a1130n PSU LED flashing when plugged in to mobo [ Edited ]

[lardfw]

We had a power outage and now PC wont boot at all and power and PSU lights both flashing.  I have gone through PSU checklist.  When everything is unplugged PSU light stays lit.  When I plug into mobo light starts flashing again. 

On another forum, someone suggested clearing CMOS as a possible check/solution, but I have only seen that suggested once out of all of the checks/solutions out there. 

Should I try clearing CMOS or would that really do anything to help here?

Also, I'm trying to determine the most cost effective path of repair/replacement.  The main consideration for me is there is software and data on the HD I would really like to have.  I know the machine is 6 yrs old so I figure the mobo may need to be upgraded anyhow and the PSU should probably be replaced because of its age and the likelihood it will fail before too long.

Any guidance is appreciated.

[Hanspuppa]

Hello lardfw, The Model you list does not appear to be a valid model number.

Could you please check it again.

You could try to reset the BIOS, since this procedure is not hard to do at all, and see if this corrects the issue.

I don't think it will but you never know until you try.

If you determine it is the motherboard and you want to replace the power supply, and the system is 6 yeras old, you might want to consider a new system.

The cost of a new HP motherboard replacement, even if you could get one, would be considerable.

Please let us know about the Model number.

[lardfw]

Sorry...  got my letters a little reversed.  Its a Pavilion a1130n PC.  Mobo is MS-7093 (Albacore).

[Big_Dave]

Hi,

Try clearing the CMOS.

Did you follow the below procedures?

 Trouble Shooting Power Supply Issues. Don’t skip any steps.

[Hanspuppa]

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lardfw wrote: Sorry...  got my letters a little reversed.  Its a Pavilion a1130n PC.  Mobo is MS-7093 (Albacore).

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Hello lardfw, Thanks for the information. Here  is the link with the information to reset the BIOS.

This reset may not resolve the issue, but since it's not hard to do, it would be worth a try.

I would also try Big_Dave's suggeston on checking the power supply.

[lardfw]

I cleared CMOS (using jumper method) and there is no change.  

Oh well, I gathered it was a long shot.

I've followed the checklist (not skipping steps).  Where I was a little fuzzy on the checklist is should I go ahead and take out memory cards and unplug headset, microphone, usb ports, etc from the MoBo?

At current the only thing connected to the PSU is the MoBo.  Nothing connected to PSU = solid green.  MoBo connected to PSU = flashing green.

So my concern has changed from: is the MoBo or PSU goner (because I'm cozying up to the idea that it is);  to being able to use the hdd in a new setup (specifically the software and data on the hdd).

[Hanspuppa · Accepted solution]

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lardfw wrote:I cleared CMOS (using jumper method) and there is no change.  Oh well, I gathered it was a long shot. I've followed the checklist (not skipping steps).  Where I was a little fuzzy on the checklist is should I go ahead and take out memory cards and unplug headset, microphone, usb ports, etc from the MoBo? At current the only thing connected to the PSU is the MoBo.  Nothing connected to PSU = solid green.  MoBo connected to PSU = flashing green. So my concern has changed from: is the MoBo or PSU goner (because I'm cozying up to the idea that it is);  to being able to use the hdd in a new setup (specifically the software and data on the hdd).

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Hello lardfw, With nothing connected to the motherboard, and you try to boot the system, if the motherboard was not faulty, with the power supply working as it should, you would get all kinds of beeps, especially with the memory removed.

I'm pretty sure the motherboard has failed. You should be able to remove the hard drive and install it in another system as a secondary drive and not the bootable drive, and be able to copy some of the files from the hard drive. You would not be able to access the applications.

Once you recovered any data that you might be able to, you could then reformat the drive and use the full capacity of the drive as a backup, or even use it as a bootable drive with a fresh operating system install.

[lardfw]

Is there anything that prevents me from using the HDD as my primary drive?  I was looking on another forum and read a post concerning this (but with slightly different circumstances--the user wanted to install his old HDD as a secondary and be able to boot from the secondary hdd w/XP while also having a primary hdd w/vista).

On  http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/250347-32-transferring-hard-drive-computer the response stated "... The old XP installation, without doubt, will detect that is is now running on a machine with totally new hardware, leading it to believe you have made an illegal second installation of this licensed software. To solve this you would have to phone Microsoft Support and explain what you've done - moved your drive to a new machine, leaving the old machine useless with no OS, and ask them to help you re-authorize XP on the new machine."

It also mentioned a problem with driver mismatch that can be corrected. 

I'm also hoping to reuse the optical drives (and anything else that could be salvaged).  It's not my intent to build a machine that would necessarily be up to today's (or even last year's) top of the line.  Just one that's a little better than what it was.  It's not my primary computer.

......and it dawns on me that what I'm now talking about would no longer be an HP product so I may need to jump to another forum.

I thank you all for your assistance.   

[Hanspuppa]

Hello lardfw, The primary issue with moving the hard drive to another system with another motherbaord, would be the hardware issue. When the system BIOS detected the new hard drive, it would not be the one it would be expecting.

The BIOS might be able to handle this, but when the operating system starts to load, It would be looking for the hardware on the original system, and would not find it. With this senario, the proper drivers could not be loaded for the hardware on the other system. Windows would find new hardware and may be able to install some of the drivers for this new hardware, but this is all a gamble.

If the Windows XP OS could manage to start and load to the desktop, it very well good compare the different hardware and require a new activation. Many times this will happen.

You could phone Microsoft and explain what you had to do due to the motherboard failure and they would most likely reactivate the Windows XP on the other system.

You should be able to use the optical drives and maybe even the memory, depending on the type the new system supports. You would essentially be building a new system in this process, but at least you will be learning in the process and the result should be you have another system that you can reliably use.