One of my sim computers has stopped working. Will not power On. Swapped out the power supply but still will not turn On. Must be a motherboard problem.Can I remove the hard drive and install it in my other sim computer? Un-plug the SATA cable and plug the cable into the other computer's SATA port. I just want to get at the programs on the drive.

Can I remove the hard drive and install it in my other sim computer? Un-plug the SATA cable and plug the cable into the other computer's SATA port. I just want to get at the programs on the drive.

You can access and copy files on the transferred drive as you describe, but not run the programs without re-installation. They say problems can occur from having two system drives on one computer, but I never experienced any since bios establishes the order of start-up drives.

Thanks Art. I will give it a try.

Did you have overclock? have you tried cleaning the CMOS?

One of my sim computers has stopped working. Will not power On. Swapped out the power supply but still will not turn On. Must be a motherboard problem.Can I remove the hard drive and install it in my other sim computer? Un-plug the SATA cable and plug the cable into the other computer's SATA port. I just want to get at the programs on the drive.

HelloBut you remembered to also swap the power cord?Don't laugh I have seen it done

One of my sim computers has stopped working. Will not power On. Swapped out the power supply but still will not turn On. Must be a motherboard problem.Can I remove the hard drive and install it in my other sim computer? Un-plug the SATA cable and plug the cable into the other computer's SATA port. I just want to get at the programs on the drive.

As noted - it is unwise to have 2 system disks on one computer, and you can never access the programs on another disk just plugged in since windows usesa registery file to know all the program and dll references, and this will bewrong for this disk.Do you get any post tones. The happy beep from a computer is the post signalto say all is OK. You get various post beeps for hardware errors on start -and you can use these to diagnose the general problem (disk, memory, mother-boardno OS boot etc).

Dazz - No overclock. Can't check CMOS since the system will not power On.MadDog -- Can you explain what you mean? This is in the US. Electrical is 120v 60hz, three pronged power cord. There is no difference in power cords of new or old power supply.I still think it is a MB problem. I was working on the laptop one day when that computer decides to power On, or tried too. I was not even close to it. Maybe an electrical power spike. I pulled the power cord and could smell the obvious fried electrical component burning smell. Swapped out the power supply but that did nothing.

There is no difference in power cords of new or old power supply.

HelloExcept for the fuse in the plug

HelloExcept for the fuse in the plug

Ok. I'll check the power cord/plug with a multimeter.Thanks.

As noted - it is unwise to have 2 system disks on one computer, and you can never access the programs on another disk just plugged in since windows usesa registery file to know all the program and dll references, and this will bewrong for this disk.Do you get any post tones. The happy beep from a computer is the post signalto say all is OK. You get various post beeps for hardware errors on start -and you can use these to diagnose the general problem (disk, memory, mother-boardno OS boot etc).

No post tones, nothing when I push the Power On button.

What about the CMOS battery? This is an older system so I'm sure the battery is very old. Maybe just two unrelated events? CMOS battery and the power supply. Just checked the CMSO battery; it was .4 volts low. Had a new one so I replaced it. Did not help. Still no power On.

What about the CMOS battery? This is an older system so I'm sure the battery is very old. Maybe just two unrelated events? CMOS battery and the power supply. Just checked the CMSO battery; it was .4 volts low. Had a new one so I replaced it. Did not help. Still no power On.

HelloCheck for voltage present before and after the Case power switch, I have had these fail on old cases.

MD,I could not check voltage across the switch but I was able to check continuity. Switch is opening and closing when pressed. I could remove the power switch plug at the motherboard and see it there is voltage to the switch. Any idea what I use for negative/ground? Is the case negative for DC power?Here is one interesting finding. I happend to touch the Chipset headsink after the power cord had been plugged in for a few minutes. The headsink was noticeably warm even without the system On.

MD,I could not check voltage across the switch but I was able to check continuity. Switch is opening and closing when pressed. I could remove the power switch plug at the motherboard and see it there is voltage to the switch. Any idea what I use for negative/ground? Is the case negative for DC power?Here is one interesting finding. I happend to touch the Chipset headsink after the power cord had been plugged in for a few minutes. The headsink was noticeably warm even without the system On.

HelloIs your heatsink fan trying to spin up at all, what happens if you disconnect the heatsink fanI have seen machines not power up if the H/S fan would not spin upHere are a couple of links that may helphttp://www.pctechbytes.com/2010/04/25/power-supply-troubleshooting/http://www.fonerbooks.com/power.htmhttp://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-1056686.html