Solved Acer Aspire M1100 desktop keeps shutting down/ refusing to post/ boot

[Deleted688]

My wife has an Acer Aspire M1100 that keeps shutting off and will not power back up unless we unplug the power and leave it. If we try to power it back up, no beep codes or anything. First thing I checked was to see if it was overheating, and that wasn't the issue. Replaced the CMOS battery, RAM (all sticks), pulled the graphics card (don't have one in there now, just the motherboard port for the monitor), and even replaced the CPU with a duplicate. Checked the board connectors and everything seems fine.

We then turned it off and left it for a while with the power cable plugged in, and when we went to boot it, nothing. I ordered a new MB and installed that, and it seemed to be fine for a bit, but then did it again.

Today, it did it again, and it only came back on after I turned it off at the back switch, removed the power cable for a bit (10 minutes) and then plugged the cable back in, turned it back on at the PSU switch and then booted it.

I'm beginning to wonder if it's the power cable, or my brain that needs replacement?

Help much appreciated; my wife's Win7 is OEM so moving her to another PC would be problematic.

-PBZ-313

 

[SIW2]

Might be the psu that is causing the problem. If it uses the standard connectors that should be easy.

 

[Deleted688]

Might be the psu that is causing the problem. If it uses the standard connectors that should be easy.

So the new PSU might be a bum one as well?

 

[SIW2]

You didnt mention a new psu in your earlier post.

 

[Deleted688]

You didnt mention a new psu in your earlier post.

My apologies; I thought I had mentioned it. It's been a stressful two days in the household since her PC went down.

Starting to wonder if we should just get her another PC, load a non OEM copy of windows 7 to that and try to transfer her stuff to it. THis is giving me a migraine.

 

[flavallee]

If I'm correct, the Acer Aspire M1100 is at least 15 years old, so upgrading or replacing its hardware isn't cost effective.

If you decide to replace it with a faster and more modern reconditioned/refurbished desktop, stick with one that's 6th generation or older so you don't have installation or driver issues with Windows 7.

 

[file3456]

It does sound like the PSU which is super easy to replace. Antec PSUs is all I buy and have been good. Thermaltake or Corsair or FSP Group might be other viable contenders.

Or I would just upgrade and get a Dell micro Optiplex 7040. I bought one of these for my parents and stuck my old CPU in it, a 240 GB NVMe hard drive and maxed the RAM out to 16GB. Since all they do is surf the Net and print is suffices quite well. You can use Windows 7, 10 or 11.

I don't know if you live in the U.S. but this one looks decent. You can use the picclick website to help find things...


https://www.ebay.com/itm/195153564421

 

[Deleted688]

It does sound like the PSU which is super easy to replace. Antec PSUs is all I buy and have been good. Thermaltake or Corsair or FSP Group might be other viable contenders.
Okay; I think that's what I'll do, since the replacement PSU I put in had been sitting around for a while and it wasn't terribly expensive. If that doesn't do it. i'll have to find windows 7 somewhere (wife despises 10 and won't use it), as her copy is OEM and is pretty much tied to the old system (only works replacing it if it's the same MB or a qualif
Or I would just upgrade and get a Dell micro Optiplex 7040. I bought one of these for my parents and stuck my old CPU in it, a 240 GB NVMe hard drive and maxed the RAM out to 16GB. Since all they do is surf the Net and print is suffices quite well. You can use Windows 7, 10 or 11.

I don't know if you live in the U.S. but this one looks decent. You can use the picclick website to help find things...


https://www.ebay.com/itm/195153564421

Okay; I think that's what I'll do, since the replacement PSU I put in had been sitting around for a while and it wasn't terribly expensive. If that doesn't do it. i'll have to find windows 7 somewhere (wife despises 10 and won't use it), as her copy is OEM and is pretty much tied to the old system (only works replacing it if it's the same MB or a qualified replacement on par). As it stands, finances are really tight right now (low income + car repair= ouch), so a new pc will have to wait until May at the earliest.

 

[file3456]

About Windows 10, you might be able to make it tolerable with the Atlas OS script. Read EVERYTHING there. Even the Github issues which as of now there are 10.

Home - Atlas Documentation

AtlasOS - An optimized modification of Windows, designed for gamers.

I have yet to try it, but looks interesting and I'll try it soon in VMware first and see how it goes. Right now I'm using something called Tiny10 which is available at archive.org. It does need a pricey LTSC key though...

I can't send you a PM since you're new here or at least have very little posts. I have several older PSUs that still have life. One is a 430 watt Thermaltake. If interested and if you live in the U.S. I'll send it to you for free. Just pay the shipping. It probably weighs about 5 pounds. I'd have to weigh it. Since I can't send you a PM, and if interested, go to protonmail and create a new account and post that e-mail here. It will probably get spammed that's why you want to create a new e-mail account for my communications. If you're nerdy like me and are familiar with PGP you can implement that right into protonmail. Thunderbird now has PGP built-in without needing an add-on. But you can't use Protonmail with Thunderbird unless you pay for Protonmail and use their bridge software. I don't use that anymore myself.

Just did a quick shipping rate check at USPS and if I were to ship to California it would be about $14 based on a 5 pound weight. I'm only assuming the PSU is 5 pounds. Could be more, could be less. It's really not as heavy as some are since it's only a 430 watter. You don't have an elaborate video card, do you?

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Due note the cheap PSUs can and will take out your computer and all your data. It's best to stick with something name brand and reputable. PSU's should be swapped out every 5 years or so. So they say...

Actually, rereading your post now it sounds like a different issue since you did replace the PSU.

Okay, new motherboard and the whole lot. I'd check if the power button in the PC case is bad. You can bypass that and jump the PSU for testing. Make sure you do disconnect the two power button case wires for testing a jumped PSU. When you jump a PSU it'll turn the PC on.

How to Jump a PSU | bit-tech.net

How To Jump Start A Power Supply (PSU) - YouTube

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In addition the the micro Optiplex 7040, read my post here on laptops. Laptops and motherboards made in 2017 (or at least the first half of the year) should still have Windows 7 drivers at the manufacturer website. It looks like motherboard and computer manufacturers stopped supporting Windows 7 in 2017. Windows 10 came out in July 2015.

https://www.sevenforums.com/general-discussion/428573-laptop-question.html#post3522361

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I have to correct something here. You can't jump start the PSU and use the computer unless you cut the green and black wire and bond them.

So I would investigate the power switch to the computer (not the PSU) since you have done everything else.