Took apart computer, cleaned it, now monitors don't come on, keyboard

Hey everybody, I want to thank you very much for all your help. I want to acknowledge that I received your responses and I appreciate you taking out the time to do that. I will get back to you with some answers and respond as soon as I finish the stuff you guys want me to do. See You guys in a bit.

swarfega said:

The only alcohol you should use is 99% isopropyl, never use drinking alcohol. It's also sometimes referred to as TIM cleaner.

Thank you for your response. I would never either. Used 70% isopropyl alcohol. Next time I will switch to 99%. Thank you!

Mediocrites said:

Never, ever use a vacuum cleaner on the interior parts of a computer. There is enough electrostatic build-up at the nozzle of a vacuum cleaner to seriously damage the internal parts in a computer, if not destroy them completely. Especially if you are using the brush attachment.

If your power cabling all checks out and your memory turns out to work, and the computer still won't start, you've likely blown up something on the motherboard by using the vacuum. The burning smell you describe concerns me. What I would do is take out the motherboard and use a magnifying glass and look at the motherboard close up and see if there are any burned looking, or charred components. Do the same with the graphics card. If it all looks ok, put the motherboard back and power it up without the CPU, RAM and graphics card. Then see if you can still smell something burning. Add components back in and check for a burning smell at each phase. Save the CPU for last.

You should only clean your computer with compressed air on the inside and a soft, damp cloth for wiping down the outside of the case. Never a vacuum.

Hey Mediocrites,

I did what you requested and did not see anything burnt. I put back The motherboard and tested each one individually. Still did not smell a burnt smell. I put back the CPU. I am now not smelling that burnt smell that was coming earlier. The only thing I did differently is I put the power connector into the cha_Fan1 slot instead of the CPU_fan slot. Now, I'm not getting no burnt smell. That is the good news.

The only problem I am seeing right now is the LED light of the memory is going on and my computer is not booting. For some reason, it looks like I'm having a memory problem.

Anymore thoughts before I purchase a new memory!

Thank you for your help and advice.

BugMeister said:

- renew the CMOS battery on the motherboard..
- they only last about 5 or 6 years..

Thank you BugMeister! Is there a particular brand that you recommend? Does it have to be lithium or the energizer type? With that be fine?

A lithium battery. Usually a CR2032 type is what is required for most motherboards.

I have never had to change a CMOS battery

CR2032 3v Lithium - Energizer, Duracell any reputable maker.

pparks1
That's because you presumably never use older PCs.
Assuming the specs are correct for OP then it's 6 YO. Therefore makes a lot of sense to change a CMOS battery.
I keep my PCs for a long time and a CMOS battery change is always required after about 5-7 years. In the work scenario many were also changed, again on older PCs and PC Card based instruments. Typically the volts had dropped to 1.5 or less.

Hey everybody,

Thank you very much for your responses and your contribution to this thread. That is correct Helmut I actually had the computer 6 1/2 years something like that.

I have changed the lithium battery on the motherboard and did not help with the situation. I bought the energizer one from Amazon.com.

My motherboard is showing me that there is a problem with the memory because of the LED light. So I guess my next option is buying another memory stick and seeing if that does the trick, if not, it's got to be the motherboard and I'll have to replace that.

Let me know your guys thoughts, I'll let you guys know as soon as I replace the memory on how that works unless you guys tell me otherwise.

OK thank you all for your help again and looking forward to getting this thing solved.

Also, you guys can recommend A memory brand I would appreciate it. I kind of want to try something else. Right now I'm using OCZ as it says in my specs. Thank you