# Solved: Flashing Green Light on Tower



## drokness (Aug 16, 2010)

Hi, TSG. One of my friends has been having computer troubles, so I told him I'd see what I could do to help. I brought his tower back to my place, unhooked my tower (after shutting it down from windows) and hooked his up. I used the power cord from my tower (along with all the other attachments - keyboard, mouse, monitor, etc...) and attached it all to his tower. Everything went smoothly. Until I tried hooking my tower back up. Now, when I plug in the power cord to my tower, I get a blinking green light. The tower won't even turn on at all. After I unplug it, it slowly blinks out. When I plug it back in, same problem.

His computer is an HP, mine is a Sony VAIO. Mine's roughly 5 years old, his is 6-7 years old.

I probably did something I shouldn't have. Did the cord somehow configure to his tower, and now it won't work with mine? Is there anything at all I can do to fix this? Will buying a new power cord help? Thanks.


OS: XP
Processor: Pentium 4
Wish I had more specs, but I've had this thing for five years now and can't find where I wrote them down.


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## Masta Squidge (Jul 29, 2007)

Check to make sure you have the keyboard plugged in. i have seen something similar before where the computer would halt during post with no keyboard present.

Make sure everything is hooked up, i doubt just unplugging it killed anything. And no offense (i mean that) but judging by your post you might not be the best qualified to fix a pc lol


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## TheShooter93 (Jul 10, 2008)

Yes, I would make the same suggestion. Make sure everything is plugged into the right ports and they're all secure. Most PSU's use a standard 120V power cable, I believe. There's no way that it would "configure" to his computer. Cables aren't that smart. 

And while I like to see other people becoming interested in fixing computers, I do agree with *Masta Squidge* on the notion of you "...not being the best qualified to fix a PC." While it's not the best grammar, I would convey the same message. I'm no expert either, I'm just trying to give you some constructive criticism.

Anyway, once you've made sure everything is snug and in the right places, try booting up the computer.


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## drokness (Aug 16, 2010)

Thanks guys, I appreciate the suggestions. I'm most definitely not qualified to fix and/or diagnose a PC - I was just grasping for straws with the Power Cord thing. I just can't figure out the problem. I've tried connecting everything properly, same problem. I've tried disconnecting everything (save for the power cord) - same problem. Regardless, I can't turn the thing on (it doesn't respond at all when I press the power button). The green LED light on the back of the tower (directly under the power cord) blinks rather than stay a solid green like it's supposed to (the CPU also makes an almost inaudible clicking sound). If I plug the speakers in, they'll make a syncopated, clicking sound, too. My friend's tower, however, works fine when I plug it in.

I've tried finding other people online experiencing the same problem, and it seems it might have something to do with supplying power to the motherboard. Again, I'm admittedly naive when it comes down to the nuts and bolts of computers and any help would be appreciated. Thanks.


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## TheShooter93 (Jul 10, 2008)

There's no reason that this would be a problem if no other factor was changed. You made no software changes, hardware changes or anything other than unplugging the power cord from your PC?


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## drokness (Aug 16, 2010)

No changes at all. All I did was select 'Shut Down' from Windows, wait until it was completely powered down and unplugged it. It was unplugged for roughly a day. I started experiencing the problem the second I plugged it back in (today). I've tried plugging it in other outlets (even though I have no problem with the other CPU in any outlet), but still no dice.


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## TheShooter93 (Jul 10, 2008)

Try your friends power cord.


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## drokness (Aug 16, 2010)

I did, same problem.


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## TheShooter93 (Jul 10, 2008)

Open up the side panel of your computer and see if you get any recognition LED's on your motherboard. My fear is that your motherboard is fried, but I don't see how when you simply unplugged the power cable.


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## drokness (Aug 16, 2010)

There's a corresponding green blinking LED light on my motherboard as well (near the upper right quadrant). That's it.


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## TheShooter93 (Jul 10, 2008)

Call your manufacturer or refer to your manual to see what that means (if that information is even available).


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## drokness (Aug 16, 2010)

So I was able to get a solid green LED light and power on the PC. I found some people experiencing a similar problem, and they fixed it by aiming a blow dryer at the part of the tower where the light was blinking. Sure enough, after roughly one minute, it worked. Only now, I'm having trouble with my monitor. When I plug it in to the CPU, I get the "No Input Signal" message on my screen, and it goes into power save mode. The monitor works fine with my friends computer/tower, just not with mine. Could it be an issue with the graphics card? Like I said, I have made no hardware or software changes before, or since, experiencing this problem. Thanks.


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## TheShooter93 (Jul 10, 2008)

Do you have a physical graphics card or onboard graphics?


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## drokness (Aug 16, 2010)

Physical. It's an ATI, I'm not quite sure which model. It's 5 years old and came with the VAIO. No problems with it before this all started happening.


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## drokness (Aug 16, 2010)

Fixed the problem. The hair-dryer basically fixed the major issue. The problem I was having with the monitor was because I was attaching it to the on-board slot, rather than that of the graphics card. I know, dumb move. It's been awhile since I've hooked this thing back up, and my friends computer got me used to the on-board slot. Thanks for your time and effort.


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## TheShooter93 (Jul 10, 2008)

Ah, well that can do it. 

Glad you were able to fix the problem. Mark your thread as solved if you're satisfied. You can find the button to do this in the top-left corner of the thread on page 1. A preview is located below.


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