Hi all,

My tower doesn't turn on! The monitor says "Power save mode is on. Press any key or move mouse to continue"  Clearly, I can't get any response from the keyboard or mouse.  The tower is some weirdo brand. Can I get a universal power cord if the power cord is damaged?.

I hope I haven't confused everyone.

Thanks,

Paula

All power cords for towers that I have ever seen are the same.
Unlikely that the cord is damaged unless it is cut, severely bent or the prongs on either end are damaged.
More likely is that the power supply in the tower has failed. That is the square box inside the tower that the cord plugs into.
This is assuming that the tower doesn't come on at all, i.e, no lights and no fans come on when you push the power button.
If you are comfortable opening the tower, it is easily replaceable. Otherwise, a tech can replace it for you with little problem.
If the fans and lights come on, but the system doesn't boot up then there are many possible causes.

<<That is the square box inside the tower that the cord plugs into.
This is assuming that the tower doesn't come on at all, i.e, no lights and no fans come on when you push the power button. If you are comfortable opening the tower, it is easily replaceable.>>

Thanks soooooooooo much, dlwolff0,

I suspect this is the problem.  I'll try another power source and if the tower is still dead, I will attempt removing the 'square box'. Yikes!   Can I replace it at Circuit City?

Hi 6cc

Quoted from 6cc I'll try another power source and if the tower is still dead, I will attempt removing the 'square box'. Yikes!   Can I replace it at Circuit City?

I don't know about Circuit City, as I have never dealt with them.

I recently had the same problem, but in this case it was not some Weirdo Brand, but a Dell (well, some people don't think that a Dell is weird). Unfortunately, good old Dell had their own peculiar system on this particular model, in that there was no power switch on the power supply itself. "Normally", there is an on-off switch right beside the place where the power cord plugs into the power supply (if you get my drift.) So the regular power supply from any supplier wouldn't fit, as there was no place in the Dell case for the power switch to be exposed to the outside world.

So what I did was bring the malfunctioning tower to a local computer fixer store, bought a power supply that matched the dead one, but that had a power switch (as all normal ones do) and brought the case back home. There I used a metal saw and sawed a hole big enough in the case to let the switch, as well as the outlet plug, be outside the case, and -- voila -- a "new" computer. (Note: if anybody wants to try this, it's OK, but be sure that you are working in a place that is static free. Also, be very careful of all the filings, and dust: you don't want any of that to get onto or into the electronic stuff on the motherboard and such).

So basically, what I am suggesting is that when you buy your power supply from wherever, make sure that it  a) gives the same output as the dead one you have, and b) that it will fit into your weirdo tower.

Hope that helps!

Peter

   Also, if you are considering doing what pdr suggests (sawing into the tower), make sure that it is not under warranty because I am sure that would void the warranty (if there is one).
   Power supplies are pretty much universal.  I have purchased and replaced a few.  I have never had a problem with the on/off switch (not all of them had one).  Another option to that would be to open the power supply (opening the box can be dangerous) and to remove the switch.
   Be sure to observe what pdr said near the end of his post, "when you buy your power supply from wherever, make sure that it  a) gives the same output as the dead one you have, and b) that it will fit into your weirdo tower."

Quoted from Ray    Also, if you are considering doing what pdr suggests (sawing into the tower), make sure that it is not under warranty because I am sure that would void the warranty (if there is one).

Yes. This one was well beyond warranty. I had kind of given up on it, but with a new power supply and new hard drive. I have a virtually new computer!

Peter

Occassionally a system can ground out.  This can be caused by several things.  Often before I suspect a dead power supply on a client's system I unplug it and plug it back in.  about 75% of the time this works.  

This can be a sign of eventual power supply failure or motherboard failure, but it can also just be a glitch with no future repercussions.  If this is the problem, just keep an eye on the system and see if it happens again in a relatively short period of time.

Also, note if there were any power failures or brown outs recently.

I live in an area where there is a lot of coal bed methane drilling, it plays havoc with our small power grid and my clients experience lots of power supply issues.  So, I am regularly replacing these things.  If it is a dead power supply, then as everyone else has stated it is an easy fix.