I spent all day long yesterday trying to run down a problem in my Son's computer. I build and repair the damn things to save some money and ensure
that control of the content of what's on the machine is my Son's and his alone. When you buy a P.C. from Best Buy, Target, Walmart, etc they're always proprietary. IOW, the O.S. and whatever software packages pre-installed are often dependent on Microsoft and Dell, HP, etc... and other vendors - so I build my own.
Anyway, the computer would start up... shut down. Start up... shut down. All this would happen in the course of a couple of seconds. I have computer parts laying around the house from all of my former builds so I do have plenty of components to use in diagnosing. I pulled the machine completely apart to clean it out. Tested the power supply, CPU fan, Rom Drives, etc...
So - I finally decided to get a can of compressed air to clean out the Motherboard, fans, CPU, heat sync and other internals that are critical to good operation. Compressed and canned air
must to be used to clean these things. You can't just run down to the local gas station or auto shop and use one of their air nozzles. Shop air is full of moisture which is a no-no to any electrical component. Canned air contains propane so it will boil as soon as you spray it. That way electrical goodies won't get wet and be fried.
So I buy a can of compressed air for TEN DOLLARS and what do I get - four or five good squirts and then jack-shit! Ten fucking dollars for damn near nothing! Which leads me to another point - when did American made begin to mean "good enough" instead of "outstanding"? I've used canned air before and cleaned out entire systems with one can. This one lasted four or five squirts. WTF! Maybe I'm being a whiner here but something is wrong with this scenario. Okay - I'm done bitching.
BTW, the problem with the computer was the power button in the front of the case that turns the computer on. There's a dead short in it. Now I have to worry if I'm gonna go out and throw ten bucks down for a power button that will only last six months. Sometimes I just can't win.
Update: On the advice of Alltech Computer Supply in Lomita, Kalifornia, where I buy my computer parts, I switched the reset pin connector with the power button pin connector on the motherboard and solved the power problem. Now - instead of using the power button to boot the computer I just hit the reset button. Thanks Camille.