eMachines Power Supply or Motherboard problem

[HungryWolf]

I was tinkering with my brother's PC, trying to take out his floppy drive because I needed one as mine doesn't have one. I did absolutely nothing with the power supply or anything, but for some reason the thing won't turn on. There's no indication of what's wrong with it; there's no light on the motherboard to indicate whether it's on or not, and the thing just doesn't turn on at all. So I don't know if the motherboard's fried, which I don't see how that could have happened, or if the power supply's busted, which I also can't see how that would have happened.

Is this common for eMachines? Is there something I could have unplugged and plugged in wrong? There are three wires from the button on the case that you push to turn the thing on, and they were connected to a part of the motherboard. However, I don't know where exactly they were positioned (although I do know what they were connected to), but no matter how I seem to connect them, nothing seems to help. Would this be part of the problem? Where can I find a diagram or something of the motherboard? This is the one that he has: http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/moreinfo.asp?product_id=69036

Any help would be appreciated, otherwise I have to buy him another PC.

[honvetops]

You need to get a manual ( did you keep the boxes & paperwork on that puter?) for that board, I was tinkering around and it's like 
a little confusing on who actually manufactures this now.....
Key Features
Form Factor    Micro ATX
Compatibility    PC
Chipset    VIA ProSavageDDR KM266
Compatible Processors    AMD Duron, AMD Athlon
Front Side Bus Speed    266 MHz
Processor
Max supported CPUs qty    1
Memory
Max Supported RAM    2 GB
Audio / Video
Audio Output    Sound Card
Video Interface    AGP 4x
Other Features
Package Qty    1
Dimensions
Depth    9.61 in.
Width    9.61 in.
Miscellaneous
MPN    AM37
Product ID    20270864
More Information
As Computer, Communication and Consumer Electronics (3C) markets have converged, FIC has adapted and developed to become a respected producer of 3C related products. Many new and innovative products have joined the FIC range and the company is no longer simply known for its award winning range of motherboards. Now firmly established at the top of the 3C market, FIC is determined to continue achieving excellence in the field of engineering and manufacturing services.

** the NO light on the motherboard  would worry me a bit **
see my last comment at bottom.....

Have you tried contacting Emachine/ gateway  tech support and see if you can get a manual of maybe go directly to the board manufacturer and check with them.  Its gotta be pretty easy to fix this,  maybe just the little led/power/ reset  switches need to be connected to the right posts on the board. They can get confusing.  I hope you had all the "power" disconnected from that mobo when you took out the floppy ?

[patio]

Did you replace the floppy drive back into this machine ? ?

[ale52]

There is the possibility that you might have 'touched' something inside, accidentally of course, and with enough ESD (Electro-Static Discharge) from your body, cooked the motherboard. 

One thing you can try is to strip the system of everything but the motherboard / video / RAM.  Boot the system.  Do you POST?  If so, start adding one component at a time, starting with the keyboard, mouse, etc., until the system fails.  Usually the last component installed is the culprit...though not always.
 
Alan <><  :-)

[HungryWolf]

I talked to someone from eMachines and he gave me a pdf file manual. I looked at it and wired everything to what I'm sure is correct, but it still won't turn on. He told me the problem is the power supply so I'm going to have to look into getting that replaced. I did put the floppy drive back in there, but as I said, to no avail.

When I say there's no light on the motherboard, I don't mean that there is a light and it's not lighting up. I mean that I can't physically find a light on the motherboard and as far as I know there isn't one.

[ale52]

I would recommend replacing the motherboard as well.  I've seen MANY emachine systems that when the power supply goes, it takes the motherboard as well.

Good luck 

Alan <><