Q: After a thunder storm I found that a number of electronics in my house are now dead including an alarm clock, answering machine, caller id, my brother's computer (ethernet card) and my computer. The weird thing is that my computer was plugged into a surge protector and not even on when it happened. Anyway, I took the side panel off. When connected to power there is a green light on the motherboard. So I tried replacing the power supply with a new unit, and I even added a stick of brand new ram in the second slot. The computer will still not turn on (same thing happens with the old psu) when I press the power button, the green light comes on the mobo (not on the case) and nothing else happens. What could possibly be wrong with the computer?
A: Swapping out components to check function was the correct action to take. However, you've only narrowed it down to two possible culprits: the CPU and the motherboard itself. If the computer doesn't post, it's probably a short in your motherboard. If it does, check the BIOS to see if it detects a CPU, and that should narrow it down even more.