when I try to turn on my PC it sometimes comes on some times it
doesn't. There is power getting to the power supply. the power is
getting to the mother board. we have solar power with an 12V to
120volt inverter could this cause problems? could it be the on/off
switch on the computer?

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Clarification of Question by craigeperkins-ga on 29 Dec 2002 13:18 PST

Now the computer just takes a long time to boot up. Why would it do this?
Also How do I increase the list price

You should check your power cables first for loose connection or
breaks in the wire. If in case you traced your problem is caused by
the fluctuations of your solar power supply to your computer, you can
go around this problem by using a UPS so that you will have a more
stable feed of electricity to your computer unit. I doubt that the
switch has something to do with it, especially if your system is ATX.
The switch being the problem is most likely to happen on AT systems. I
hope this helps.

There's also a chance that the problem is related to your power
supply, or even motherboard.  I burned out a system a few years back
with the same issue: the power switch (the stateless toggle button
running to the motherboard, not the supply itself) on my PC was
grounded improperly, and wouldn't start the system up with any
reliability.  It eventually reached a point where I was shocking the
motherboard every time I started it, and sent enough voltage through
it to wipe out the RAM, modem, video card, and motherboard itself.  It
may be worth looking into, if you've checked that your outlets are
wired properly.

Are you sure there is enough power available for the computer at
startup?  When computers start they use more energy than normal as
they must power on and "spin up" their hard drive(s), fans, and other
additional moving parts.

There is no ground wire on the solar system. The manual says there
should be a ground wire on the inverter but I thought it was  a safety
issue not performance. so I didn't install a ground.  . could this be
causing a problem on the compter.
So from the 2nd answer given to me How should I proceed

I believe there is enough power to start up the computer. we can start
a power circular saw no problem.

The outlets are wired properly except there is no ground anywhere in the system.

Generally, computers need to be grounded. Try that and see what happens.