A bit out of my league here

Hi there, I hate to register just ask for help, but I'm between a rock and a hard place, and I was hoping for some advice?
I should first mention that I have no real computer skills, anything I've ever needed to do, I picked up from any of my computer savvy friends.

Recently, my computer has been overheating. I took out my cpu fan after it finally died and ordered a new one. In order to remove the computer from its case, I had to remove the reset sw switch cable thing. (This was plugged into the power space, since it was the only switch there was)
That seemed pretty straight-forward, but when I placed it back and tried to start up the computer (just to make sure I hadn't harmed the system while taking it out of the case), I had no response.

A friend told me a way to make sure it was just the reset sw switch: by completing the Power circuit with a screwdriver. I did so, but there was no response again, not even a spark. Google searches seem to indicate this means my motherboard's dead.
However, the nearby speaker pins DO spark when the screwdriver is touching. Not to mention a light on the motherboard still lights up when I plug in the computer.

Anyone have an idea what in the hell is going on?

Flip the reset switch around.

If you have your motherboard manual (or can look it up online) you can see where the positive and negative should go. Some of those headers also show a "+" sign on them and the plug should have an arrow and a "G" which denotes ground or negative. You should be able to figure it out from that.

Oh yeah, sorry- I shoulda mentioned - I did figure out which sides were positive and negative, but it doesn't seem to matter.

edit: Here's a thought: maybe I'm not looking for the right kind of response? I was expecting maybe a spark or some noticeable start-up noise, along with the other fans starting to move. Is it possible simply starting it up wouldn't cause these things?