Question did fried my psu? [nope. mb was fried]

daggs1

Member
Mar 9, 2018
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Greetings,

I have a setup composed of an intel G4560, arctic 11 hsf, asus h110M-am12, crucial 4Gb ram CL17 packed into an Antec VSK2000-U3.
I've decided to upgrade it's ram by adding additional kingston 8GB CL17.
I've opened the case, tried to insert the ram but there was no room to do so, I've removed the hsf and inserted the ram, placed the hsf and booted the machine to bios.
in the bios I saw only the new ram and the cpu's temp sky-rocked.
I've assumed I misplaced the hsf so I've opened the case again, this time I've disconnected all and pulled out the mb, I've noticed the hsf was misplaced ans so did one of the rams, I've reseted the both, connected the atx and 24v and used a screwdriver to turn it on, now the cpu fan starts spining, it spins for a second and shutdowns, the led lights from the mb turn on and off in the same manner.
I've looked at the mb and found that the hsf was misplaced again. this time I've placed it properly.
again I've connected the bare minimal and turn it on. the behavior of above still persists.
I've tried without the cmos bat, without the ram, all fails.
the psu is very problematic when it comes to the a/c connection, as it doesn't have an power switch, every movement of the power cable results in crackling sound.
I've noticed that the psu's external A/C connectors smells like burnt.
I'm leaving the computer disconnected for a few hours and will try gain.
thing is, assuming it doesn't help, how can I figure out what is the issue? can it be that the psu got fried?
 

UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
16,068
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The psu is very problematic when it comes to the a/c connection, as it doesn't have an power switch, every movement of the power cable results in crackling sound.
I've noticed that the psu's external A/C connectors smells like burnt.
I'm leaving the computer disconnected for a few hours and will try gain.
thing is, assuming it doesn't help, how can I figure out what is the issue? can it be that the psu got fried?
From your description of what happened, it could be a number of things that got damaged. CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc.

From the "misplaced" CPU heatsink possibly damaging something, to a power supply that sounds like it is a ticking time bomb, you might have to test each component and see. In the future, if a PSU is in that kind of condition, you want to replace it immediately.
 

daggs1

Member
Mar 9, 2018
194
8
81
From your description of what happened, it could be a number of things that got damaged. CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc.
mb is a possibility, I don't think it is the ram because I had the same behavior when I've tested the board without any ram, I'd expect the fan to keep running rather than stop and start yet again.
the cpu wasn't removed from the socket so I'd doubt I'd physically damaged it.
when I said I've misplaced the fan, I meant that I had it in it's place but didn't pushed it down all the way so it get latched properly in it's holes.

From the "misplaced" CPU heatsink possibly damaging something, to a power supply that sounds like it is a ticking time bomb, you might have to test each component and see. In the future, if a PSU is in that kind of condition, you want to replace it immediately.

as I see it, it is either the mb or the psu, I'll try again in a few hours, if it starts up, it might have been static electricity or something (it is disconnected from any power outlet for atleast 12 hours now). prior to connecting it, I'll try to smell the connectors again see if they still has a "burn" smell.
if it still smells "burned" or still be haves the same, I'll hook it up the psu in my other machine, if it works, it is psu, if not, I think it is safe to assume the mb is the issue.
it is a shame that board doesn't have qled.

is there any flaw in my assumptions above?