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Faulty/Dead Power Supply?

L

leapingfrog0

Senior member
A person in town called me to check out their computer that won't power on for them anymore. Nothing happens when you push the power button on the case. I immediately assumed that the power supply was dead, but to be sure that it's not something else, I took a peek inside the case to look at the LED connections on the mobo. Everything seems fine. Nothing got disconnected.

After that, I moved on to checking out the power supply. I flipped the switch on the back of the power supply to Off position for a few seconds, and then switched it back on to give the system some juice to see if anything would happen. When I did that, I saw the CPU fan jump several times and stop. When it jumps, the fan acts like it wants to move, but it can't. It's acts like it's stuck (which it isn't). It's like it doesn't have enough juice. A few seconds after the fan stopped jumping, I smelt burning circuitry.

I cannot see any burnt circuits or any other damage inside the computer. I can just smell it.

I told them they would probably need a new power supply and that I'd order a new one for them and install it, but before I do, I want to make sure that that's the problem.

Do you think the PS is dead, or do you think it could possibly be something else?

Thanks,
Andrew
 
Sometimes a fan will move just a little when power is applied to it. Carefully open the power supply (Be careful, I'm not responsible if you fry your arse😛, just don't touch anything😀) and see if the fuse (there is only one in there) is black like it is blown or if anything looks remotely fried. It may also be some short with the motherboard/case.
 
I've had this issue several times. I've solved it by resetting teh CMOS before, also, try to unhook all unnecessary devices from the board--it has worked for me before (its also possible that the board is shorting out now)

Hess.
 
Honestly it could be your psu,mobo, or cpu. I have the same problem you describe happen when it was one of the three. Only thing I can suggest is try each with different hardware to isolate your problem.
 
Ok, guys, I unhooked all unncessary devices from the computer. When I did that and tried to power up the computer, the CPU fan spun a few revolutions and I saw the PS fan also spin a couple times. This leads me further to believe that it's the power supply. It seems to me that with all these extra devices disconnected, it had more power to run the CPU fan, but still not enough to get the computer booted.

So, I ordered a new PS for the system. We'll see if it works. Even if it doesn't, it will be good to replace the one in there.. the one in there right now is crap. It has 145W right now (trying to run added parts/peripherals not originally in the machine). The new one is a little boost, 200W.

Edit: I also reset the CMOS with no luck.
 
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