Power supply problems?

[Soulchaser]

Alright, so a few weeks ago my power supply died on my. It was a rather old 400w Antec. It wasn't too big of a deal at the time since I only needed to buy a new one. With suggestions from Zap and constantly fluctuating Newegg prices I decided to get the 650w Antec Earthwatts. My computer is a few years old, so this new power supply had a few new connectors I've never had to deal with yet. I hooked it all up to what I believe to be correct, but with all these cables I've never dealt with before and the manual not even worth the paper it was written on I was only guessing. I started it up, and I immediately got a disk boot error. I'm working with 3 hard drives here (2 SATA 1 PATA), and only one of them is bootable. I couldn't restart right away because for some reason it would just hang without displaying the POST screen if I tried. I tried booting off a Windows XP CD, but that gave me an error (I forgot exactly what it was, sorry.) I figured at this point there was a problem with the hard drive, so I downloaded the DOS version of Seatools since my boot hard drive is a Seagate. I tried the short test, and at about 20% it would freeze up. I tried to run it on both of my SATA hard drives, and it froze both times. (I didn't have my PATA drive connected at this time.) I disconnected all of my hard drives except for my boot drive and my two DVD drives. With only my boot drive connected I was able to load Windows, but after about 45 seconds I would lose the display. I looked up some solutions for the error the XP CD was giving me, and the ram was possibly an issue. I have 2 gigs on 2 sticks, so I removed one and tried it in different slots with both and nothing changed. I have parts from another computer of the same generation, so I tried the ram out of there and no go. I'm still having to wait a bit before restarting as well. The longer I leave it alone the longer the computer will run without freezing or losing the display. (Around 1 minute max.) I just got back from class, and I was going to try running Seatools on my non-booting SATA hard drive, but I turned it on and heard a popping noise. I'm kinda afraid to turn it back on in case something else happens. I'd rather not get anything else damaged just because I can't afford a new computer.

Here are some pics of the connector I used for the P4 power connection on the motherboard (Not sure exactly what it's called, and it was the one I wasn't sure about):
Pic 1
Pic 2

Full System Specs:
Abit IC7-MAX3
3.0Ghz P4 (Prescott) (Swiftech heatsink w/ 92mm Panaflo fan)
2Gb PC3200 DDR (2 Sticks of 1GB each)
ATI Readon X850 Pro w/Zalman Fan
Lite-On PATA 5.25" CD/DVD Combo Drive (Burns CDs, Reads DVDs)
Lite-On PATA 5.25" DVD Burner (Newer 20x burner from September)
Seagate 500Gb SATA HD 7200.11 Version
Western Digital 200Gb SATA HD (First gen SATA drive, not always very stable)
Seagate 250Gb PATA HD (Not sure of version)
2x 120mm Case Fans
Antec Earthwatts 650w PS

If there is anything I'm leaving out that would help let me know. I tried to be as specific as possible. I really hope there is just a simple error with this like I was stupid and didn't see that the voltage switch on the power supply was wrong or something even though I don't remember even seeing a switch. Most of the time if something like this goes wrong I don't really worry too much, but I'm pretty broke right now so I'm trying to be extra careful. Any help you guys can give will be much appreciated.

Cliffs:
-Replaced old broken power supply with new 650w Antec Earthwatts
-Initially had a Disk Boot Error
-DOS version of Seatools freezes
-XP loads but stops displaying after about a minute
-Unable to immediately restart, refuses to display if I do
-Something popped when I tried to start it this morning

 

[cubby1223]

Popping noises are usually from the Power Supply. Sucks, but I'd send it back for replacement. But could be the motherboard. With a previous bad power supply, there really is no telling what components were damaged when it went out. Could be nothing. Could be something. I personally have always preferred Sparkle or FSP for power supplies.

One of these is very nice to have:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16899887004

The main goal is to protect the hard drives. So whenever you try out the computer again, just have the dvd drive hooked up, no hard drives, boot to a Memtest cd and let that run for a long time:
http://www.memtest.org/

 

[Soulchaser]

Well I burned an memtest CD, but now my computer won't make the start-up beep and display the post screen. All the fans start up though. Should I just RMA the power supply?

 

[SJP0tato]

Try resetting the BIOS (jumper the reset pins, or remove the battery for 30+ seconds).

While you're in there waiting for the reset, look at the tops of the capacitors on the mobo. If any of them have a bulge/convex shape on top then the mobo is bad.

Once that's done try re-seating the Videocard, RAM, and CPU. Sometimes while installing power supply wires it's possible to bump components.

If after all that it's still not working try substituting a known working power supply.

 

[Soulchaser]

Resetting the BIOS didn't do anything, and all of the capacitors look fine (No bulges anyways). Everything was seated properly too. Unfortunately, I don't have another power supply to test my system with.

 

[KGB]

You're in a gray-zone here.

When your original PSU blew out, did it take your MB with it?
There's no way to know until you try another PSU.

One thing to try: when you try another PSU in this system and if it doesn't work, try it in another known-good system. You could have a situation where your original PSU blew, took out your MB and now your MB takes out any subsequent PSUs.

I know it sounds weird but I've seen it before.

 

[Soulchaser]

I managed to get a friend to let me test out my power supply in his computer and his in mine. My power supply didn't work in his computer. It would freeze up at the POST screen. His power supply wouldn't work in my computer. Nothing would display and it wouldn't make the start up beep just like mine since it made the popping noise this morning. I tried starting up mine twice with the same result. So either my motherboard is bad and it led to the demise of my power supply or my power supply is bad and it led to the demise of my motherboard. Well they're both bad now I guess no matter what happened. Would I still be able to RMA my power supply like this even though I'm not sure if was the one that caused these problems in the first place, or would that be unethical?

 

[KGB]

Originally posted by: Soulchaser
I managed to get a friend to let me test out my power supply in his computer and his in mine. My power supply didn't work in his computer. It would freeze up at the POST screen. His power supply wouldn't work in my computer. Nothing would display and it wouldn't make the start up beep just like mine since it made the popping noise this morning. I tried starting up mine twice with the same result. So either my motherboard is bad and it led to the demise of my power supply or my power supply is bad and it led to the demise of my motherboard. Well they're both bad now I guess no matter what happened. Would I still be able to RMA my power supply like this even though I'm not sure if was the one that caused these problems in the first place, or would that be unethical?

Unethical? No, not really.

How old is the PSU and is it under warranty?
If yes, go for it.

 

[Soulchaser]

I just got it on Monday to replace one that died in November.