Question PSU or Mobo?

[zigzag03]

Fans run only when power button held on, no boot. Happened after a near miss lightening strike. Does this sound like power supply or mobo? No beep, no post, just fans if you hold the button. Thanks!

 

[solidsnake1298]

Both? Maybe more? Every component has their own protections against surges and static discharge. Its quite possible, in this situation, that a significant number of components in your system are kaput.

Here's something to keep in mind. If some of the parts in your system are kaput due to a lightning strike, testing those parts by putting them in compatible donor systems could kill the donor system as well.

Edit: Clarity and grammar.

 

[zigzag03]

Yes you're no doubt right, and I can't find my gd power supply tester. Probably right where I left it. System is nothing special, and it didn't bork the hard drive, so I'll get the person up and running in something else kicking around here. Thinking about it, if the switch turns on the fans, the ps must be capable of putting out something, and the switch goes thru the mobo, so ?!? Could be anything. Thanks.

 

[kschendel]

It certainly could be either, but having fan power when and only when holding the power button makes me think it's more likely the PSU not latching to full-on mode.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Unless you have a lot of "canary test parts" lying around that you don't care if they get killed by an errantly-defective part from your lightning-struck system, I would recommend attempting to only salvage the storage drive, and probably junk the rest (maybe save the CPU? Maybe not).

 

[VirtualLarry]

OTOH, the interface between a PC and PSU is fairly simple and direct, and a PSU (a good one) will simple shut-down if it detects error conditions like a short. So, you might consider replacing the PSU (for testing), with a decent-quality stand-in, and remove the storage drive(s), and see if you can get it to POST. If so, it MAY only have been the PSU, or at least, the major sub-systems may be working. Don't be too surprised, if you get that far, that USB/network/sound may be blown. Some SATA ports may not work.

Don't forget to replace the cable from the PSU to the wall, it may have hot-spotted, and have breakdowns in the insulation, or just weaknesses that could lead to breakdowns in the future. For that matter, so could your AC wiring, something to consider.

 

[zigzag03]

Thanks everyone, I just found a spare psu in the "pile", going to do some experimenting!

 

[Furious_Styles]

Thanks everyone, I just found a spare psu in the "pile", going to do some experimenting!

Good luck, make sure you DON'T mix and match cables from those PSUs.

 

[bigboxes]

Thanks everyone, I just found a spare psu in the "pile", going to do some experimenting!

Keep us updated. I'm hoping it's just the power supply. *crosses fingers*