Sparks Killed my son's computer

[Sandan]

My son booted his computer and saw sparks coming from near his psu and now his system won't start. I confirmed the PSU is now bad. Bought another one which I confirmed works by putting it in another system. But his computer won't even begin to power up (PSU won't start). I can't see any burn marks or bad transistors on the board. The led power light on his Mother board is showing green. I am sure psu is connected properly. Even tried to short out the power switch in case it was bad. I will start from scratch by plugging in one component at a time to see if I can figure out what is bad...In the mean time any thoughts on what could be bad or what the sparks could have blown out?

System is: Asus m2a-vm Motherboard, AMD 4850e cpu, ATI 4850 video card, 4 Gigs DDR2 RAM (can't remember speed but I know it is right)

 

[pcgeek11]

Best guess from experiance:

Since you know the new PSU is fine by testing in another system; The motherboard bit the dust.

I would however reset the CMOS and try and boot again. Do the fans spin at all or does it show no signs of life? No beeps? Remove the memory and power up with it out if the CPU /Motherboard is working at all you should here the beep code for no memory.

A sparking power supply can take out any number of components as the voltage was fluctuating wildly when the short circuit was going on.

Sorry for your loss. Let us know what you find.

edited for spelling.

pcgeek11

 

[mozirry]

these are always always tough to figure out, but you made the right 1st step.

New PSU confirmed that it works

Next step to rule out, CPU / Motherboard / Ram / Video Card

Video Card : Test in another computer
Ram : Test in another computer (may just want to temporarily use 1 ram slot to keep it easy )
Motherboard: (If your system fails to post anything at all on screen / some fans don't work, you need to replace MOBO
CPU: This may also be a problem if you have issues getting system to post. If this doesn't work in new mobo, you will need to replace



Don't forget, you could also have dead cables =(



Conclusion: I would say you need to replace MOBO first and see what happens next based off your information. W/ a good PSU that is rated for your PC specs, you should at LEAST get the fans to spin. Sparks can damage anything, it's tough to say since you guys probably weren't looking inside the PC to see how bad it was. A surge of energy could have damaged everything plugged into the mobo or even plugged into your PC period (input devices like monitor, keyboard, etc.)

Just start w/ as minimal as stuff as possible and keep trying man

 

[Blain]

The sparks didn't blow anything out, the components that blew... shot out sparks.
"Sparks" are the symptom of a problem, not the cause of a problem (unless they are sparks from static). :laugh:

My guess is that PS went bad and took out MB or MB went bad and took out PS

 

[Blazer]

what power supply ?

 

[Sandan]

Thanks for all the suggestions......Some good input. The new PSU is bfg ls-450...The old one was antec neopower 480. I did try the reset CMOS but no go. I took out the video card and the memory modules unplugged everything except power connectors but PSU wouldn't start up. On the motherboard if the led green power light is lit would that mean the board is OK or not necessarily. Thanks.

 

[Sandan]

Also just noticed the new PSU has an 8 pin (2 separate 4x4Pin plugs) 12V power connector. In the psu manual it states to plug both 4x4's are plugged in. The board only has one 12v Connector so only 1 is plugged in. I doubt if that makes a difference...Any opinions.

 

[mozirry]

try swapping the 4x4 pin with the other one, u might just have the hookup wrong

 

[NesuD]

The green LED lighting up does not mean the motherboard is undamaged. I had a P5Q dies on me a couple months ago and that light still lights up but the board is dead as a doornail. as far as the aux 8 pin connector that should still work with the four pin by just plugging one half in. It should actually be keyed so that you can only plug one of the 2 halves in. I think your board is definately gone. Try removing or disconnecting everything that isn't absolutely essential for a POST but if that gets you nothing then I have to say the Motherboard is almost surely dead.

 

[Sandan]

Thanks for all the posts. I have tried every one of them and still no luck. My last ditch effort is to take the tower into a local shop to confirm which part is dead. I don't have the equipment to confirm a conclusive death certificate.......