Time to Get a New PC Power Supply?

[jeb6294]

My wife just called and said the computer won't start up. The power was out earlier this morning so I don't know if we got a spike or what. The monitor/printer/speakers come on but when she hits the 'puter button nothing happens so it isn't a breaker or power strip problem.

For any of you computer guys out there, does this sound like a problem with the power supply?

Unfortunately $$$ right now doesn't allow for a new PC and the wife hasn't bothered to back anything up for god knows how long so we have a ton of pictures on there that we don't want to lose.

 

[roadwreck]

if you are lucky it will just be the power supply. A few months ago I had a similar situation occur and the computer's hard drive got fried too.

 

[Supe]

X2. Even if the hard drive is fried, there are specialty companies out there that can retrieve a surprising amount of data off of there, though it's not cheap.

 

[OSUguy98]

check the fuse in the power supply (voiding the warranty the process, but still)... a lot of time the fuse does it's job and blows... a trip to Radio Shack can fix that.... Do you have another PC you could borrow a power supply from to test?

 

[Dexman1349]

check the fuse in the power supply (voiding the warranty the process, but still)... a lot of time the fuse does it's job and blows... a trip to Radio Shack can fix that.... Do you have another PC you could borrow a power supply from to test?

I agree. If the power supply has gone bad, the hard drive *should* still be ok.

 

[Sschell]

heh heh heh... puter.... makes me think of pooter....

sorry, nevermind. do you have a multimeter? could find a really direct answer to your question with one of dem.

 

[Chucktown PE]

jeb,

My aunt's computer had a similar symptom. I'm not sure what happened but I changed out the power supply with a spare I had lying around and from what I can tell the motherboard was fried. The hard drive was fine but something happened to the circuitry in the motherboard that prevented the power button from telling the power supply to turn on.

 

[jeb6294]

check the fuse in the power supply (voiding the warranty the process, but still)... a lot of time the fuse does it's job and blows... a trip to Radio Shack can fix that.... Do you have another PC you could borrow a power supply from to test?

That was my next question...the crapped out computer is a Gateway and we've still got our old Gateway in the basement. If they're roughly the same wattage, could I try swapping the power supply over? Where is the fuse on the power supply so I can check that first?

Unfortunately this just happened today so I won't be home until Thursday evening, but I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed in the meantime.

 

[OSUguy98]

check the fuse in the power supply (voiding the warranty the process, but still)... a lot of time the fuse does it's job and blows... a trip to Radio Shack can fix that.... Do you have another PC you could borrow a power supply from to test?

That was my next question...the crapped out computer is a Gateway and we've still got our old Gateway in the basement. If they're roughly the same wattage, could I try swapping the power supply over? Where is the fuse on the power supply so I can check that first?

Unfortunately this just happened today so I won't be home until Thursday evening, but I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed in the meantime.

Definitely... as long as the connectors are the same (depends on how old "old" is)... you only need to plug in the motherboard to test it... so wattage isn't a huge concern...

the fuse is inside the PSU, you'd have to take the cover off to find it... everyone I've seen has just been a small ceramic cylinder with caps on either end, in clips... I'll put in another vote for the multimeter... it'd help you test that fuse, and the voltage lines on the PSU...

the hard drive can always be removed and put into another PC to get critical data (assuming it's not fried also)...

 

[jeb6294]

Definitely... as long as the connectors are the same (depends on how old "old" is)... you only need to plug in the motherboard to test it... so wattage isn't a huge concern...
the fuse is inside the PSU, you'd have to take the cover off to find it... everyone I've seen has just been a small ceramic cylinder with caps on either end, in clips... I'll put in another vote for the multimeter... it'd help you test that fuse, and the voltage lines on the PSU...

the hard drive can always be removed and put into another PC to get critical data (assuming it's not fried also)...

I do have a multimeter (somewhere) so I will check that...if I even need to. I just talked to the wife this morning and she said one of our neighbors offered to take it in where he works and have one of the IT guys take a look at it. I hope I there aren't any incriminating pictures left on it.

 

[TouchDown]

I did some searching when I had a power supply go out a month or two ago, for some power supplies, you can sometimes find a pinout on the internet and the find how to do the "paperclip" test. You can essentially jumper the motherboard connection to kick on the fan unit. The fan is what will draw more current and if you have a power supply that is going bad, then it might not show up until that happens.

If it's a motherboard connection though... you can still get replacements - might be about as much as a new computer though depending on how old it is. Good luck.

 

[Santiagj]

This happened to me a couple of months ago. Power supplies are cheap though. Bought a new 500 watt power supply for 25 bucks at newegg.com

 

[Dexman1349]

This happened to me a couple of months ago. Power supplies are cheap though. Bought a new 500 watt power supply for 25 bucks at newegg.com

Yeah, Newegg.com is a great place to find computer components. The IT guys here at work let me have a retired case, and I was able to build up a real nice dual-monitor rig at home for about $500 buying the components from there.

Great products, crazy-low prices.

 

[Santiagj]

Yeah they are great. I only buy pc parts from there. I just finished my newest build. I bought an extra 180 mm fan to install on the case. It came quickly but did not come with the power cable. I called newegg and they sent me a new 180mm fan. They didn't even want the fan I had back. They could have just sent me the power cable by itself. So now I have a back up fan. They have great customer service.

OK I'll stop giving newegg a virtual BJ now.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

OK I'll stop giving newegg a virtual BJ now.

And start giving them a literal one?

 

[Santiagj]

I made that one too easy didn't I?

Lets just say I like newegg.

 

[Supe]

The ONLY downer about Newegg is the no return policy and the no price drop. I don't care about returns, but it sucks when something drops $50 overnight and you have to eat the cost. Other than that, they've been fantastic.

 

[jeb6294]

Well, good news. The IT geeks where our neighbor works took a look at our computer and they said it was indeed a bad power supply. I guess they were actually going to fix it but they didn't have a spare that would work.