You probably can't help me.

Volitions Advocate on 28/11/2009 at 15:15

Since the only answer to my question is "NEVER EVER EVER BUY A CHEAP POS PREFABBED COMPUTER AGAIN!"

My new computer (which i've had for almost 2 years now) just popped its PSU. I went downstairs and found the power light on, and nothing going on. no fans whirring, nothing on the screen. I unplugged it, let the capacitors bleed out. and tried it again. No luck. It sounds like for a split seconds it tries to get the fans going and then it just stops.

The last computer I had (which was supposed to be a gaming rig even though it was a prefab) had the same problem and I replaced the PSU 3 times in that thing. Now we're doing it again. and I am so pissed off.

If somebody is smarter than I am happens to know that my PSU is not fried and that I'm just not doing all the steps to get my computer to start again, please let me know.

Al_B on 28/11/2009 at 16:05

It could be that you have another fault on your computer which is shorting one of the power lines out. The PSU could be turning itself off as a safety measure (to itself) when you are trying to power it up.

One thing that I've done in the past to check this is to turn on the PSU when it's not plugged into anything (motherboard / hard drives etc. internally. It's not difficult to do if it's a standard ATX - using a paperclip or similar you can momentarily short the green wire to one of the black wires on the large connector. See (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX if you're not sure.

Of course, make sure that ALL other connectors going on the power supply are unplugged first. This doesn't guarantee that the power supply is working correctly if it starts up - but if it can't be started in this way then it's almost definitely faulty.

bikerdude on 28/11/2009 at 17:45

Quote Posted by Al_B

* It could be that you have another fault on your computer which is shorting one of the power lines out. The PSU could be turning itself off as a safety measure (to itself) when you are trying to power it up.

* One thing that I've done in the past to check this is to turn on the PSU when it's not plugged into anything (motherboard / hard drives etc. internally. It's not difficult to do if it's a standard ATX - using a paperclip or similar you can momentarily short the green wire to one of the black wires on the large connector. See (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ATX if you're not sure.

* If thats the case then its possible the mobo is the cause...
* I would suggest a psu tester instead, they only cost about $20

Al_B on 29/11/2009 at 00:49

Quote Posted by Bikerdude

* If thats the case then its possible the mobo is the cause...

Could be. I've seen CPUs, hard drives and other peripherals cause the same symptoms. Most of the time it's the PSU itself - but there's no reason to simply replace it without trying to narrow down the cause.

Quote Posted by Bikerdude

* I would suggest a psu tester instead, they only cost about $20

Yes, they'll give a more accurate diagnosis. Being able to see whether a PSU will start up at all is just a useful first step and doesn't require any special equipment.

Volitions Advocate on 3/12/2009 at 06:37

it doesn't start at all... you see the fan twitch when its turned on and nothing after that. here's hoping nothing else got fried in the process. Im heading in to pick up a new one tomorrow.

Volitions Advocate on 4/12/2009 at 02:54

DAMMIT! well the jumper test didn't work because the PSU is fine, I took it in and they tested it for me.

So by process of elimination, it's the damn video card.

I was using an Asus eGeforce 8800GT You can't get them anymore it seems, I can't find an 8800 anywhere. Asus apparently has a 3 year warranty on its video cards, but the retailer I bought it from says they only offer 1 year. Of course the asus site says call your retailer. so I called them back and they said, ok you need to make sur eyou have your receipt and get ahold of asus. This is freaking balls.

I'm building a new computer soon anyway, but this came at such a stupid time!

bikerdude on 4/12/2009 at 10:10

Quote Posted by Volitions Advocate

ok you need to make sure you have your receipt and get a hold of asus.

This is normally the case, asus will sort it for you, but only send a "copy" of the receipt and you keep the original.

Also have you had the videoi card tested in another pc, to confirm its def the card..?

Also what part of the world you in..?

Volitions Advocate on 4/12/2009 at 18:01

I'm in canada.

and I can't test it in anybody elses computer because nobody I know really cares about PCs, and nobody has a mobo with PCIe.

but I disconnected everything and began adding them back one by one. With the videocard in the mobo the psu wont even try to start the computer. Ram was fine and... well really there's nothing else in my computer aside from harddrives, but faulty harddrives wont stop you from getting to POST.

bikerdude on 4/12/2009 at 18:43

Quote Posted by Volitions Advocate

With the videocard in the mobo the psu wont even try to start the computer.

Does your 8800Gt have a power connector? is a pic-e power lead plugged in? and has the pcie-power connector from the psu been tested..? - it only puts out 12v on the yellow leads

Quote Posted by Volitions Advocate

but faulty harddrives wont stop you from getting to POST.

Hmmm, what spare card are you going to use till yours is repaired..?

Volitions Advocate on 4/12/2009 at 19:09

I'm lucky enough that I have a vga output on my mobo. So my computer will run at least.

But my netbook has a better 3d chipset than my mobo. I can't even play audiosurf with it.

And I tried booting up with the card in the slot with AND without it plugged into the power connector. Both times it wouldn't boot. Just having the card in the mobo is stopping everything. So I don't know if the 6 pin connector is working or not, but it doesn't seem to affect it regardless. I'm sure that if you had a working video card plugged in to its slot but without power it wouldn't put a halt to everything the moment you push power.

... or would it?