Some good news, my hard drives are still alive. 
Correct way of killing my PC?
- Thread starter Azza
- Start date
Hopefully being lent a PSU tomorrow so I can check out if anything is dead. Fingers crossed.
Associate
Coming in on this thread a bit late, but fuses and surge protectors are there to do different things. Surge protectors block excessive voltages spikes on the supply, whereas a fuse (or circuit breaker) protects against excessive current caused by a short circuit or overload.
Like philtorrens says, I wouldn't worry about it. It sounds like the psu failed and the fuse/mcb did it's job.
Has to go to the Netherlands mate.
Associate
would rather pay £15-20 shipping to the netherlands than £100+ on a new psu
Power supply must contain circuits so that nothing from the AC mains causes hard drive (or motherboard) damage. Anything that surge protector might do is already solved inside the supply. That means nothing on the load (disk drive, motherboard, etc) can damage a supply. And nothing from the supply can damage the load (ie disk drive).Some good news, my hard drives are still alive.
Surge protectors that are designed to do protection are located distant from electronics and close to earth ground (which is not a safety ground on that wall receptacle). Protectors located too far from earth ground and too close to electronics simply give a surge more paths to do damage. Yes, a protector adjacent to the appliance, in some cases, can compromise protection already inside electronic appliances.
Belkin does not claim to do surge protection. View its numeric specs - not its sales propaganda. In the only place that matters, Belkin claims no protection - in those numeric specs. Belkin's warranty so chock full of exemptions as to not be honored. Another successful sales promotion gimmick.
IEEE papers even describe damage created by plug-in protectors. Martzloff's 1994 paper describes a problem with plug-in (point of connection) protectors in his very first conclusion:
> Conclusion:
> 1) Quantitative measurements in the Upside-Down house clearly show objectionable difference
> in reference voltages. These occur even when or perhaps because, surge protective devices are
> present at the point of connection of appliances.
How does a protector work? Somehow its 2 cm part will stop what three kilometers of sky could not? Protector does not disconnect an appliance to protect from a surge. Its protector circuit is typically so undersized as to disconnect only the protector circuit. Abandon the appliance to confront the surge alone. Often a surge too small to overwhelm protection already inside a computer can destroy the grossly undersized power strip protector. That failure also promotes sales. It is a profit center - does not claim protection in its numeric specs.
More likely, the supply front end failed. A classic manufacturing defect. Caused the AC line fuse to blow (should have blown a fuse in the AC plug first). Manufacturing defects (not surges) are a most common reason for failure. But many without electrical knowledge will instead blame what retail advertising tells them to blame. Surge myths increase sales.
If you want surge protection, then spend much less money by doing what BT does. After all, BT suffers maybe 100 surges with each thunderstorm without damage. You typically suffer less than one surge every seven years. Therefore informed homeowners earth only one 'whole house' protector (ie ABB or Keison) so that no surge damages any appliances during the rare and destructive surge. Informed consumers earth only one 'whole house' protector to have surge protection. Or waste quid on that profit center Belkin.
Just got a PSU from my mate to borrow, but I can't check to see if everything is ok because it looks like my PSU has killed the fuse in the power lead, so I need to find a new fuse / lead to power my monitor now. 
Everything lives!!
Now I've got to sort out an RMA for this bloody thing.
Now I've got to sort out an RMA for this bloody thing.