PSU dead?

loltim · 9 Oct 2007 at 20:06

Just had my new PC running fine for well over an hour today, I turned it off after I'd installed Vista and connected my 2nd HD so I could get all my old files.. however it wouldn't boot, absolutely nothing when I press the power button, not even a fan twitch or beep :confused:

so I removed the 2nd HD and tried again, nothing :confused:

Is the PSU dead? I know there's power to the board as the LED is on. So either the PSU's dead or my power button's broken. No idea why the power button would break after fitting a 2nd HD but meh, i'm out of ideas. Is there a way I can short the pins and boot without the on/off button?

It's a Enermax 620W so it should handle my setup ok.. e6750/asus p35/4gb PC6400/2900Pro/1 x 150gb raptor/1 x 160gb samsung/dvdrw.

Any ideas guys? Maybe I shorted something?

Admiral Huddy · 9 Oct 2007 at 20:18

Unlikely you have shorted something.. Must be a duff PSU.. check this out :

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17757782&highlight=startername_Admiral+Huddy

loltim · 9 Oct 2007 at 20:28

Thanks, I just dont understand why it was fine untill I plugged in the 2nd HD, looks like a phone call to Enermax

So frustrating, cant see Enermax RMA'ing in less than 2 weeks, so 2 weeks without my brand new hardware :\

Admiral Huddy · 9 Oct 2007 at 20:46

Might be just coincidence..

Try striping the system back to bare essentials.. then see what happens.. as suggested in my PSU guide.

steve258 · 9 Oct 2007 at 20:46

I'm just guessing here but maybe when you installed the 2nd HDD you accidentally loosened the power switch pins connecting the power button to the mobo? The pins are quite close to the 3.5" drive bays in most cases.

You can boot the computer up without the power button by shorting the power switch pins on the mobo with a metal object.

loltim · 9 Oct 2007 at 20:52

Tried everything guys, stripped it down twice now. Definitely no loose cables, the PSU's 100% dead (although the mobo LED is on :confused:

)

Just ordered a Corsair 620, what's the chances that the PSU's taken out the mobo and CPU too? :\ I guess i'll find out..

Admiral Huddy · 9 Oct 2007 at 20:53

Doubt it would have done..

loltim · 9 Oct 2007 at 21:02

Should I have heard a pop or bang when it went?

Heard nothing..

loltim · 10 Oct 2007 at 07:37

Guys what if I used my old X-Pro 460W thats in the family PC untill my Enermax is RMA'd? I wouldn't be wasting any money on a new PSU then, but would the X-Pro cope?

Can't remember the specs without looking but I remember them having a good 12A line, good overclockers PSU's back in the day...

What you reckon?

Admiral Huddy · 10 Oct 2007 at 12:56

Try it and see.. If it becomes unstable.. you know what it is.
Strictly speaking, you should have both the 24pin and 8pin connected.

markk · 10 Oct 2007 at 13:24

Poor timmeh

, give you some time to find that cooler

loltim · 10 Oct 2007 at 19:16

Would it boot or even make the fans start with just a 20 pin ATX cable? Cos it didn't boot with the X-pro

Damn I reckon it's the mobo, got an RMA no for the Enermax too, AAAAAAAARGH!

markf said:
Poor timmeh , give you some time to find that cooler

lol, this is murder, E6750 and 2900Pro just sat there.

PikKOn · 10 Oct 2007 at 20:34

You say your LED is on the mobo I would have thought that your PC would be operational? I've got a similar problem at the moment but I narrowed it down to either Processor or Mobo but my LED is lit on the mobo so it can't be that I guess :| If the PSU is powering the graphics, mobo and the heatsink then the PSU should be operational... I would have thought Enermax are the most reliable PSU you can find on the market.

Question: can a processor die if the heatsink happens to die, i.e. stop working for about 5 seconds? It happened to me and saw some smoke coming out

as the stock heatsink for my E6600 stopped working all of a sudden which caused me to replace it.

loltim · 10 Oct 2007 at 20:52

No it'd throttle and shutdown I would have thought.

argh, how do I know if my CPU or mobo's failed without spare parts to test, still could be the PSU at fault without a 24 pin cable for testing..

agw_01 · 10 Oct 2007 at 20:59

Tim said:
the PSU's 100% dead (although the mobo LED is on)

One of my machines went down earlier last week with PSU failure. Took the PSU apart and something inside had melted, nice..

Put it back together and plugged it into the motherboard, the light on the board came on but the machine wouldn't turn on when I pressed the power button. Removed the ATX connector and after bridging the ATX-ON pin against a ground pin, turned the PSU on. To my suprise, it fired up.

Tried a 12v fan with it, and it worked fine. Tried a hard drive and... nothing. So, it may just be that something inside the PSU has died and it can't cope with the demand you're putting on it. Have you tried to get it to power on by bridging the two pins?

Just ordered a Corsair 620, what's the chances that the PSU's taken out the mobo and CPU too? :\ I guess i'll find out..

Quite slim I'd say. Most decent PSUs do offer some kind of protection against the other hardware in the machine. And it didn't pop or bang did it? Doubt you've got anything to worry about.

loltim · 10 Oct 2007 at 21:15

yeah I tried bridging the 2 pins together, nothing

(this would only prove the on/off button was faulty, though?)

Can anyone answer the below? If fans should start etc. then I can just wait for my replacement PSU. If not, I need to RMA my CPU or mobo.

Tim said:
Would it boot or even make the fans start with just a 20 pin ATX cable?

I cancelled the Corsair 620 in the end, Andy. Can't really afford it

agw_01 · 10 Oct 2007 at 21:23

If you bridged the two pins and nothing happened, the PSU is dead. Could be as simple as the fuse within the PSU, could be something much worse.

What do you mean by it making the fans start with just the 20 pin ATX cable? Are you talking about running without the full 24 pin cable connected (assuming this is an ATX 2.0 PSU).