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View Full Version : Think my power supply is bad


10-24-2005, 03:56 AM
I was on my PC last night and everything just shut off. No power, nothing. Could not get it to turn on. Hoping it's the power suppy. Is it complicated to replace. I don't want to fork over 100 dollars to best buy if I can do it myself. Hopefully my motherboard isn't fried.

Thanks for the time...

10-24-2005, 01:33 PM
Be sure to check all the power connections inside and outside the computer. Specifically check the wires that connect the "on" button with the motherboard, loose wires here would result in absolutely nothing happening when you hit the power button. Check the back of the power supply to make sure any switches are set to "on".

Do you smell anything unusual (like burnt plastic)? If the power supply failed by overheating, there should be an odor associated with that.

If you check everything and you don't notice anything wrong, it is likely a power supply issue. This isn't to say you don't have a power supply AND main board issue, it is possible more than one thing is wrong. If the power supply was working and you had a motherboard or memory issue, you'd get a rapid repeating "beep" from your computer and it would try to start when you hit power.

If you have access to another computer, try swapping power supplys. If you do end up buying a new power supply, like most any computer component, save yourself money and time by installing it yourself. Installing a power supply should be pretty self explanatory; simply plug everything in the same way the previous power supply was hooked up.

MisterW

10-25-2005, 05:47 AM
Thanks for the reply. I was able to get everything to work. It did turn out to be the power supply. I was afraid that the odor I was smelling was my motherboard getting fried. PC works great now. Only hiccup was having to make two trips to the store because I bought a power supply with the wrong plug.