Right, I built my PC about 2 years ago, and it's been working fine until today, when it just won't turn on. No lights on the motherboard, PSU, nothing. No fans start, no beeps, or anything. This is why I hope it is just the PSU, which is a 650W Silverpower brand. (Blue LED's) I went to check the fuse box and the switch which controls the upstairs plug sockets (where the pc is) had turned off, after turning it back on it still doesn't work. I've tried plugging the pc in downstairs but to no avail. After i turned the pc off last night I also turned it off at the plug, which I don't normally do, because I'm paying bills this year and was worried about and electricity it may be gobbling up. Could this be a reason? Maybe when I turned it back on it blew the fuse? Hopefully people can help me with this, I hope only the psu has gone and nothing else, I'm on a limited budget at the moment. The rest of the spec should be in my sig. Thanks.
Disconnect and remove the PSU from the case. Plug it in, and use a piece of wire or metal paper-clip to connect the green wire in the ATX-24 connector to a black wire. If the PSU fan starts spinning, the problem may not be with the PSU (you'd need to borrow a multimeter/voltmeter to know for sure).
It could be a surge from when the fuse blew. Was it plugged into a surge protector? I'd probably replace the PSU as a starting point, it's the most likely thing to have gone wrong. Unless you have a spare computer to test the parts. That'd be handy :
I can only see one green wire and many black wires, does it matter which black wire I connect it to? And how safe is using a paper-clip? I'm not gonna get electrocuted am I? As for spare parts, I have none handy unfortunately.
Any black wire is fine. Unless you stick the paperclip into the IEC-C13 (kettle lead) connector from the mains, you'll be fine.
Right, considering I cannot currently find a paper clip I decided to go play the xbox, only to find my monitor also won't work. The two cables I used to test my PSU, the original one and the one from my monitor, neither now works. Why is this? Has my PC blown both when I tried to turn it on? I have another one, which is used for my guitar amp, which I have tried on the monitor, and the monitor works with it, I'm just wondering whether to try this lead with the pc or not, because I kinda need it to play the guitar. Will it just blow the fuse in this lead too if I try it or did both fuses blow when I had a power surge? (I hope all that makes sense) If it is just a case of the leads being broken then this is gonna turn out a lot cheaper than buying a new PSU
Right, that does indeed sound like the fuses have blown in the power leads. If your monitor works OK with the guitar amp power lead, check your PC using that lead too. If everything switches on OK, you just need new fuses. If using the PC with that lead blows its fuse too, you do have a problem with your PSU. Your PSU may come with a 13A fuse, but 5A will be fine. Your monitor probably has a 5A fuse already. Boyes/Wilkinsons/Maplin should have a 5 pack of 5A fuses for about £1.50 or so which should sort you out if the PC works OK with your amps lead.
Okay, tried the lead. It blew with a spark and a nice smell of smoke :S. Great haha. So why does every lead I try keep blowing? Is it the PSU?
undoubtedly, if the lead blew when you connected it to power supply on pc, there is a more than likely a short circuit, within power supply. remove power supply and see if you can get a new one, as its a bank holiday, pc world is probably your best bet
Don't suppose there's a switch at the back of the PSU which says "115" is there? If there is, flick it over to "230". It's a long shot, though. Otherwise, your PSU is toast. Yoiu definately need a new one. And some fuses too.
I'm looking for a good one on the Scan website at the moment, there is a reliable 520W Corsair modular psu I could probably afford, but how much power do I need for my system? The spec is as followed: Core 2 Duo E6320 overclocked to 2.8Ghz Asus 8800GT Asus P5K Premium 500Gb Samsung Spinpoint 3GB RAM
Ok, and last thing, the plugs for the monitor and PSU, one is a 5A fuse the other is a 10A fuse, but I don't know which is for which. My monitor is a samsung syncmaster. Any problem with using a too high/low fuse?
dont go with 400w, go with something higher, 400w, is unlikely to have enough power on the 12v rail 8800's are very fussy when it comes to power 5 amp will be ample for both - 5*240= 1200w
That 520W Corsair PSU will be perfect for you. Very reliable PSU from a very reliable make. I can't fault Corsair at all. It should be more than enough for your system.
