Is this (a)a dead PS, (b) a dead CPU, or (c) a dead MB?

CaxusCaxus
edited November 2004 in Hardware
My friend's computer stopped working last night. I wasn't there but when i arrived on the scene the power on light was still on but the computer wasn't on and wasn't making any noise. When i tried to turning it back on all i got was that faint high pitched electrical squeak (you know the one) and nothing else. Not even the fans turned on.

My first instinct was that one of the fans died and something fried. After i asked, he said the computer had been noisy for a bit before it died which leads me to believe that i was right.

I'm thinking its probably the CPU/MB but the fact that nothing is powering on makes me wonder if it could just be the PSU. Anyone know what this probably is?

Comments

  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited November 2004
    depending on what kind of system he has...
    if he has an old athlon system and his cpu fan, then its likely his cpu is dead
    if he has something else with that thermal cut-off crap, then he may be lucky and the cpu is alright

    but since you aren't getting any noise at all (other than the discharging caps?) im gonna go ahead and say you should just test components, cause if the psu went then it may have taken something else with it anyway
  • CaxusCaxus
    edited November 2004
    Its a relatively new system. Athlon xp 2500 barton. I don't remember setting up any auto shutdown stuff though. Is that automatic or is that something you need to setup for it to work?
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited November 2004
    depends on the board. i haven't used an athlon system since my 1700+, which i definitely fried 4 times
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    Check the psu out of the system. Jumper it so that it will power up and check voltages with a meter.
    If it works then use jumper to hook fans up one at a time in order to find the dead ones.
    If you are lucky it is the psu fan and the psu died clean. It may have taken everything out with it though.
  • CaxusCaxus
    edited November 2004
    It was just the power supply, solved for $29.99 + tax.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2004
    solved for how long? I'm not sure that putting a $30 PS in there was such a good idea...
  • CaxusCaxus
    edited November 2004
    solved for how long? I'm not sure that putting a $30 PS in there was such a good idea...

    I dunno, sometimes i think people worry a bit too much about power supplies. For example, in my experience i don't see why anyone would ever need more than a 350w psu unless they had an unusual amount of drives or something. I know that the wattage rating is to be taken with a grain of salt but the psu in his system before was a 250w. My system has a 300w and thats an athlon 64 3200, with a radeon x800 xt pe, 2 harddrives, 2 cd/dvd drives and 3 case fans. So why do people always suggest much higher wattage?

    The power supply that my friend had before it died was absolute crap. This one, while not fantastic, isn't crap. The whole problem this time was that this guy has a bunch of animals in his house and the fan got stuck because of all the pet hair and dust in his house.
  • edcentricedcentric near Milwaukee, Wisconsin Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    The total rating isn't something to live and die by.
    I look for two things:
    1. What is the combined 3.3V + 5V rating? I want this over 200W.
    2. How much does it weigh? More metal in the transformer will result is more stable output and less temperature sensitivity.
    http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=17-153-006&DEPA=0
    This is my current favorite psu. I have 3 of these.
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