My PC just died. FUCKING HELP.

[ExAm]

Alright, so I left for class this morning after flicking off my monitors and leaving my computer on. I come back, and the thing is off. I figure it's just been pwned by a windows auto-update. So I go to turn the thing back on, and the light on the button turns on, but nothing else. No noises, nothing. I unplug everything and plug it back in. I hit the button. Absolutely nothing. Nada. I figure it's the power supply so far, but I really don't know.
If it was the power supply, would it blow up everything it's hooked into upon death? Or would everything else be alright? I'm really hoping it's the second option.

[Jelly]

Can't be sure until you try another PSU, I'm afraid. Would depend on if the PSU died from a power surge or just coughed and died.

The problem could also be caused by a failed motherboard, so if another PSU doesn't work, that's the next suspect.

Also, check for dumb stuff, like the PSU being switched off, the computer not being plugged in.

[SnaFuBAR]

i'm guessing it's the board. i had the same problem and swapped in a spare psu i had. the board was done for.

[ExAm]

Can't be sure until you try another PSU, I'm afraid. Would depend on if the PSU died from a power surge or just coughed and died.

The problem could also be caused by a failed motherboard, so if another PSU doesn't work, that's the next suspect.

Also, check for dumb stuff, like the PSU being switched off, the computer not being plugged in.

The whole thing was plugged into a surge protector, so it probably coughed and died. My PSU has no switch, and I unplugged and plugged everything back in.

Also, it would fucking suck if it was the motherboard :(

[Cojafoji]

Take out the motherboard and examine it, look for any kind of scorching or even busted capacitors. If there are none, try another a PSU and see what happens.

[ExAm]

Going to take it all down to this electronics store and have the PSU tested.

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

Once with an old mobo/cpu i had, The mobo burnt out, and the cpu and the mobo where the only things that died :)

[ExAm]

If the CPU's dead, I'm fucked. I don't have enough money for a new mobo and CPU, only a power supply :(

[FluffyDucky™]

Well then just pray for the best! :) This happened to me once, I was not so lucky. :(

[legionaire45]

You can probably save a lot of money by just buying yourself a $15 PSU tester (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899705002) and testing the PSU on your own.

Sounds like the PSU died. If the PSU checks out, it could be motherboard or perhaps even memory or an expansion card.

[ExAm]

Bad memory and expansion cards don't cause the computer to fail to even turn on or make a noise when i press the power button.

[legionaire45]

Bad memory and expansion cards don't cause the computer to fail to even turn on or make a noise when i press the power button.
I thought it was booting, just not posting for some reason.

[Warsaw]

You are getting a black screen, so that rules it to Motherboard, CPU, or PSU. First guess is always PSU, since that's usually what dies first. After that, it's probably the motherboard, it's relatively hard to kill a CPU...

[ExAm]

You are getting a black screen, so that rules it to Motherboard, CPU, or PSU. First guess is always PSU, since that's usually what dies first. After that, it's probably the motherboard, it's relatively hard to kill a CPU...

I'm not "getting" anything. The power button does nothing.

[Warsaw]

That's what I mean, a black screen, no input, whatever you want to call it. The only other "black screen" I know of at least has a flickering underscore in the upper left corner...

[neuro]

hmm the power button doesnt do anything..

is it plugged in?

[Timo]

Happened to me where the power button would only work very seldomly (ended up leaving my computer on for days), it's your power supply.

[ExAm]

hmm the power button doesnt do anything..

is it plugged in?

Read the thread, please.



Good news, everyone!
lol you read that in farnsworth's voice didn't you
I took it to a computer store and had them test the power supply. It's dead! That means that I know the problem and (hopefully) that the motherboard is likely okay, so I can breathe a little easier.

[Warsaw]

Good to hear it. Now, get a quality PSU!

>:U

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

This roswell 500 watt I got on newegg has been serving me well, its fairly quiet with two LED fans, I can't complain, It has handled everything I've thrown at it.

[Cojafoji]

This roswell 500 watt I got on newegg has been serving me well, its fairly quiet with two LED fans, I can't complain, It has handled everything I've thrown at it.
hey, i've got the same psu! good price, and no problems. :D

[Pyong Kawaguchi]

High five!

[ExAm]

This roswell 500 watt I got on newegg has been serving me well, its fairly quiet with two LED fans, I can't complain, It has handled everything I've thrown at it.
Got my eye on a Rosewill 550w. Should work great. The first one I had was a cheapo OEM thing from Airnet, who I couldn't find anything else from. I think it was like 20 bucks.

Considering that computer components are actually going down in power consumption, the 550 still leaves me with some room to upgrade. I think.

[Warsaw]

550W is enough even to Crossfire two HD4850s I think.

[Cojafoji]

Got my eye on a Rosewill 550w. Should work great. The first one I had was a cheapo OEM thing from Airnet, who I couldn't find anything else from. I think it was like 20 bucks.

Considering that computer components are actually going down in power consumption, the 550 still leaves me with some room to upgrade. I think.
you know, rosewill and g.skill were the only two things on my computer that i took a risk on, and they both turned out to be insanely quality products. everything else was standard (evga, gigabyte, wd etc).

[ExAm]

I ordered the Rosewill, and funnily enough I have g.skill memory, which I hope wasn't blasted or something when the PSU went.

[Warsaw]

I had a Rosewill 420W that came with my case...it died after 4 years. I now have an HEC 580W (totally overkill for my computer), and it is awesome. As for RAM, had 2x GeIL 512MB DDR 400, and combined it with 2x G.Skill 1GB sticks. CPU couldn't handle all four RAM slots filled, so I pulled the GeIL and now I'm flying.

:)

[ExAm]

http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/ee6/TheExAm/0708091502.jpg

Woop woop :iamafag:

Everything's working now after installing a shiny new PSU. The vast majority of those cables are completely unused :downs:

[Warsaw]

I'm assuming it isn't modular? I have the same situation; cables aren't long enough to stuff in the unused 5.25" areas and they aren't modular.

[ExAm]

stuff in the unused 5.25" areasThanks! I hadn't thought of that :downs:

And yeah, not modular.

[Cojafoji]

I'm assuming it isn't modular? I have the same situation; cables aren't long enough to stuff in the unused 5.25" areas and they aren't modular.
haha same here. i wish i could have just cut em off. would have been a hell of a lot neater.

[Warsaw]

You see how bad mine is in the PC Pics thread.

=þ

[rossmum]

A tip for the people who suggested a new PSU - don't assume it's the PSU; test it in another computer before you blow money on a new one. My PC was resetting before post over and over and when it did boot, nothing displayed on the monitor; shortly afterwards, it stopped working altogether. This happened literally overnight and it sure wasn't the PSU, as it's currently powering my new PC. As far as I can tell, the motherboard was entirely at fault.

Testing one part at a time is the way to go.

[ExAm]

A tip for the people who suggested a new PSU - don't assume it's the PSU; test it in another computer before you blow money on a new one. My PC was resetting before post over and over and when it did boot, nothing displayed on the monitor; shortly afterwards, it stopped working altogether. This happened literally overnight and it sure wasn't the PSU, as it's currently powering my new PC. As far as I can tell, the motherboard was entirely at fault.

Testing one part at a time is the way to go.

I forgot to mention that yes, I did in fact do this:

Going to take it all down to this electronics store and have the PSU tested.

It was toast :S

You mentioned that your computer was resetting before POST. Mine did absolutely nothing. Zero. Zip. No lights, no sounds, no fan movement. That, and I can usually hear a high pitched whine when the PSU is plugged in, whether it's on or off, and I couldn't hear it after it stopped responding.

That said, if you have a computer that shows the symptoms of mine in this case, even if you aren't capable of hearing the noise in the transformer, I think it's a good bet that the power supply is dead.

[rossmum]

Yeah, mine stopped everything after a while - at first it wouldn't post, then it wouldn't even flash a light or anything.