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Has my PC power supply failed?
Steve Hignett - 4/12/10 at 06:13 PM

Hi All,

My PC at work won't switch on.

It's the only one that can print so it's a bit of a PITA

I've just installed a new DVD drive and also Win 7 and that was working fine for a few days, then I realised (was told ) that I hadn't activated the OS, so I did that.

Then I put into sleep mode on Thurs evening and it wouldn't turn on Fri morn...

Is there a way to check the Power supply? My way of checking is to repeatedly press the power button and have it not do anything (I'm very technical )

Thanks in advance!

Steve


bigpig - 4/12/10 at 06:19 PM

If you have any usb devices (e.g. a mobile phone) they can charge off USB power on many PCs with it shut down.

One thing could be that its got stuck after hibernate. mine does this on win 7 occasionally. Pull the mains cable out, give it a minute or so for the capacitors to drain then plug it back in and see if it boots.


T66 - 4/12/10 at 06:26 PM

Sometimes the kettle lead where it goes into the PS will have a switch & led power light - Is the switch on ? Have you looked ?


Is the kettle lead in ?

Is the fuse ok ?


Plug it into another wall socket


If its running through a surge protector or extension - plug it in the wall direct.


if your after anymore, have a look at my old favourite www.bleepingcomputer.com , has answers for most things


Steve Hignett - 4/12/10 at 06:41 PM

Balls - I knew I could have elaborated slightly

I have tried:

Ensuring kettle lead is secure
Removing and replacing
Checking to see if there's a switch been knocked (NO - although there is a fuse, but couldn't see if blown or not!)
Plugged into another socket (YES, direct to wall rather than extension)
The other devices plugged in via extension (monitor, speakers, phone) are all fine

Keep advice coming, thanks v much!


mookaloid - 4/12/10 at 06:51 PM

Could be the switch - I have had this before...


stevebubs - 4/12/10 at 06:55 PM

First of all, I would unplug all the drives from the PSU And the motherboard. HAve seen issues where an incorrectly fitted IDE cable (upside down) can cause a box to refuse to power up.

If, with all peripherals unplugged, the motherboard still fails to power up, pop down the local PC shop and buy a cheap one ... doubt it should cost more than £15

5 minute job to plug the new one in to check...shouldn't even need to disassemble anything for a quick verification.


McLannahan - 4/12/10 at 06:56 PM

Pants - Is this the IBM? If it is it's not a standard type power supply.....

Without teaching you to suck eggs - it's not still sleeping is it?

Does anything happen at all when you press the button?


Steve Hignett - 4/12/10 at 08:04 PM

Pants...
Yes its IBM
Nothing at all happens at pressing the power button, can't see or hear a single thing. Tried short and long presses etc in case of sleep mode.
Is there a way of bypassing switch to test whether its that or power supply?


balidey - 4/12/10 at 08:34 PM

I too have had a couple of switches fail. They just send a mometary pulse to the Mobo which then fires up the PSU (or something like that) and there is a way of doing this. You need to find the lead from the switch to the mobo, remove it and then you short out a couple of the pins. Now you will need to google the rest as I don't know which pins you do. Maybe someone on here can tell you? just a screwdriver blade across them will fire up the PC, if it is infact the switch.


Liam - 4/12/10 at 08:46 PM

You could just swap the case reset and power buttons at the mobo connector as a quick test of the power button. You can also test the PSU in isolation by disconnecting it completely from the mobo and shorting two pins with a paperclip (best google which ones though!). Worth doing as it could potentially be the mobo, though it does rather sound like the PSU has gone to electronics heaven. Were there any funny smells? Did it let the magic smoke out?


McLannahan - 4/12/10 at 08:55 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Steve Hignett
Pants...
Yes its IBM
Nothing at all happens at pressing the power button, can't see or hear a single thing. Tried short and long presses etc in case of sleep mode.
Is there a way of bypassing switch to test whether its that or power supply?



Ahh crap. The switches and front panel are on a small daughter board connected with a ribbon cable so sadly not as easy as just shorting two obvious pins together. Still what needs to be done to test the switch but not so easy to track down which two pins it'll be when it's a extra circuit board and an anonymous ribbon cable.

It's not sounding good but worth checking if it's in warranty still?

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=look-warnty