Dead Psu

Ya, so maybe my psu wasnt big enough for my computer or soemthing, i don't know, but after 2 years its dead, atleast thats what i think it is, im really hoping its not my mobo.


when i plug the computer in, all the lights flash, and no fans power up.

just flashing lights.

the power switch doesnt do anything

HELP !

A power supply can't really be too small for a system (unless you have a special form factor motherboard) your PSU might have died from a powersurge.

I have a computer with a power supply that's been running from 1998 so age doesn't really affect it (unless we're talking about decades)

Your best bet would be to get a another PSU and plug it in to see if it works.

That doesn't constitute a dead PSU because power is still being delivered to the motherboard and components.

First of all, make sure your cables are all plugged in securely. If the computer still wont come to life I would try a different PSU (borrow a friends) and see if it makes a difference.

If it does work, throw yours back in and try again to be SURE that the cables were all set up correctly. If yours still is a no go then you need to check if the tester PSU is a higher wattage. If it is I suggest getting a PSU of the same or greater wattage as theirs to be SURE that it works.
If it still doesn't work you will need to take all of the parts out of your computer and try to boot them out of the case. BE CAREFUL AS THIS WILL EXPOSE PARTS THAT CAN POSSIBLY ELECTIRCALLY SHOCK YOU! Lay out all of the parts on a fire resistant surface like cement or finished hardwood floors. Glass tables are great too. What you are doing it testing to see if there was a possible short within the case. If your computer will start out of case then you need to make sure that you cover any metal that your motherboard may be touching on the case. This will cause exactly what you said is happening!

Hope this helps you!

Oh, by the way Xel02, a PSU can be too small for a system in terms of wattage and/or the number of cables coming from it. A 200 watt PSU wouldn't even run my computer that has 2 7600RPM drives, a 6800GT OC, 2 CD Drives, 5 fans, and 3 other filled PCI slots. I am running a 480-watt PSU, which is hardly enough for a 6800GT Ultra!

Just thought I would let everyone, including you, know this.

Hey Truce, I meant sizewise and not power wise. That's what I thought he was referring to.

I stand corrected on the dead PSU though. I didn't see the last part about the flashing lights. However I would still try a different PSU just in case. It could easily be a case of a flaky PSU that is sending power in spurts.

However the chance that it was a short caused my the MOBO is a bit unlikely considering that it's been running for two years. And I've never heard of chip creep causing a MOBO to short, but I guess anything is possible.

Although if it was dropped or shifted a lot recently then that might cause it, but the poster never mentioned that.

Good luck.

Note. If you do intend to take out all your parts to check for a short, it would be a good idea to get an anti-static wrist strap.

He might have changed something but not mentioned it because he thought it was the PSU.

I bought one of the best PSU's out there and had surge supression and line conditioning on the power and guess what happened.. it literally blew up.. I replaced it but, every once and a while, if i'm working on my computer I'll find a small piece of power supply, lol.

Your kidding! What the heck did you do set the voltage wrong?
How's the rest of the computer if the PSU blew up?

I've fried a few things but I've never actually blown anything. Kudos to you darkermoon.

i dont get it tho, i mean i built it from the ground up, and then out of nowhere now my lcd dies, and my psu (i guess) dies, it has to have been a surge... its in a surge protector tho, and nothing happened when it happened. just i turned it off and the lights started blinking. it was so random.

im really hoping the whole mobo didnt just die.

heres the specs if you want them

2 2.8 ghz xeons
1 gig ram
2 10,000 rpm scsis with 2 coolers on a raid 0 setup

2 ide hds
platinum whatever soundblaster card
9800 aiw radeon


i cant remember everthing off the top of my head, but those are the basics.

heavy load :-p

If your LCD died at the same time that would indicate some sort of power failure.

When this happened did it shut itself down? And did anything else in the house shutdown? Maybe you noticed some lights got brigher or something?

As for a PSU, you'll definitely need a powerful one, I didn't expect your specs to be that high, since you were talking about a 2 year old computer.

Just going with what Truce said, have you moved the computer lately?

I think the best way to go about it now is to replace the PSU and see what happens. If it's a PSU problem its solved, if its a grounding problem you'll have a lot more work to do.

Also can you tell us what lights are flashing?

Good luck.

hmm well, i mean, i did move it from michigan to florida...

but that was 7 months ago, and the monitor didnt die right when the other did, it was 2 weeks before. and when the comp died, it was completely normal, i shut it down.


the lights that blink are the front panel's

the sound card's the video editing card (dvstorm2 pro)

and like the cd drive's lights

and it kind of clicks like

click click click


then i unplug the cord from the back of the comp and it (obviously) stops

Can you see where the clicking sound is coming from? If it's coming from a PSU it often indicates that its about to die or is dead.

I had a similar problem with a computer a friend gave me to fix. The front panel light was flashing and the PSU was clicking. I found that both of them were dead.

First unplug all the peripherals like the HDD and CD drive, floppy and so on. The only thing that should be connected to the PSU is the motherboard.

After that try listening and see where its coming from, another thing to do is unplug the PSU from the motherboard and plug it in. If it clicks then you know its obviously from the PSU.

Good luck.

Wow.....2 10,000 RPM drives! You should get a second PSU to help the extra juices flow. You have to get one that is made for secondary use though!

no, voltage and everything was right.. I think I'm just talented .. umm, everything else in my computer was fine somehow.. there were just bits of this half-burnt paper casing stuff all over the place. I know 3/4 of the people on here probably don't believe me but, it really happened. Cost me $150 too...