Hey guys,
ok so I turn off my computer off one night, and in the morning I go to turn it on and it doesn't boot. I poked around inside and all the Motherboard lights were on and showing the correct colors. So I turn the power supply off for the rest of the day and check it when I get back.....still doesn't boot up. So then I pull the computer apart piece by piece to see if I can get a error message from the motherboard or perhaps even just get the fans to turn on.........no success. I've eliminated: harddrive, disk drives, as well as the power switch. I also tried booting with a cleared cmos, no or reduced ram, as well as without a video card.......no success. So this has left me with 3 options where the problem might be occuring: Motherboard, Processor, or Power supply. I just recently pulled all of my powersupply connectors off my motherboard and tried to get it to start up by crossing the PS_ON pin(number 14) with the nearest ground(pin 15); this also didn't work. Thus this has led me to believe that my problem is in my power supply............any ideas?

Overview:
a) comp wont boot
b) power supply will not power up....thus case fans remain off.
c) Cant manually turn on Power supply. (connect pin 14 and 15)

I dont have another power supply around here for me to check to make sure it's the power supply.

Thanks

-Mr.Tomato

Does it make sense for it to be the power supply?? Perhaps??? I'm just looking for some support or something because I dont have the Money to drop on another one if that isn't the problem. Thanks....

Yes, it does sound like the power supply, but sadly, the only way to be sure is to test yours, or swap in known good supply.

I keep a FrozenCPU Ultimate PSU Tester in my travel tool bag. It is not as good as a good meter in the hands of a qualified technician, but darn close. The CompUSA PSU Tester is considerably cheaper, less informative, but still useful. And Newegg has several to choose from. These all contain a "dummy load" to fool the PSU into thinking it is connected to a motherboard, and therefore allow the PSU to power on, if able. They still cost money, but are cheaper than a good PSU. I keeping a spare PSU on my bench with a cheap tester similar to CompUSA's connected to test fans and drive motors - works greats.

You can always take the PSU to a shop for to test.

Sweet, Thanks Man! I think i'll take it to a shop just to make sure it's broken before I drop more money on it.

I suggest you look at the eXtreme PSU Calculator Lite before buying a new PSU to make sure you get one that meets your power needs today, and for the near future. Plug in all the hardware you think you might have in 2 or 3 years (extra drives, bigger or 2nd video card, more RAM, etc.). Basing your purchase on your near future power needs may cost a few dollars more today, but save you from having to toss the new supply and fork out a bunch more cash next year for a bigger one if you decide to upgrade your video card, add RAM, etc.

Be sure to read and heed the notes at the bottom. And if you participate in distributive computing projects, I recommend setting TDP to 100%.

Some shops will wave the testing fee if you buy a new PSU from them. Of course, you have to watch out because sadly, not all shops are honest and will tell you the supply is bad just to make the PSU sale. Those guys make the rest of us look bad.

Good Points Digerati, Thank you. I think I just might poke around some of the shops today to see if they even have a power supply that would be worth buying. I figure for future needs I'll probably need something at or above 450W. Now the problem is to find a shop that is selling a reliable cheap one...

Would you pour cheap gas down your car's tank? Okay, you might but would you expect it to run at peak performance? A car engine can miss a beat and keep running - not so with digital electronics. I recommend you stick to the supplies found on the "Good" side of PC Mechanic's PSU Reference List.