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Dimitryy
Gallente Ever Flow Atlas Alliance
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Posted - 2010.03.03 00:30:00 -
[1]
So i was out frolicking in the Eve universe last night ~0700 Eve Time, when the street i live on had some kind of voltage spike. Being a moron, neither of my PCs were plugged into surge protectors, however, the monitors were =/
While one the PCs simply restarted, the other one emit a bright flash of light and shut down permanently, and wont restart. Monitor and all the peripherals seem fine, but the PC itself is dead. I'm not really a hardware guy, so i'm not going to **** with it till i get some more info on what probably happened.
So essentially, what i'm trying to figure out is what exactly went wrong, what part of the PC probably died, and what can i do to fix it. And if there is no way to fix it, what can i salvage from it and what can i do to make it less likely to happen again. Any info would be appreciated, and if there are any easy diagnostics i can do to get you more information, let me know.
Thanks in advance,
Dimitry ------------------------------------------
Jack Blackstone > Dimitryy I hope you die. |
Paddlefoot Aeon
SiN Corp Daisho Syndicate
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Posted - 2010.03.03 03:53:00 -
[2]
Ouch...
Cross your fingers and hope that the problem is only the power supply that is burnt out.
If you're not a tech guy, then take it to a store and get it looked at, and hope the fix is a relatively cheap part (i.e. power supply)
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Lork Niffle
Gallente External Hard Drive
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Posted - 2010.03.03 07:24:00 -
[3]
If the system doesn't turn on. e.g The PSU doesn't fan up or start, should hopefully mean your PSU is blown and a simple fix by replacing it. It may be a more extreme case where your PSU is blown, your MoBo and CPU are blown as well and it will probablu be cheaper to buy an entire new system. I would advise plugging your hard drives into another system to get your personal files off it. ------------------------------------- The system issues man. |
GetIntheHold IHaveCandy
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Posted - 2010.03.04 02:24:00 -
[4]
In most occurrences of power spikes due to electrical grid issues I find that in most cases it is just the power supply that eats it. If it was from a lightning strike that is much more likely to fry more internal components. If it has no signs of life(no fans attempt to turn, no LEDs come on) then it is either the power supply or motherboard(I guess small chance of processors but that is extremely rare).
There are a few options available to you. Least expensive and may not involve leaving the house is if the power supply for the computer that didnt die is compatible with the one that did, try putting it in and for your testing purposes you only need to plug in to the Motherboard 20(or 24?)-pin and the 12v 4 pin and see if things like the fans and LEDs show a response. If just the power supply is dead then this should let your computer run up to the point where it will attempt to boot from a device(like the HDD) but will say it cannot boot(your HDD has no power to it). If this works, just buy new PSU and install and you are done. If this doesnt have any change then your board fried, time for a new one.
A second option is you can go to a computer electronics store and buy a new power supply, plug it into your dead system and see if it works. If it does you are done, if not most stores should accept it back as a return without a restock fee(check before buying) and it would mean your next likely culprit is mobo.
Third option is you can buy a power supply tester, plug it to the 20(or 24)pin connection and 12v 4-pin connection and if it gives values on the LCD screen that are stable then the PSU is good, if there is fluctuation, a beep noise, or it doesnt give any reading your PSU is bad(and this does not rule out your mobo also being bad).
Final option is to take it in to a computer repair shop and let them have a look. Im my experience the usual amount in US for diagnostics usually around $50(some places apply towards repairs as well). As a tech, I would never pay that much for something I could test in 5 minutes...but if you have no other options it is still a fallback. Also if you choose this option back your data up(or remove HDD completely) before bringing it in as I have found many places will try to push hard for a data backup even when it is not needed.
Best of luck to you and hope it ends up being just a PSU as anything beyond that starts getting very expensive and labor intensive fast. Any other questions let me know, I've been repair tech for around 10 years so I have come across a lot of problems.
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Morgaaan
Silver Snake Enterprise
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Posted - 2010.03.06 07:23:00 -
[5]
Just some added sugestions. 1.)When you get this fixed..make sure you dont cheap out on the power supply,its one of the most dritical parts in yer pc but tends to get neglected as it dont have the "Bling" factor like vidcards.Also a good PS can save the rest of your system.I lost 2 good PS's(100-150 bucks each)due to power spikes during thinderstorms. In both cases the ps went down but saved the rest of mt sytem.'EL cheapo " PS's tend to let other parts burn with them.
2> OK now that you went all out and got some kickass expensive PS,go get yerself a UPS (uninterupted power supply).This is diff from the part in yer computer,Its basicaly a battery back up with power filters(cleans and stablizes voltage ect..) and also surge protects.For 80-120 bucks you can gat a decent one.A UPS (in case of power outage) will power yer comp long enogh for you to sut it down properly,and some will also do this automaticaly if yer not home.In cases of brown outs,it will switch to battery for a bit then back when power comes back on.Since i got one of these(3 yrs now) I larf at thunderstorms and game away(well unless power goes out for more than 5 mins)>Oh and I havent lost a PS since then either :)
SS.E Recruitment |
Zorvoz
State Protectorate
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Posted - 2010.03.06 12:29:00 -
[6]
I suggest taking it to a "mom and pop" tech shop. Do not take it to Best Buy to the Geek Squad, they are slow and very expensive.
If there was a POP sound and your room stunk after the computer shut down, I would say that's definitely the power supply. Happened to me a lot during my tech history, but I would say that the computer sounds trashed. You can also look on the inside of the tower at the boards, and if any of them have a burn look anywhere on them, then that board is fried. When a computer gets surged, usually it's just the power supply, but there's the 75% chance that the whole thing is fried.
Please get a surge protector for the next one...
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Mashie Saldana
Red Federation
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Posted - 2010.03.06 16:39:00 -
[7]
I would say the PSU is blown. One very simple test you can do is unplug the biggest cable going from it to the motherboard (20 or 24pins and lots of colourful wires). When it is disconnected connect the PSU to the power outlet and take a paperclip and bridge the green to one of the black cables on the 20-24 pin connector. That is like hot wiering a car and should have the fan in the PSU spin up if it still works.
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Tonto Auri
Vhero' Multipurpose Corp
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Posted - 2010.03.06 23:03:00 -
[8]
Just show your toasted case to the specialist. Much faster and less likely cause more harm, than listening to forum "gurus". -- Thanks CCP for cu |
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