| dj-mdx2 |
To the Techies out there, I need some advice. I'm assembling a micro ATX desktop with my daughter for her birthday, and I must confess it's been 7 or 8 years since I've built a PC.
Without boring you with all the details, my situation is that I'm using a Matrox socket 478 MOBO with Intel Celeron 3.0 GHz plus the usual components for a basic setup. The case is an Aspire XQpack with a built-in 420 W Power Supply Unit or PSU from newegg (which has received some bad reviews because of the PSU) . I'm pretty sure all the components will not even total 300 W, so no chance of overtaxing the PSU. During the building process, I turned on the unit 3 times to make sure there was power, and the PSU fan and case fan, LEDs and HDD indicator all came on. Once the system was finished, unfortunately, to my and my daughter's disappointment, only the Power indicator light came on. There was also a burning smell from the PSU. I immediately turned it off.
I called newegg and though they could not replace just the PSU, they did give me partial credit and I ordered a Coolmaster PSU with 2 built-in fans.
Well, today I put the new PSU in, made sure all connections were secure and again, only the Power indicator light came on. What's interesting is none of the PSU cooling fans came on. Unfortunately, I don't have a multitmeter or anything to test it with.
Does this mean my MOBO is fried? Or does this mean I received another bad PSU? In other words, do the cooling fans on newer PSUs come on if you power on just the PSU or do they work in series with the power to the MOBO and thus will not turn on if the MOBO is fried? I'd hate to disassemble everything and send components back and then wait for new parts to arrive.
Any help would be appreciated. Sorry for the longish post. |
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| mdxx3 |
| Some power supplies have a manual 115/230V switch (double check it's set to 115V), but some are universal/automatic. The fan inside the power supply normally turns on when it's on... it may be slowly/quietly when it's cold but it'll be on (other than those without a fan). Have you inspected the memory module, processor pins, etc for damages/etc? Also there something not too good about turning on the unit 3 times while assembling the first time but it may not be a problem. |
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| JL_SS |
| Are you properly grounding yourself when you are building? Usually if it's a bad power supply then you will get nothing at all, no lights, etc. I fried one myself by powering it up after installing memmory and touching the frame while standing on a carpet. The psu fans usually do come when starting. If there was a burning smell from the first psu then maybe it malfunctioned and damaged the mobo also. After checking all connections, I would return/replace the mobo if the problem persists. |
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| dj-mdx2 |
| Thanks for the replies. In answer to your questions: The new PSU has no voltage switch and is preset for North America (115V). The new PSU fans do not come on at all. Can I just plug the PSU to an outlet and check to see if the fans turn or will that be asking for trouble? I haven't had time to disassemble everything yet. JL-SS, that is my concern that the MOBO and CPU may have been damaged. |
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| mdxx3 |
| Plugging the power supply to an outlet wouldn't turn it on because it requires a start signal on one of the pins per the ATX specs. Using an ATX type power supply tester (module) can turn it on but not too many people have this tool. The next method is if you have another system where you can plug this power supply into for tests. Also double check the power switch on the enclosure is connected to correct pins on the motherboard. If you're using a power strip, double check the fault/reset button too. |
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| Warzau |
| Just to be clear, you want to plug in the PSU to a outlet not connected to a mobo? If that's the case thats why it won't work. It need to be connected to a MOBO at least with a CPU, MEM and a Vid card if there is no onboard video to at least POST. You can get a psu tester from a local computer store. |
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| dj-mdx2 |
Warzau, I've already installed the PSU in the case and hooked up to the MOBO and all that lit up was the power indicator on the case, very brief LED from case fan but nada anything else. MDXX3, thanks for clarifying the PSU not turning on without MOBO input - like I said I haven't built a PC in a while and I don't know much about how these newer PSUs work.
FWIW, I've received more intelligent replies here than on PC-specific forums I've posted this problem on. Thanks guys and keep the suggestions coming. |
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| mdxx3 |
| Did you try to clear the CMOS already to see if that helped? Also temporarily disconnect power to the HDD & optical drives (power to just the motherboard only for tests). Also some motherboards have a separate 4-pin "square" power connector (usually near the processor/socket) and verify that this is also connected to that power supply. |
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| dj-mdx2 |
Well, I think I've isolated the problem. Painstakingly removing all the installed components and powering up without the CPU, I found that the PSU fan, heatsink fan and DVD drive worked. So now my CPU is toast.
I wonder how the return process for CPUs is nowadays. Do they give you trouble if it's fried because of a PSU problem? Thing is, I bought the CPU and case with PSU from diferent vendors - TigerDirect and newegg respectively. Unfortunately, I've already sent the rebates :3: :3: :3: due to the short alotted time to send them in.
Thanks for the replies, though. |
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| JL_SS |
quote:
Originally posted by dj-mdx2
Well, I think I've isolated the problem. Painstakingly removing all the installed components and powering up without the CPU, I found that the PSU fan, heatsink fan and DVD drive worked. So now my CPU is toast.
I wonder how the return process for CPUs is nowadays. Do they give you trouble if it's fried because of a PSU problem? Thing is, I bought the CPU and case with PSU from diferent vendors - TigerDirect and newegg respectively. Unfortunately, I've already sent the rebates :3: :3: :3: due to the short alotted time to send them in.
Thanks for the replies, though.
Just return it as non working, no need to mention any psu problems. I doubt they will give you a problem, they just send it back to Intel. |
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