PC not Turning on

eddie57

eddie57

Member
There was a major power surge in my neighborhood yesterday. When I tried to start my PC it did not want to turn on. Can someone please give my some suggestions on what it might be and how I can test it. My coworker mentioned that it might be the power supply or the motherboard. That they may have been fried with the power surge. Any comments are appreciated. Thank you.
 
Edit: Before doing any testing, turn off power completely to the PC and turn on. Try to start. If the PSU has locked out, it may stay that way until the mains power is cycled.

Hopefully it is just your power supply which is first in line for the surge. You can check that by disconnecting cables within the PC and trying the "Paperclip Test". If you don't regularly fiddle with the PC, mark or make notes of each cable you disconnect so you can put them back correctly. Post the result of the test.
 
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The only way to find out what is bad is to start changing out the power supply and go from there if it doesn't turn on. I wouldn't be surprised if the motherboard was shot as well.
 
Nanobyte said:
Edit: Before doing any testing, turn off power completely to the PC and turn on. Try to start. If the PSU has locked out, it may stay that way until the mains power is cycled.

Hopefully it is just your power supply which is first in line for the surge. You can check that by disconnecting cables within the PC and trying the "Paperclip Test". If you don't regularly fiddle with the PC, mark or make notes of each cable you disconnect so you can put them back correctly. Post the result of the test.
Click to expand...

Please excuse my ignorance, but what should I see when I try the paperclip test? Should the fan go on or a light? I've taken the power supply for granted all my life since I've never had an issue with one. :)

PS: I forgot to mention that when there was a power surge yesterday my PC was not on. Not sure if that matters.
 
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Ideally you should check the voltages on the large connector with a digital multimeter but if the fans run that is a good start (12V is still intact). You will not see any lights because the PSU is disconnected from the rest of the PC (other than if the PSU has a light in it).

I suspect the power went off with the surge. The reason I suggested you cycle the power is that if the primary side of the PSU survived the surge, it may have tripped on the DC side with over-voltage. On many PSU that locks out a restart until mains power is turned off.
 
Paper Clip Test

When I run the paperclip test am I only supposed to dissconnect the wire to the motherboard or all wires connected to all areas of the computer?
 
I had the Powersupply tested. It's no good. Should I invest in a new one or do you think the Motherboard is fried also? Any comments are appreciated.
 
You won't know until you get a new power supply and continue testing components. Sometimes its only the power supply but most of the time, it kills other components.
 
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