Loomer's computer troubles

[loomer]

Right, long story short, about a month ago I bought a new computer with a faulty motherboard. I got that replaced, the replacement had a bad PSU.

Today I bought a new PSU, a Titan 750W, and about half an hour ago it suddenly decided to die. It won't power up, whatsoever, not even to just bios or even just fan spin up.

What the fuck is going on? Is the PSU dead already? Did it fry my motherboard? I noticed the RAM clips had come slightly loose, which seems odd.

I've also disassembled the start button wire assembly, which was foolish in this state of panic, but I can fix that easily enough. Just need to find the right order for the plugs.

[Zixinus]

If I were you, the first thing I would do is to check whether the HDD still works at all.

[Singer]

I don't think it would be the hard drive since the power isn't coming on (although it's still worth checking just for the hell of it). Maybe look closely at the motherboard/etc. to make sure nothing is touching the metal part of the case that shouldn't be? And stupid question: did you flip the I/O power switch on the back?

Another possibility is that you are just having really bad luck with replacement parts.

[loomer]

Zix, not possible. My study computer is sufficiently outdated it doesn't have SATA support.

I'll give the motherboard a check for short circuits from the case, but I doubt that'd be it since it ran a good ten hours before it decided to conk out.

And believe me, I've since flipped that switch and unplugged-replugged it about a hundred times.

[Singer]

Do you have a spare PSU you could plug into the motherboard to see if it powers on? If it does, then your new 750W PSU is the problem.

[Zixinus]

Zix, not possible. My study computer is sufficiently outdated it doesn't have SATA support.

Then at least disconnect all other peripherals to limit any further potential damage to only your motherboard and PSU.

Get/burrow another PSU to see whether the motherboard boots up to even the BIOS check level. If it doesn't, you need a new motherboard. If it does, you just got a bad PSU.

don't think it would be the hard drive since the power isn't coming on (although it's still worth checking just for the hell of it).

I didn't mean that the HDD is the root of the problem. I mean that if you have troubles like this, the HDD's data is the most valuable and should be saved first.

[Singer]

I didn't mean that the HDD is the root of the problem. I mean that if you have troubles like this, the HDD's data is the most valuable and should be saved first.

Oh, okay. Yes, the data is definitely the most important thing. Always keep a backup on an external drive kids!

[loomer]

Only PSU I can verify I have that works is the one running my study computer, which is a 20 pin without an extra 4 loose, so it'd put extra strain on the rails. I'll give that a shot when I'm not flat out busy getting ready for the holiday I'm taking tomorrow (turns out, right before the school holidays, you can get fantastic off-peak prices and still enjoy some lowered drink rates)

[loomer]

Well, just got time to test the new PSU on the study comp. It's dead.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but even a completely shitty noname drive should run longer than ten hours before dying. I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't something causing PSU damage, in the electrical system.

[Singer]

That's possible I suppose, but until there are two dead PSUs in a row I think it's safe to assume that it was just a defective unit. I really think this was just bad luck.

[Zixinus]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but even a completely shitty noname drive should run longer than ten hours before dying.

Let me correct you: they shouldn't. That's why they are no-name. If they wouldn't be complete shit, they would have a name.

While brand-loyalty has its own manifestations of stupidity, when it comes to quality-sensitive items such as PSUs, you're only real measure of quality is brand history and perhaps jonnyguru.

[Enigma]

Check your video card.

My in-laws video card was fried from a power surge (thanks to Waste Management Inc.) and thus rendered the computer effectively dead. No power whatsoever. No lights, no fans, nothing. At first they bought another PSU thinking that it was it but even with the replacement it still didn't work. They took it to have it checked out and was told that it was the video card. They bought a newer card and the computer now works.

You did mention in another thread that you thought you may have vidcard troubles?

[loomer]

Graphics card works, independently verified on another system before the holiday, just like the PSU.

[loomer]

Bought a fresh PSU - a Gigabyte 720. We'll see how it goes now - another failure and I'm going to start investigating the power at the wall socket.

[Bounty]

Youn might want to stop buying cheap dodgy PSU's with wildly inflated power figures and go for a reliable brand.