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Identify my PSU. Power unit for PC


seeder

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Hi, a while back my desktop lamp blew the bulb....which shared a plug with my desktop PC...as a result, my PC died

So if try turn on the desktop PC all I get is....the light comes on but it doesnt power up, fans dont spin etc... so I expect its power supply unit, or PSU is gone. No biggie, Im confident changing things like that and its not exactly hard to do.

I was looking on ebay and PSU's are not that expensive..... but heres the dummy question.....how do I know which PSU I need? Ive not opened the case yet (as I have this laptop which keeps me online).....but now I want to fix the desktop and am a little bewildered by all the choice in PSU's...which one does my PC need? Is there a sticker on it telling me the type?

Any advice appreciated. Thanks

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Well. if you don't want to open the case, it is going to be a harder task ! Why would a blown lamp bulb kill your PC ? That I don't understand.

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9 minutes ago, seeder said:

So if try turn on the desktop PC all I get is....the light comes on but it doesnt power up, fans dont spin etc... so I expect its power supply unit, or PSU is gone. No biggie, Im confident changing things like that and its not exactly hard to do.

No beeping or audio warnings ?

Any indicator of activity on the monitor ?

Is the monitor attached to a different power source ?

~

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Just now, Habitat said:

Well. if you don't want to open the case, it is going to be a harder task ! Why would a blown lamp bulb kill your PC ? That I don't understand.

 

But I didnt say I dont want to open the case. I simply havent bothered as I also have a laptop... Ive spent YEARS fiddling with and getting PC's going again.....I even thought I was so good Id advertise my services....so really, stripping down a pc and rebuilding it is something I can do with one eye closed, while half asleep....theres not that much to them

When a bulb blows in a lamp it can also trip the main fuse box...as it did in my case. I just unplugged the lamp and turned the fuse on at the fusebox and that was that

The last time I needed to change a PSU I had a geek neighbour....who just took the PSU to work with him and bought me a replacement that worked. I never thought to ask him about different PSU's...

But he moved away long ago....and reading the ads on ebay it seems every PSU is slightly different

So the question remains. How do I know which one I need. They all look the same after all

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1 minute ago, third_eye said:

No beeping or audio warnings ?

Any indicator of activity on the monitor ?

Is the monitor attached to a different power source ?

~

 

Monitor comes on....just a black screen tho.....no dos screens, nothing....no BIOS etc

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1 minute ago, seeder said:

 

 

So the question remains. How do I know which one I need. They all look the same after all

Open it and see what brand/serial number it has on it, and google that. The last time something like that happened to me, my computer person said it might be a number of things, not necessarily the PCU. I just bought another computer, as it was old and giving trouble in other ways.

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Just now, seeder said:

 

Monitor comes on....just a black screen tho.....no dos screens, nothing....no BIOS etc

Can't say I agree with the PSU problem assessment but if you are sure that's the problem then best know the what Motherboard is and take it from there ... usually there are a few that is recommended for the CPU attached and internal peripherals that are required (Molex power sockets etc)  and from there its just a matter of choosing the best price for the buck or pennies ..

good luck ~

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5 minutes ago, Habitat said:

Open it and see what brand/serial number it has on it, and google that. The last time something like that happened to me, my computer person said it might be a number of things, not necessarily the PCU. I just bought another computer, as it was old and giving trouble in other ways.

 

Im not like that. I will try and fix anything, as said....theres really not much inside a PC.....why should I get rid of it for the sake of a £20 power supply? Of course if a new power supply should NOT fix the fault then Id be baffled..... but then Id still have the power supply to resell plus the memory and other bits

Before I even get to that stage tho Id probably take it to a repair shop....I just begrudge paying anyone £25 per hour just to look....when it most likely IS the psu

 

 

 

Edited by seeder
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1 minute ago, seeder said:

 

Im not like that. I will try and fix anything, as said....theres really not much inside a PC.....why should I get rid of it for the sake of a £20 power supply? Of course if a new power supply should NOT fix the fault then Id be baffled..... but then Id still have the power supply to resell plus the memory and other bits

Before I even got to that stage tho Id probably take it to a repair shop....I just begrudge paying anyone £25 per hour just to look....when it most likely IS the psu

I'm intrigued as to how the lamp and PC died at the same time. Something wrong there.

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4 minutes ago, Habitat said:

I'm intrigued as to how the lamp and PC died at the same time. Something wrong there.

 

Power surge maybe? Where the PC is I only have one plug socket with a three way adaptor plugged in so it can take 3 plugs. (PC, lamp, and screen).... Potential for overload is high...when a lamp bulb blows it can fry the fuse in its plug.....something I had to change...along with the bulb....to get the lamp working again

 

and YES...I put a fresh fuse in the PC plug too

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by seeder
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Well in order to know what PSU you have you need to open the case. The PSU should have a brand name and how many watts.

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The fact that the light comes on suggests it's not the PSU. If the PSU was fried, nothing would receive any power, not even a light, or the button to turn on the computer.

Hopefully just the PSU was damaged, but the motherboard could also be the issue. 

I agree, opening the case should be easy and then you can at least troubleshoot with the components you have inside. 

Edited by Timonthy
Typo.
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Open her up, as others have said.

You can't go far wrong with PSU's, as long as your system isn't an antique. Just make sure you have at least the same wattage. Otherwise you can have issues if its too low and you are running multiple hard drives, or a power hungry GFX card, etc.

It could also be a dead motherboard though :unsure2:

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2 minutes ago, LV-426 said:

Open her up, as others have said.

You can't go far wrong with PSU's, as long as your system isn't an antique. Just make sure you have at least the same wattage. Otherwise you can have issues if its too low and you are running multiple hard drives, or a power hungry GFX card, etc.

It could also be a dead motherboard though :unsure2:

 

for the sake of a £20 power supply.....Id rather try fix it... its a good spec PC, fast, huge memory, huge hard drive etc...

Im not bothered about the hard drive.....I have an external hard drive reader, so if the PC is really Kaput.....at least I know I can access the HD and get my data

I read about psu repair too.... as it has fuses too....so would seem obvious to try and repair it.....but then I read about the capacitors it has and the potential of getting a HUGE shock....so wont bother with that :lol:

 

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How do you know it isn't just a blown fuse, if you haven't opened the case ?

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4 minutes ago, Habitat said:

How do you know it isn't just a blown fuse, if you haven't opened the case ?

 

Look, first of all, its not a major issue....as said, I have a laptop....the desktop I use for mostly recordings/studio type work...

Next.....if you read about PSU's, then you will find info that suggests the fuses are soldered to the small circuit board it has inside...as I dont have a soldering iron, and have never used one either....and as a soldering iron and a new PSU are similar money...Id rather do the easy thing and replace the PSU..as said...I dont expect to pay more than £20- £30 for a new PSU

The PC plug....which goes to the wall socket, has already had a new fuse and made no difference...

Im basing the fact I might need a new PSU.....on the fact the PC is doing similar to what another PC I had...with almost identical symptoms....did. And that was solved with a new PSU

The fact the FANS dont spin on the PSU......would suggest to my simple way of thinking...that the PSU is the problem

 

However....I will do the simple PAPERCLIP test

 

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similar vid....better explanation

 

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How old is your PC? From your last post, it sounds like it's reasonably new.

You should easily be able to determine if it's the PSU, disconnect the power tO the motherboard and just leave a fan connected, see it that works.

Theres also a think called 'the paper clip test', just don't electrocute yourself. 

Personally, I'd rather buy a new PSU than tinker with one which might be damaged. Plenty of potential to damage more components...

Also, you may need to spend a bit more than £20- £30 if you have a 'good spec PC, fast, huge memory, huge hard drive etc...'. Make sure you get a powerful enough PSU.

Edited by Timonthy
Also...
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Replacing the PSU is easy.  Don't worry about the brand so much, although there are good ones and rubbish ones, corsair are a good bet if you want quality, otherwise just pay attention to the wattage, generally speaking I would suggest if it is an 'off the shelf' system a PSU 400 watts would be more than enough.

if it turns out it is t the PSU, that where it gets tricky, it could be one of a number of components, the graphics card, the RAM, the CPU, The motherboard itself.  If you consider a PC as being one circuit, any one of those not working will mean the PC will likely not start.

The process for discovering which component may be the problem requires you to have an alternative component to replace it with.  May be easier to take it into a repair shop.

hope this helps

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This happened to me with three desktops and it was my home circuit that was to blame.  Needed electricians to fix it.  In each case it was the CPU that got fried if a different gadget fuse or lamp fuse in my home blew.  I bought a replacement PSU the first time it happened.  grrr

A multimeter is only a tenner.  grrr.

p.s. It took out three desktops 'cos I was on the drink and drunk when I was doing my "troubleshooting".  I even managed to fry my main HDD with all my stolen good stuff on it.  Grrr again.

Edited by Eldorado
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My guess would be that if anything the PSU is fine, it's everything else that's gone. This isn't all that uncommon unfortunately. 

I am decent with electrical from as a hobby, I fix old school amps which requires basic soldering. I also do all the electrical on my car, but that being said, the PC is beyond me. Physically building one is childs play, but testing motherboards and whatnot isn't something I do. Haven't really had a reason to though. 

Regardless, best of luck seeder. I'm sure you'll figure it out one way or another. 

EDIT: Re-read your original post. Maybe you are right about PSU, only certain peripherals are getting power. Would like to test that with my meter, interesting. Keep us updated!

Edited by internetperson
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I think the issue got confused in regards to the 'lamp' still working from the initial explanation, I believe its the table lamp and not the PC casing panel HDD activity or On Off LED lights ...

So the PSU being faulty makes the most sense in that respect ...

~

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7 hours ago, acute said:

If it's not a homebrew PC, maybe you can find the PSU details in a service manual (online?)

 

The PC in question is at my desk.... I cant even remember the make without looking, Ive had a few different ones over the years!

So come the new week I shall just take the case off and unscrew the PSU.... looking for a sticker that states watts etc. If no sticker, yeh I will google the make/model to see what it should have inside

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Purchase the CMOS battery at the same time with the PSU ... might as well sort it all out at once ... the Heat Sink Thermal Gel too, if you want to revive the PC you might as well do it proper and do what's needed to get it up running in proper condition ~

Have the Motherboard User's manual handy and read through what you need to know at where the connectors are suppose to go and what Jumpers you need to know about , have a game plan ready before pulling or prying anything ... no point getting more unexpected surprises when its all in pieces ...

~

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