Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

[Drew]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

I totally agree. When I received the power supply with the whine, I asked the owner when did the whine start.

He said the whine was present for a few months. All that time, the computer/motherboard worked, but who knows how much overvoltage was on the 5V STBY before the power supply finally killed the motherboard.

So if the owner stopped using the computer when the whine first started, we might have been able to spot the bad capacitors BEFORE it had time to cause damage.

Also, as an intern, measuring a "good" power supply with a multimeter will give you experience in what to look for when troubleshooting a "bad" power supply.

Haha very true, now just to get a multimeter...

[shovenose]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

Ewww. Allied is total crap. Go for a good psu, like antec, seasonic, enermax, nzxt, and stuff like that...What type is the working psu from the oher system?

[retiredcaps]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

Yes, you should check the voltage of the working PSU.
Just because the PSU works, does not mean it is outputting the correct voltages, it just means the PC you took it out of was tolerating them the way they were.

I totally agree. When I received the power supply with the whine, I asked the owner when did the whine start.

He said the whine was present for a few months. All that time, the computer/motherboard worked, but who knows how much overvoltage was on the 5V STBY before the power supply finally killed the motherboard.

So if the owner stopped using the computer when the whine first started, we might have been able to spot the bad capacitors BEFORE it had time to cause damage.

Also, as an intern, measuring a "good" power supply with a multimeter will give you experience in what to look for when troubleshooting a "bad" power supply.

[Drew]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

Yea, I agree with what your saying. The psu that I pulled out of the other PC is an Allied model: AL-C350ATX MAX 350W. Do you know of any known/documented issues with this model?

[Drew]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

Well I will have more information on the issue tommorow but I would just like to get confirmation on what the cause of this problem is. So it is pretty safe saying that it was the faulty psu that caused the problem and not the 4 pin connector or the massive amount of dust that flew around when the machine was turned on.

[seanc]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

Yes, you should check the voltage of the working PSU.
Just because the PSU works, does not mean it is outputting the correct voltages, it just means the PC you took it out of was tolerating them the way they were.

Chances are it works OK, but after the Smart power, it's wise to check, don't you think?

[Drew]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

Alright and which psu should I check the voltage on? I think you are refering to the one that I took from the working machine but I'm just wondering why would I check the voltage of that psu when it is working fine in another machine.

[seanc]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

Yes you should wait until you check the voltages, as I mentioned earlier.

[Drew]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

I don't believe anyone has answered this yet but, should i hold off on trying to do anything else with the machine until i get a multimeter?

[Drew]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

I will plan on getting a multimeter probably this weekend, never had much use for one but it'll be useful now. On the note of the psu, there is about 8 computer cases here at the moment but they all came from my bosses house. So I know that the regular workstations aren't company property but the server boxes are another story. Getting a new psu depends solely upon the status of the one that may have fried the mobo. Hoping the mobo isn't completely useless so there would be 4 machines up and working. But yea back to the issue of a new psu it is currently not an option. If you have suggestions for one then please leave the name of it just incase the company okays the purchase.

[seanc]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

Multimeters can be bought very cheaply, if you wish to pursue topics like this further in the future, it's worthwhile getting one.
They can also be used around the home, to make sure the mains voltage terminals you're about to stick a screwdriver in, aren't supplying 240v (or in your case, 120v).

As for buying a new PSU, get the company to pay for it. It's their PC.

[Drew]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

You hooked the power supply up to what? The green light was where?

If you hooked up the power supply to the motherboard and the green 5VSB led came on, hook the P4 connector on and test it.

Do you have a multimeter in your office? You'd be wise to check the voltages of the PSU before going much further.

To my knowledge there is not one in the office. I might be able to get that information tomorrow when my boss is here. I apologize for my vagueness, yes I hooked up the psu from a machine i finished fixing the other day and hooked up the 24 pin connector along with the 4 pin connector. The green light on the mobo did come on when i flipped on the psu.

[Drew]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

My car started this morning when I went to work. Now I want to go home and it won't....

doo-doo happens!

Haha, probably left your lights on there . But I suppose stranger things have happened

[seanc]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

Just hooked up one of the working psu's I had in another machine and a light came on. Should I hook everything up to the working psu and see if it boots or just hook it up to a hd first?

You hooked the power supply up to what? The green light was where?

If you hooked up the power supply to the motherboard and the green 5VSB led came on, hook the P4 connector on and test it.

Do you have a multimeter in your office? You'd be wise to check the voltages of the PSU before going much further.

[Drew]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

What does 'interning' mean in this context?
I'm not familiar with the word intern, outside of someone working in a temporary position to gain experience.

Forgot my punctuation there lol. Here is what i was trying to say, "On the note of the power supply, I am an intern at this time so I really can not afford buying a new psu for a computer that is just going to be a test machine."

[Toasty]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

... My only question is why didn't it occur any of the times I had the machine on before, especially when I had it running for 5 minutes straight?

My car started this morning when I went to work. Now I want to go home and it won't....

doo-doo happens!

[Drew]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

Just hooked up one of the working psu's I had in another machine and a light came on. Should I hook everything up to the working psu and see if it boots or just hook it up to a hd first?

[seanc]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

My only question is why didn't it occur any of the times I had the machine on before, especially when I had it running for 5 minutes straight?

Perhaps in the last off/on cycle before it blew, the capacitor in question failed completely, causing a short.

[seanc]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

the power supply I am interning at the moment....

What does 'interning' mean in this context?
I'm not familiar with the word intern, outside of someone working in a temporary position to gain experience.

[Drew]

Re: Flipped the power switch on my psu and spark on mobo

If you were hearing a whining noise, I can 99% assure you the power supply had a bad capacitor.
That bad capacitor could have caused a voltage to go above its usual voltage, as mentioned by retiredcaps.

I kind of figured something was amiss with it but wasn't sure what the issue was. I looked around a bit on google to see what could cause it and there were a bunch of places saying that the smartpower series was very unreliable. Being an intern and all and not having hardly any experience figured since my boss didn't tell me that anything was wrong with it that it would be fine but looks like that wasn't the case. My only question is why didn't it occur any of the times I had the machine on before, especially when I had it running for 5 minutes straight?