Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Your question

New PSU, Computer Won't Boot, No HDD Activity

Tags:
  • Computers
  • Boot
  • Hard Drives
  • Systems
Last response: in Systems
Share
January 15, 2014 3:17:10 PM

A couple of weeks ago I asked the forums about this little problem: http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-1933073/computer...

As prompted by the helpful folks there, I bought a new PSU of the same make and model as the original. After replacing the PSU and putting everything back in place, I tried starting it up. The power light goes to the orange standby color, I can hear the fans whirring, along with the hard drive, but the activity light for the hard drive shows nothing. I'm at my wit's end here, any ideas?

More about : psu computer boot hdd activity

January 15, 2014 3:23:27 PM

Please be sure all power connectors have been plugged in the appropriate places. Particularly the extra 12V (usually 4 pin) connector near the CPU.
m
0
l
January 15, 2014 3:34:35 PM

Eximo said:
Please be sure all power connectors have been plugged in the appropriate places. Particularly the extra 12V (usually 4 pin) connector near the CPU.


I have. Both are VERY firmly plugged in.
m
0
l
Related resources
January 15, 2014 4:05:47 PM

shortstuff_mt said:
This troubleshooting checklist should help narrow down what's causing the problem.


Thanks for the link, but the few things I hadn't already done proved useless. :/ 
m
0
l
January 15, 2014 4:09:42 PM

So do you get beeps when you try and boot with no RAM installed? What were the results of the breadboarding step?
m
0
l
January 15, 2014 4:22:50 PM

shortstuff_mt said:
So do you get beeps when you try and boot with no RAM installed? What were the results of the breadboarding step?


No beeps without RAM, which is worrying, and I don't have the materials or know-how to breadboard.
m
0
l
January 15, 2014 4:27:18 PM

If you have a system speaker installed and don't get any beeps from the motherboard when there is no RAM installed it sounds like the PSU killed other components when it died. It's not uncommon for that to happen since a dying PSU can send out voltage spikes that fry other components.
m
0
l
January 15, 2014 4:31:20 PM

shortstuff_mt said:
If you have a system speaker installed and don't get any beeps from the motherboard when there is no RAM installed it sounds like the PSU killed other components when it died. It's not uncommon for that to happen since a dying PSU can send out voltage spikes that fry other components.


Before I replaced the PSU, I could get beeps from the system speaker, but now that the new one is in... Nada.
m
0
l
January 15, 2014 4:37:53 PM

The new PSU could possibly be faulty or you have not plugged something in correctly. You said you replaced it with the same model that came in the system. OEMs like Dell use cheap PSUs. Next time a cheap OEM PSU fails that should be your chance to replace it with a quality PSU from a reputable company. I imagine since it's a cheap PSU it has a red voltage selector on the back (a dead give-away of a low quality PSU). Is the voltage selector set to the right voltage? Is there an on/off switch on the back of the PSU?
m
0
l
January 15, 2014 4:43:28 PM

shortstuff_mt said:
The new PSU could possibly be faulty or you have not plugged something in correctly. You said you replaced it with the same model that came in the system. OEMs like Dell use cheap PSUs. Next time a cheap OEM PSU fails that should be your chance to replace it with a quality PSU from a reputable company. I imagine since it's a cheap PSU it has a red voltage selector on the back (a dead give-away of a low quality PSU). Is the voltage selector set to the right voltage? Is there an on/off switch on the back of the PSU?


(Accidentally selected this as best answer, sorry.)

My limiting factors on getting a new PSU were Case Size and hardware knowledge, so I went the safe route. The PSU I got DOES have a red voltage selector on the back in place of an I/O switch, with two voltages: 15 and 30. The green LED only lights up if it is set to 15 volts.
m
0
l
!