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You guys were a great help recently when my roommate's PSU audibly "popped". He had a friend who is good with computers and checked it out, then just gave him a new standard PSU then he was fine.

Yesterday, I left for work and my wife was going to move our computers around after our landlord got some stuff out of our place and we could really set up. She had asked me if it was okay to let her use my nice surge protector and I use the outlets and her splitters where my new setup was. So, this morning I was plugging things in and my computer seems dead now. She put some six way splitter into a standard 2 plug outlet and also had a small surge protector plugged into it. I plugged my monitor into the surge protector but I guess made the mistake of plugging my PSU into the 6 way splitter. It seemed to have a slight crackle and electric blue spark, then my computer just won't turn on no matter what I do.

Is it possible that I just have some short and can be fixed or am I looking at replacing hardware?

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First, get rid of that 6-way splitter and buy yourself a good powerstrip with surge protection. You can easilly Google them and find a good one for less than 20$. Secondly, I like to use an outlet tester to make sure that the outlet is properly grounded. You can get one at any hardware store for around $15. It just plugs into the outlet and lights telling you if it's wired correctly or not. If the outlet isnt properly grounded a surge protecter will be useless. Now, did the spark come from the plug or the PSU? You can test the PSU by removing it from the case, jumping the green wire to a black wire on the 20 pin plug, then plugging the PSU in the outlet. If the fan doesn't spin, its dead. If it does spin then it might have a 12v, 5v..ect. or it may be fine. If you decide to test the PSU yourself, make sure it is removed from the case and is completely disconnected from all the components in you case. You dont need to chance bruning out something else. Oh, and if the fan doesn't spin, make sure that the power switch on the back of the PSU is in the ON position. You'd be supprised how many "repair" calls I did after people moved and accidentally hit that switch.

Reply to drevl182

Check the house fuse or try a different outlet.

------------------------------ Google is your friend and Bob's your uncle
Reply to evongugg

The good powerstrip that I gave up has an indicator for if the outlet is properly grounded and the place we live now gave it the OK before. I kind of argued with her that I didn't want to give up my surge protector, but it is too late now I guess。The spark came from the plug if that means anything.

I am kind of scared to try what you suggested drevl. I think I know how to unscrew the PSU, but how exactly do I jump the wires? I don't understand the sentence about 12v 5v, etc. too. Also, yeah I checked the on switch on the PSU.

Reply to c999

How To: Jump Start A Power Supply (PSU) / Test A Power Supply And Components

http://www.overclock.net/faqs/9671 [...] y-psu.html

------------------------------ Google is your friend and Bob's your uncle
Reply to evongugg

Don't be afraid of your PSU. Just take a paperclip and unbend it, that will do to jump it. Just take one end into the green wire on the biggest connector, then the other in any of the black wires. It can't shock you or anything because you're only holding one side of the circuit, so if you get shocked, congrats, you just defied physics. If you do that and the fan on the PSU turns on, it may be okay. If it does then you need to test each individual power rail. A PSU provides a number of different voltages, mainly 5V and 12V. Each of these need to be checked that the PSU is actually outputting an acceptable value for it to be okay (and that doesn't even guarantee it). If you've never had experience with a multimeter, now is a good time to get some. Of course, you do this with the PSU completely unplugged from your computer - the only thing that it should be connected to is a wall outlet.

Reply to frozenlead

Well, if the spark came from the outlet I would remove the 6-way and just plug in a lamp or some simple electronic device sucha as an alarm clock. Then wiggle it around to see if it sparks or even works still. It could just be the 6-way or the outlet itself. Also try both upper and lower outlet. If they bothe work try plugging in the PC and see if it boots. If the outlet doesn't work check the breaker. If it's not "popped" then the outlet may need replaced. Your landlord will fix that.

Reply to drevl182
Tom's Hardware > Forum > CPU & Components > Power Supplies, PC Cases & Case Mods > I Think My PSU Is Dead
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