Power supply or switch?

**Good Companion** · February 14th, 2012, 12:34 PM

Having a weird problem on my self built desktop. Machine has been running well for years with various incarnations of upgrades. Power supply is a few years old.

When I push the "on" button, I get a green LED that lights up but nothing happens. I think I hear a faint clicking, but I don't think that's hard drive clicking. I say faint because I can hear it only (I think) because none of the fans are running.

When this first happened I checked the power cord in the back, cycled the power switch in the back and cycled the power switch on my surge protector. Pushed the button again and it worked. However, it happened again last night. Did the same and it worked again.

I'm thinking either Power Supply is flaking, switch on the front of the case is going bad or maybe the surge protector is flaking. Any thoughts? Any ideas on how I could test these theories?

**RicheemxX** · February 14th, 2012, 02:43 PM

Well it might sound a bit obvious here but you could eliminate two of your theories right off. One remove the surge protector from the equation and plug the machine straight into an outlet. Two eliminate the switch, just open the side of the case, locate the header with the power jumpers. You don't need the switch there to turn the machine on all you have to do is briefly short them.

The power supply is a bit trickier. You'd need a voltmeter or something to test the output.

**Good Companion** · February 14th, 2012, 03:07 PM

While a bit obvious, still appreciated. I'll bypass the surge protector tonight and see what happens. On the switch, do I just use an extra part from an old MB install to short it? (Like the small rectangle used to short a hard drive from master to slave?)

**RicheemxX** · February 14th, 2012, 03:10 PM

No once you remove the wires to the power switch all you need is a screwdriver or something metal and it only needs a quick touch to make contact. If the switch was indeed bad the board should fire up. If not then you are back to square one.

**Good Companion** · February 16th, 2012, 10:57 PM

I tried plugging the PC directly into the wall. Same thing, did not turn on but heard a faint clicking. Opened the side and removed the wires to the front switch. Used a screwdriver to jump the connector and same thing. Since I could look in, what I saw was the my fan at the back of the case (not the PS fan) spinning lazily (not at full speed) and 4 lights on MB flashing that say "PhaseLED" near them. It's a Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H board. The PS is an Antec Smartpower SP-500 (500w).

So, since the fan on the PS does not come on immediately, I'm thinking the PS is dying. Thoughts?

**Good Companion** · February 16th, 2012, 11:13 PM

I'm not anxious to spend cash, but here's a few deals I found if I need a new PS:

Cooler Master eXtreme Power Plus Series 500W ATX12V V2.3 Power Supply (RS500-PCARD3-US) - $31 AR/FS - Amazon

CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply Your Price: $29.99AR

OCZ ZS Series 550W 80PLUS Bronze High Performance Power Supply compatible with Intel Sandy Bridge Core i3 i5 i7 and AMD Phenom $34.99After $25 MIR

**RicheemxX** · February 16th, 2012, 11:22 PM

Well if you have a multi-meter handy you could pull the power supply, jump start it with the paperclip trick and test it out. Even if you don't I might try that before buying anything.

You might also want to pull everything out and check the board and parts for any bad caps or any signs that something might have burnt or be failing.

**Good Companion** · February 16th, 2012, 11:37 PM

I have a multi-meter and I googled the paperclip trick. What exactly am I measuring with multi-meter? (Meaning, where am I putting the leads and what am I looking for?)

I took a look at the board and it still looks close to brand new. No obvious black or brown anything in there.

BTW, thanks for the help!

**RicheemxX** · February 17th, 2012, 12:06 AM

Check the voltage according to the pinouts this should give you an idea Driverheaven Guides: testing your psu with a multimeter

here are the pinouts, or what should be close

File:ATX PS signals.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

JP might be able to walk you through it a little better than I can

**Good Companion** · February 17th, 2012, 11:42 PM

Well, here's what I get with a multimeter (set to 20):

3v - .3 to .01

5v - 1.8 to .2

12v - 5.7 to 1.8

I'm assuming that this is volts (as opposed hundreths of volts or tenths of volts) and that this PS is not generating enough to run a fan, much less the whole computer.

**ShyguyXPC** · February 18th, 2012, 12:35 AM

Can you post your full hardware specs, just in case you need to get a new PSU to replace it, give a better idea of what you would need for a replacement.

But will wait for JP to stop in and see what he has to say. can't comment on the Multimeter readings myself, have never done that, so no idea what the settings are for testing and what the readouts mean.

**Good Companion** · February 18th, 2012, 03:49 PM

Full specs:

Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H
Intel i3-540 (3.06 Ghz)
Corsair 4GB DDR3 PC1333
Antec Smartpower 2.0 500w PSU
LG GSA-H10N 16x DVD-RW DL
Hitachi 750 GC SATA HD
WD 160 GB IDE HD

**stroyal** · February 18th, 2012, 04:21 PM

If you have the multi-meter set to DC, I'd say you have a bad power supply.

And of course, the multi-meter is accurate.

**Good Companion** · February 18th, 2012, 04:38 PM

Originally Posted by stroyal

If you have the multi-meter set to DC, I'd say you have a bad power supply.

And of course, the multi-meter is accurate.

Multimeter def set to DC. (Followed the guide linked earlier in this thread.) Accurate? No idea why it wouldn't be ...

**RicheemxX** · February 18th, 2012, 05:01 PM

It has been awhile since I've tested a psu with a multimeter so I thought maybe it was just me in thinking those numbers look totally off. Glad to hear I'm not alone on that one.

**ShyguyXPC** · February 18th, 2012, 07:17 PM

Originally Posted by Good Companion

Full specs:

Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H
Intel i3-540 (3.06 Ghz)
Corsair 4GB DDR3 PC1333
Antec Smartpower 2.0 500w PSU
LG GSA-H10N 16x DVD-RW DL
Hitachi 750 GC SATA HD
WD 160 GB IDE HD

No video card? Just using the onboard/CPU graphics?

Do you plan on adding a dedicated GPU later at any point?

**Good Companion** · February 18th, 2012, 07:29 PM

Oops, ATI Radeon HD 4850 (512 MB)

**JPMiller** · February 18th, 2012, 07:39 PM

Well if your doing it right, and it sounds as if you are, its pretty likely the power supply...
Its rare that it acts this way when failing, but PSU's are notorious for the random issues they develop when unstable.

I ssume your using integrated graphics?

edit.. took too long to post...

In that case you need a minimum of this PSU...
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Elite 460 RS-460-PSAR-J3 460W ATX12V V2.31 Power Supply
Thats the cheapest option you can safely replace the current PSU with...

**Good Companion** · February 18th, 2012, 08:00 PM

JP, I ordered this:

Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER eXtreme Power Plus RS500-PCARD3-US 500W ATX12V v2.3 Power Supply

Is that okay? It's a higher wattage, but I know that isn't the be-all end-all.

**JPMiller** · February 19th, 2012, 02:31 AM

Thats cool, Its actually cheaper, and essentially the same power supply with an extra years worth of warranty..
It must have come down recently, or I'm not paying as much attention...