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Ask the Doctor

Ask the Doctor: A Two-PSU Kind of Day

Posted 11/10/08 at 01:40:11 PM  by The Maximum PC Staff

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Ask the Doctor LogoMy Tagan TG900-U96 Turbojet 900-watt PSU recently burned out. I returned it, but it was no longer being supported through the third-party vendor I got it from. The vendor sent me an Apevia Warlock 900-watt PSU to replace my Tagan. I swapped it out, but now when I turn on the computer it won’t boot all the way. I get power lights, and the keyboard and mouse light up, but the monitor never kicks on, nor do the other connected peripherals (external Zip drive, printer, and scanner).
What could be going wrong with my computer? I never had this happen with the Tagan. Could something have been corrupted when the original PSU died?

—Ben Locke 
 
First, you should have contacted Tagan. The company offers a three-year warranty on its PSUs. There is certainly a chance that the components were damaged when the first PSU blew up—especially if it blew up due to, say, a lightning strike. But before you go any further with your new power supply, go back into the case and make sure everything is firmly inserted—you’ll want to make sure there are absolutely no loose connections.

You’ll also want to make sure nothing is shorting out in the case. The Doctor will assume that you are using motherboard standoffs in all the appropriate places—simply screwing your motherboard to the case itself would be one cause of a short.
If you’ve done these steps and you’re still having boot problems, try using another PSU from a friend to see if your new power supply is at fault. The Doctor has seen many startup issues caused by the power-good signal timing that some boards require. Finally, don’t rule out the possibility that your new power supply is bunk. It does happen.

 

SUBMIT YOUR QUESTION Are flames shooting out of the back of your rig? First, grab a fire extinguisher and douse the flames. Once the pyrotechnic display has fizzled, email the doctor at doctor@maximumpc.com for advice on how to solve your technological woes.

 

COMMENTS:3
TAGS: PSU, 900w, Tagan, turbojet, apevia, warlock, 900-watt
COMMENTS
avatarLighting strikes again

Submitted by joeyjr on Sun, 12/07/2008 - 4:01am

I had lighting zap one of my computers and it fried the motherboard. Everything else worked fine, including the powersupply. Check to see if all of the components are installed correctly like the video card into the expantion slot.   Also, check the spec's on the two different P/S and look to see if they are compatiable or there is enough power on the rails for your configuration.  LOL 240V switch on.  :)

joeyjr

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avatarI have seen bad hard drives

Submitted by Gigabyte on Mon, 11/10/2008 - 11:28pm

I have seen bad hard drives and bad or incorrectly installed RAM cause similar problems.

Disconnect all of the peripherals (DVD/Hard drives/etc..) from the motherboard and PSU and see if it will POST.

If it does not then try one stick of RAM & ensure it is seated correctly. Reset the CMOS.

If it starts then turn it off and attached one device (DVD/Hard Drive/etc..) at a time & try to start it. 

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avatarCheck that the 115/230 switch is in the correct position

Submitted by Darth_Scanner on Mon, 11/10/2008 - 8:51pm

I saw this exact same behavior years ago when building a machine.  It turned out that the switch was flipped to 230V mode on the power supply.  The fans and some LEDs would come on, but no POST or video.  After much hair pulling I noticed the switch on the wrong setting, flipped it, and the machine booted right up.

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