Bad power supply?

[JuiceBox]

So I get home today to find that my computer isn't getting any power. I switched power cables, and voila! It worked! I booted up, it worked for about two minutes, and it decided to restart itself. It did this about three more times, and I remembered that this happened about six months back; my ram had come loose, and it was causing my computer to restart. So I open her up, pop my ram in and out, and now it won't boot at all. When I plug the power cable in, the green light on the back of my power supply comes on for about a second, then goes out. Is this from a bad power supply? If so, are they all universal? Meaning, would I be able to pop one out of an old computer and put it in mine, or go to Best Buy and get any old supply and put it in? Or are there specifications that I need to look at before I put one in?

[joey1234]

most likely a power supply issue- but beware of swapping the power supply- Some computer manufacturers swap the positive and negatives and grounds on the cables of the power supply, and if you put the wrong one in place of it you can burn out the motherboard or the PSU or both. You also need to know the wattage of this PSU and get something of similar wattage to make sure that all of the components inside the system are getting enough power.

Before I would buy any computer parts at bestbuy i would check out an online vendor such as newegg.com or mwave.com - or if you have one in your area a Micro center.

I have seen similar issues where it was not the PSU it turned out to be the motherboard. The only way to tell really is to bring it to a tech or swap out the parts and do a little trial and error.

Or if you want I can sell you an awesome powermac for a great deal!! :wink::wink::wink:

[JuiceBox]

I kind of want to get it back up and running as soon as possible. I would definitely buy from newegg if I had another rig I could use, but the one I'm having problems with is the only one that's really available to me for what I need; I'm actually on my parents' computer at the moment. I've got lots of photos to process, some work to do, et cetera. How do I go about checking the wattage of the power supplies?

[joey1234]

What type o computer is it?? If its a name brand PC it may not be listed anywhere, if its one of these custome homemeade jobs- it should be listed right on the back of the computer where you would plug it in OR if you open the case you may see a label with all types of info on it wattage etc.

hoW OLD IS THIS MACHINE? That means alot too..

[JuiceBox]

It's an HP. I got it brand new two years ago. I'll check to see if I can find the wattage on the label anywhere.

[joey1234]

have a model nuber, I have access to there repair manuals.. I can probably get you the right info for a replacement-

[JuiceBox]

Here's the label. Lots of different voltages on it, and I'm not quite sure what they all mean. Model number is d4650y.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3115/3158142056_720514d2fa_b.jpg

[joey1234]

its a 350 watt- im going to find you a replaement now- this by chance a media center model???

[JuiceBox]

That I'm not entirely sure. I have a power supply sitting around, but it's max output is only 280w :confused:

[joey1234]

This would work

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256019 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256019)

this one frombest buy would work but its a littl eoverspeced, and they will rape you on price, http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8763448&st=power+supply+350watt&lp=5&type=product&cp=1&id=1203815240854

I see you are from jersey- if you order form newegg, it will probably be a next day delivary, MOST of there items are shipped form jersey- although some are sent from cali too.. so it could be a crap shoot-

[JuiceBox]

All right, thanks a lot. There's no way that lower power supply would work at all? :(

[joey1234]

That I'm not entirely sure. I have a power supply sitting around, but it's max output is only 280w :confused:


dont use it.. the max out put of yours is 350-

[JuiceBox]

Well, thanks for your help. I guess I'll order that one off newegg; reviews aren't too bad. Hopefully it works :confused:

[joey1234]

should work no problem- it looks like you have a pretty standard atx PSU in there- pretty much anything 350 wata and up that is atx 12v 2.2 compliant will work- if you have the exact model numbe rof your computer- i can probably pinpoint the EXACT psu you need..

[JuiceBox]

What else would the model number be called? There's so many damn serial numbers and ****e that I don't know exactly what you need. :(

[joey1234]

buy the one i pointed out to you form newegg- you would even be safe to go with a but more wattage-

[JuiceBox]

Ok. Thanks a lot for all your help.

[joey1234]

no sweat let me know how it goes-

[JuiceBox]

Will do; hopefully it doesn't get hung up and arrive on Monday :/.

[DocZ65]

Don't you have any local stores you can just go to and pick one up?
Mine went a few weeks ago, I checked local sales and got a 500W for $35.

[JuiceBox]

I went to staples today, and surprisingly they had a 350W. I picked it up for 50 bucks, and just put it in. My rig is running good so far, but there are already two problems. The first is that one cable is too short, so I'll have to play with the configuration of the box a bit. The second is that there is no peripheral cable to go to my CD drive. I think I'm going to return it and get one from Circuit City or something like that. At least I know what the problem is though, and it's not anything major.

[JuiceBox]

I went back to Staples, and exchanged the 350 for a 430. It's made by Antec, whom I've never heard of before, but it's working good. It's much quieter than the one that came in my desktop, and it seems to be working just fine. Thanks for all your help guys :).

[joey1234]

Good news- at least you know its the PSU- Im not sure what type of cable you are talking about for the cd-rom- but if you are missing a cable to power that up- you may have a little too much in there-

how many hard drives are you powering? as well as cd/dvd drives? or any other power specific devices included internal card readers, etc? if you are running too may things and if you asdded anything after market you 350 watt may not be powerful enough-

[joey1234]

I went back to Staples, and exchanged the 350 for a 430. It's made by Antec, whom I've never heard of before, but it's working good. It's much quieter than the one that came in my desktop, and it seems to be working just fine. Thanks for all your help guys :).


Great news! more power never hurts..

[JuiceBox]

I figured it out. The 350 only had one SATA cable (you learn something new every day :)), and I needed two; one for the board that is connected to the on/off button, and one for the cd-rom drive. The one I just threw in has 4 :P. I'm posting from my computer now, so everything is fine and dandy :).

[joey1234]

Antec is a good make too- Should last you a lot longer than the original did-