Hey everyone, I'm dealing with a confusing situation with my computer. There was a power outage in my area at around 3 AM, and though I noticed it getting a bit warm in my room, I didn't think much of it and went back to sleep. When I woke up at 8 AM, the electricity was still off, and I found the circuit breaker was down, so I flipped it back on. Everything seemed normal at that point, but I didn't check my PC since I had to leave for work.
When I got back home later that day and tried to boot up my PC, I noticed the light on my motherboard was still on, but when I pressed the power button, nothing happened. After a few tries, it still wouldn't turn on. The motherboard light remained on, and my GPU had a white light as well, but that was it. I tried unplugging and replugging the power cable from the PSU to a different outlet, but it didn't help. Each time I plug it back in, the power button on the case weakly flashes for a split second.
I have an old PSU (Corsair HX850i) that I bought back in 2015. Do you think my PSU might be failing? I really love this PC, as it's my first build, and I want to fix it!
3 Answers
The best way to go about this is to unplug the 24-pin connector from your motherboard and use a multimeter to check the voltages on the pins. This will help you see if your PSU is outputting the correct power. You can find voltage charts online for reference, and a basic multimeter only costs a few bucks!
It's pretty likely your PSU is damaged, especially after that power outage. A good PSU is essential, and yours was high quality, so there's a decent chance the rest of your PC is okay. Just be careful not to keep powering it on with the current PSU because that could cause more damage. A quick test with a different PSU should help you find out for sure!
It sounds like your PSU might be having issues. The fact that there are still lights on the motherboard and GPU but it won't fully turn on suggests that something may be fried or shorting out on the motherboard. From my experience, when PSUs die, they usually don't show any signs of life. You could try starting it without the GPU connected; that might free up some power from the PSU to at least boot into the BIOS and check the voltages. If the +12V rail is under 12V, you've got a failing PSU for sure.
Thanks for the advice! I’m planning to test it out with my friend's PSU tomorrow, but I’ll also try your method of troubleshooting. For safety, I unplugged my PC from the wall for now.
I really hope it's just the PSU! I want to replace it instead of having to build a whole new PC since I’m not planning to upgrade for a few years. I’ll definitely try my friend's PSU and keep my fingers crossed!