Can a fried PSU still light up the motherboard LEDs?

[TheChanceMan]

My PC stopped working the other day after a possible overheat, the motherboard and GPU LEDs light up but won't boot

I think the issue is my PSU as it failed the paperclip test however it still lights up the LED's on my motherboard and my GPU so I'm wondering, is it possible for a fried PSU to still light up the LEDs when its plugged in, but won't boot the PC itself?

Apologies for bad English

 

[ihog]

Yes, it's possible.

 

[TheChanceMan]

So paperclip test fails but when I plug in the 24 pin into the motherboard the leds light up, I'm so confused if I'm going to need to replace the PSU or the mobo?
Any suggestions?

 

[Eximo]

Power supply outputs 5V, 12V and 3.3, and some -12V these days. If the 5V popped the logic on the motherboard (CMOS) won't fire up. If the 12V failed, there won't be power for the CPU. But some of the stuff can still light up.

Grab a $10 voltmeter at your local hardware store and you can check the no load voltages during the paperclip test. Not definitive, but if they are wildly low or high it is safe to say the power supply is dead.

 

[TheChanceMan]

Unfortunately I can't get one today being a holiday, I tried shorting the motherboard with a screwdriver and still nothing at all

I've tried:
Shorting the PSU:failed
Shorting the motherboard:failed
Breadboarding with just 1 stick of ram, CPU and speaker:Nothing

I wanna say that its gotta be the PSU at this point and not the motherboard,but I'm still unsure because the LED's still light up

Any other suggestions?