I fried my psu, how do I check my other parts?

Squirrel54

Reputable
Mar 14, 2015
1
0
4,510
Hi!
So last night I was building a computer for a friend and while mounting the psu, one of the screws went in a lot easier than it should have.

Later when I plugged in the psu, while it was still flipped off om the psu switch, there was a blue flash, a pop sound, and the power in my room went out (breaker to my room got tripped).

Well after some imvesitgating, I decided that the screw was the culprit. I took that screw out and then plugged in the psu. All good, no booms or power outs. I flip the switch on the psu. No spark or flash, but the breaker to my room tripped again.

Okay, so I fixed the breaker to my room again. The psu switch was still set to on and plugged in. The power didn't go out again so I hit the power button on the front of the pc and nothing happened.

I'm guessing I've brutally murdered the power supply, but I don't know if anything has happened to the other parts. Tonight I planned to put the psu from my computer into the one I'm working on to make sure all the parts are still alive.

1. Is this a good idea?

2. What if part (s) are dead? How do I figure out what's dead and what's alive.

3. If any parts are dead, what can I do at this point?

Thanks!
 
Solution
Before plugging your PSU into the wall and into the mobo, make CERTAIN that the motherboard is mounted on stand-offs; the # of standoffs should equal the number of mounting holes in the mobo (see Manual). Some boards use 9, some six - there can be other configs depending upon the case and mobo. Make sure the standoffs LINE UP with the mounting holes.

If you plug your psu into the system, and performed the previous check, and it doesn't boot, then you might have to "bread board" your friends PC. That is, remove everything and place on a cardboard box or other positively NON-conductive surface (a wooden table) and try to start it without anything but the CPU, CPU cooler and fan; then add parts until you find the one that is causing it...
Before plugging your PSU into the wall and into the mobo, make CERTAIN that the motherboard is mounted on stand-offs; the # of standoffs should equal the number of mounting holes in the mobo (see Manual). Some boards use 9, some six - there can be other configs depending upon the case and mobo. Make sure the standoffs LINE UP with the mounting holes.

If you plug your psu into the system, and performed the previous check, and it doesn't boot, then you might have to "bread board" your friends PC. That is, remove everything and place on a cardboard box or other positively NON-conductive surface (a wooden table) and try to start it without anything but the CPU, CPU cooler and fan; then add parts until you find the one that is causing it to fail.
If it boots up with your psu, then you are probably safe to move forward with the completion of the build and install the OS etc.
Dead parts, if found: If this is a build with new parts you contact the part manufacture or even you retailer/etailer for an RMA. If they are old and/or used parts, then you may be out of luck and have to replace the parts.
 
Solution