[SOLVED] Nudging the power cable makes a sparking noise, PC shuts off and restarts

[crunchy_cookies]

Hi,
I've got an old Dell Dimension E520 (hoping to upgrade components at some point so I can install windows 10), and there have been a few occasions where I have accidentally nudged the power cable, and the PSU makes a sparking noise, and the entire system shuts off and turns back on immediately after itself. I've tried another power cable which led for the same things to happen, so I'm wondering if I need to get a new power supply, or just don't touch the power cable at all when it's running. (Not like I'm pulling at it, just nudging it slightly when, for example, plugging a USB drive in the back). I've got the stock Dell power supply for the E520, I believe it's a 305W PSU. Any ideas on how I can sort this out?

Thanks,
Harry.

 

[DSzymborski]

Yeah, any one of these sudden shutdowns after the arcing sound could be the one which fries your PC permanently.

I'd never trust this power supply again. How to replace this is a little trickier -- there are a lot of Dell Dimension E520s -- they've used this name a lot -- so the question becomes if this is one with a standard power supply or one with a Dell proprietary power supply that needs an adapter.

 

[crunchy_cookies]

Not entirely sure on how I can find out whether it's a standard PSU or Dell proprietary one, I have some images here:

https://imgur.com/a/ezae0tf

View: https://imgur.com/a/ezae0tf


Also, would you be able to give me some recommendations on a replacement power supply?

I appreciate the fast response,
Harry.

 

[DSzymborski]

I see 4-pin for the CPU and a 24-pin connector for the motherboard, so you ought to have an ATX compatible power supply there rather than one of Dell's proprietary headaches. A Corsair CX 450 is usually the least expensive power supply available worth buying, a solid bargain offering, and it will have the parts for upgrades if you're not going higher-end with the GPU. Above a GTX 580/RTX 2060, I'd want to get a 550W instead.

 

[mabdu11ah]

I had the same problem with my pc, i ordered my psu from ebuyer and asked them to send me a replacement power cable and they did and that seemed to fix the problem.

 

[Jonas Taelman]

There's probably a Part number on there. Look it up. A lot of sites sell replacement components. I know a couple but they're rom the Netherlands. ReplaceDirect or Twindis are two of them.

 

[DSzymborski]

After trying a second power cable and getting the same result, I don't think that's the problem.

If he's planning upgrades, he's going to want a better PSU anyway, so I feel a swap here makes the most sense rather than continuing the troubleshoot an OEM PSU with an extremely serious power delivery issue.

 

[mabdu11ah]

After trying a second power cable and getting the same result, I don't think that's the problem.

If he's planning upgrades, he's going to want a better PSU anyway, so I feel a swap here makes the most sense rather than continuing the troubleshoot an OEM PSU with an extremely serious power delivery issue.

My bad i didn't see that.