PC won't power up after storm? Some troubleshooting already performed...

[pepi93]

I'm from Toronto where we have been out of power for the past 3 days. I have anyway...

Just got my power back on and viola, my PC won't turn on...at all, no sounds, nothing...

During the storm I wasn't using my PC, I turned it off, kept it plugged in the power bar, APC Home/Office Surge Arrest...but I flipped the switch which I later realized was the actual surge protection 🙁 I did read that flipping the switch off doesn't really matter but who knows...I also read that if damage occurs it's usually the PSU that fries and it doesn't go beyond that.

I didn't unplug the PC completely...next time I will.

The storm wasn't bad, not much lightning, perhaps one or two bolts...I've never had an issue since living here and many systems...I live in a condo and not a house...

Everything else that was also plugged into the power bar works fine...monitor & speakers.

What else can I share?

1) the motherboard LED works and lights up
2) I did a quick test on the PSU with a paperclick, shorting the green/black cables and the PSU powered up fine (fan started to spin etc)
3) Main SSD also works as I ripped it out and tossed it in my laptop to recover some files I needed quick.

I keep pressing the power on button and nothing happens...

Here's what I'm running

OCZ GameXtream 700W PSU (older kind)
ASUS P5B Deluxe
C2D CPU with aftermarket Thermalright HS
6GB of TeamXtreem RAM, 2 x 2gb modules, 1x 1gb modules
Gigabyte 550GTX ti GPU
OCZ SSD as main
WD Raptor as back up one
Seagate Barracuda as back up 2
Asus Xonar DX sound
several fans and a Lian Li case

Here are my questions...

1) Do I need to wait because the power hasn't been restored fully yet and my pc needs more power to start up?

2) What do I do next in my troubleshooting and how?

Thanks.

 

[Zooshooter]

What do you mean by "the power hasn't been restored fully"?

 

[ItsakUneklak]

You could try to just completely unplug the power from the PC (remove the power cable from the PSU) and wait like 10 minutes. Often, it was just the PSU that had a power surge or whatever, and won't start because of this. This happens often at my job.

 

[te100]

Did you try unplugging the pc for a minute and plug it back in and see if it works. sometime when my power goes out I have to unplug plug back in to get it to come on

 

[togan]

Consider yourself educated the hard way...you fried a low-spec PC. Make sure not to make the same mistake if you decide to replace/upgrade with more expensive parts.

 

[pepi93]

I just did a PSU discharge, didn't help.

By power hasn't been fully turned on I mean, maybe hydro hasn't given us full power yet? To reach stability?

pc hasn't been plugged in for 2 days, at all, I assume that was enough time of not being plugged in?

Togan, completely useless post, not sure why you'd waste your time even posting that type of reply? If I wanted a lecture I'd ask my mom.

 

[te100]

"I did a quick test on the PSU with a paperclick, shorting the green/black cables and the PSU powered up fine (fan started to spin etc)" that doesnt mean the psu is good it might spin the fan but not have enough power under load (the rest of the pc)

 

[pepi93]

I did the multimeter test...all values are as they should be,

yellow at 11.85V
orange at 3.36V
red at 5.20V
blue at -11.49V
pink at 5.20V
grey at 5.20V (jumped pretty quick from 0, not sure if it's supposed to be a slow increase from 0-5V)

What is step 2?

 

[te100]

I did the multimeter test...all values are as they should be,

yellow at 11.85V
orange at 3.36V
red at 5.20V
blue at -11.49V
pink at 5.20V
grey at 5.20V (jumped pretty quick from 0, not sure if it's supposed to be a slow increase from 0-5V)

What is step 2?

did you test it under load? or unplugged from mobo

 

[pepi93]

I tested the PSU 24 pin connector unplugged from mobo...

 

[te100]

test it with it plugged in. It can test fine unplugged but when you put load on it the voltages could drop not giving enough power.

 

[pepi93]

how do I test it plugged in the mobo?

no chance to RMA, it's old...

 

[te100]

the best thing to do is find a friend with a power supply to test yours. hook theirs up and if it works get a new psu if not then your mobo is likely fried. check the mobo for bulging capacitors that would be a good indicator that the mobo is gone

 

[Zooshooter]

the best thing to do is find a friend with a power supply to test yours. hook theirs up and if it works get a new psu if not then your mobo is likely fried. check the mobo for bulging capacitors that would be a good indicator that the mobo is gone

Bulging capacitors is much more common as long-term damage, not necessarily storm damage like what may have happened here. It could be as simple, and impossible to see, as a dead chip on the board.

 

[pepi93]

needed a new PSU, problem solved, sorry for late reply..