[SOLVED] PSU died, no visible damage. Can it be fixed?

[arthurdecastro]

So, I was using and old PC of mine (Pentium4, 1gb RAM, and so on) and it was working pretty good. I shut it down as I always did in more than 10 years, this machine never had any problems IIRC. However, upon trying to turn it on a few minuts ago, he simply didn't. I removed the PSU and made the paperclip test and it failed. It's one of those "generic gray" "500w" that I guess deliver 300w at best, no warranty left, still has those 6-pin white "flat" connectors that I think was for old PCs. I've opened the PSU case and there wasn't any visible damage (fuse was ok, capacitors still looking as new...).

I don't really need to fix this PC soon, and purchasing a new PSU would be really just a waste of money. It's a PC with no SATA, all the drivers use IDE, so the new PSU would have a bunch of unusable connectors hanging. I'm more interested in trying to fix things as a pastime.

So, is it possible to repair such a component that isn't turning on, not having any visible damage? If so, what parts hold the biggest chance to be faulty?

 

[Newtonius]

I would not bother with it. Firstly: because fixing them can be very dangerous and hard, secondly: even if you were somehow able to get it working the chances of it damaging your other components start to rise as it can short out, and lastly: they're really not efficient at all in the end. Buying an actual brand name PSU will give you stable efficient power draw. Even if it is for a generic pre-built PC.

 

[Grobe]

It is possible, but you need to know how PMW power supply does operate in order to be able to conduct repair. If you don't know, then stay away because you may get electrical shock even if it has been several days since it was powered on last.

 

[Ralston18]

It sounds nice but overall not a good idea. Especially if you do not need to fix the PC.

Here is an old link from within this Forum:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/psu-repair,4147.html

My recommendation - just let it go.

Besides, even if you find and fix one part, something else will likely fail and the circle commences.....

 

[cryoburner]

For an old Pentium 4 system that isn't of vital importance, it would probably be better to just pick up a lower-end PSU to replace it with for not much more than $30 if you want to make the system functional again. Something like one of these, for example, though you would want to make sure it had the correct connectors for that system...

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/86M323/evga-power-supply-100n10400l1

Unless the system had particularly high power draw components, I wouldn't bother with a "quality" PSU unless you planned to transfer it to another system eventually.

 

[arthurdecastro]

Thanks everyone for the answers. The fact is that I was more interested in the knowledge than the actual fix. I will probably buy on Monday an "EVGA 400w" like @cryoburner suggest. Still, I'm marking @Ralston18 answer because it fit more my needs for bringing that article (that I did discovered earlier today but didn't give a full read until now).