Gateway Parts

how to make sure that computer power supply is broken?

my computer broke a week ago and i think its the power supply that failed because the computer just turned off by itself after 5 minutes from intitially turning without warning and there was a faint burning smell behind the power supply. im not very tech savvy but i know the basics. and i dont want to take it to a specialist because they always charge so much. how do i make sure that the power supply is broken and not the other parts of the computer? thanks in advance

Public Comments

1. Replace the power supply and make sure. Find out how many watts the original PSU supplies first. I hope your current PSU hasn't effected the Mother Board though. Normal PSU failures like that can be fatal to other hardware.
2. There are many different ways to tell. If your computer will not start at all, and none of the LEDs are working, there is a good chance that your PSU is broken. Check out this site for more info: http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/252254-28-detect-broken-power-supply
3. Depends on the model of power supply but most of them can be tested by unhooking everything and then shorting pins 14 and 15 together. If doing this causes the fan to spin the power supply "should" still be good (in theory).
4. Want to make sure your PS is broken? Take a hammer to it. Anyways, even if it WAS broken, I sure wouldn't use it again. If it burned the first time... If I were you, I'd just go and buy new one. They aren't THAT expensive, and there's a chance that the PSU can take out other components if it's defective (if it already hasn't). Thats my two cents. The other answers would work for checking the PSU.
5. I would agree with your assesment and would suspect the Power Supply. I usually have a spare laying around so I can check that way, but I've replaced them many times (on other people's PC's) and this has always been the symptom. I don't know what kind of hobbiest you are, but I always recommend purchasing 1. A quality name-brand PSU such as Corsair, Antec, OCZ etc... and 2. The biggest you can afford so upgrading in the future won't be difficult or requiring another PSU. My last PSU lasted through 3 PC builds and just wasn't quite enough for this current PC. (If you do that sort of thing).
6. okay to check the power supply is dead open the pc (make sure you have a torch or itll be hard to see) now turn the pc on and jst focus on all fans in the system if you see one not turning, theres your problem if it's the PSU's fan make a note of the wattage on the white label it should say something like e.g shall not exeed 250 watts now with that go online and search up on an internet shopping site (amazon maybe?) and search the wattage of the PSU and buy a new one, you can go higher than the given wattage on the sticker but not lower. if it is the large fan in the middle of the mainboard,or motherboard. then you have a massive problem caused by one small fan the CPU is overheating and you need to get a new fan for it (duuhh) call the CPU's manufacturer for advice or search up e.g fan for intel pentium D on amazon and results! but dont turn the computer on again until it's sorted it could damage the CPU more and more each time it goes on like that really good luck in finding the prb and i hope i helped
7. From what you describe --especially with the burning smell --you can be about 90% sure the problem is the power supply. The test is to swap in another compatible, known-good power supply, and see if that solves the problem. If the computer boots up and runs normally with the new power supply connected, that proves pretty conclusively that the old part was bad. This is a good lower-priced power supply, Corsair CMPSU-400CX 400W, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 I'm not recommending this, but people sometimes go to a local brick and mortar store, and buy a power supply to test in their computer. Once they hook up the new power supply, and verify that the power supply is the problem, they return that power supply to the store, then order a higher quality power supply, at a better price, from an online store. Another way is to temporarily borrow a power supply out of another compatible computer you might have access to. (You don't need to fully install the power supply, to do the test. Just set it on a box or something next to the computer, and swap all the connectors over.) Personally, I like to keep at least one extra power supply sitting around, so I can test computers, and so I have a spare.