PC dead probably after a lightning storm.

[StonedOne]

I will try this after trying clearing the CMOS. I don't have much time, I think this Friday I'll do it. But I have a doubt, when using the clip, I have to disconnect all the other things connected to the PSU? (fans, gpu, drives, etc), because the purpose of the test is just to know if the PSU works, right?.

You can leave a couple of fans plugged in to the molex connectors if you like.

[Masterchief John152]

Well, I tried clearing the CMOS and unplugging all the not essentials component with no luck, same problem. I neeed to make the paperclip test, the last test, but I wanted to add something that I noticed when trying the aforementioned steps:
when turning on the system, it powers off inmediately (the psu fan spins also, as the ones from the cpu and case), but after the first turning on, the next time it doesn't even turn on the half second that I said in other post. But if you mantain the finger pressing the power on button, then releasing it and turning on again, it turns on again for the half second and then turns off, but this time the psus fan doesn't spin, just the fans of the case and cpu.

[Masterchief John152]

I tried the paperclip suggestion (also suggested on the Corsair Technical Support) and found that my PSU is the problem, its fan spins half a second and then stops. But I will see if I can get other PSU to test if the other components work. My hard drive I will test with some friends PC, in an external enclousure, one of these days. I asked for an RMA to Corsair and I will send the power supply to them.

[will_perdikakis]

So which of the hundreds of caps on the bored do you think he should randomly replace?

[russ18uk]

So which of the hundreds of caps on the bored do you think he should randomly replace?

Depends how board he is!

[will_perdikakis]

Depends how board he is!

Nice one.

there will be about ten of them and they swell on top and some even leak at the top. All of them should be of the same capacitance. bad ones are easy to spot. I replace them all because they are so cheap. It's simple to do actually and I would say 10 bucks for a fix is better than 150 for a new psu.

So, you believe that replacing ten electrolytic caps with an unknown function will fix his problem? Better yet, will fix a problem potentially caused by lightning? Cool.

[will_perdikakis]

ah.. Will can't do it so it can't be done.. Nice to know.

That was your conclusion there, nice to know. What do you do for a living sir? Aside from being a detective, that is.

If it was lightning, as he says, do you think those caps (which are on the output side of the PSU) would be the only hardware damaged? You may have gotten lucky a few times, but it is not that simple.

BTW, did you read the thread? He thinks he found the problem - power supply... who would have thought?

99% of the time when a component goes bad it is due to the capacitors in it.

Easy answers work well for you, it seems. Stick to chewing bubble gum.

On power circuits, heat is the enemy - switching components are most likely to fail. Capacitors, especially electrolytic (the kind that you are familiar with), tend to fail more often in outdoor applications (especially cold).

Point is, it is more complicated than just using bullshit figures (99%) or blindly selecting a component to replace. It is not impossible, but it is not pin the tail on the donkey either.

This needs to be said again: "The more you know, the more you know you don't know"

[russ18uk]

That was your conclusion there, nice to know. What do you do for a living sir? Aside from being a detective, that is.

If it was lightning, as he says, do you think those caps (which are on the output side of the PSU) would be the only hardware damaged? You may have gotten lucky a few times, but it is not that simple.

BTW, did you read the thread? He thinks he found the problem - power supply... who would have thought?Easy answers work well for you, it seems. Stick to chewing bubble gum.

On power circuits, heat is the enemy - switching components are most likely to fail. Capacitors, especially electrolytic (the kind that you are familiar with), tend to fail more often in outdoor applications (especially cold).

Point is, it is more complicated than just using bullshit figures (99%) or blindly selecting a component to replace. It is not impossible, but it is not pin the tail on the donkey either.

This needs to be said again: "The more you know, the more you know you don't know"

He said it may well be worth. If you're competent, it would only cost a dollar or two and probably take 30 mins, I would have thought. It's worth trying if you can do it.

[will_perdikakis]

He said it may well be worth. If you're competent, it would only cost a dollar or two and probably take 30 mins, I would have thought. It's worth trying if you can do it.

Reading what he wrote again, I think I was over-aggressive. It was generally sound advice.

He really meant: "[Look for] bad caps..." but I took that as a definite statement.

Now if it's a crappy 300watt psu or other cheap component, I will just order a replacement but with the high dollar stuff I try to repair them first.

take a 300 dollar monitor as an example.. $10 for parts including shipping, 50 for the repair.. You just saved $240 by fixing it.
200 dollar psu.. think about it..

See above.

[russ18uk]

"...take a look at the caps to see if they are damaged."