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How to Recognize and Repair Power Supply Problems
by Otis Cooper
The Power Supply convert's your regular household current into low DC voltage
used by the computer. When this component fails, there is simply no activity
going on with your computer. Remember to do the easy troubleshooting first.
Inspect the Power Supply for any damage. Double-Check all connections.
Learning how to check your power supply and how to replace it when needed can be
a life saver if you're a computer buff or in business with the trusted PC. Don't
take for granted the simple pleasure of turning on your PC and everything works just fine.
We turned on one of our computers recently and in about one hour, it just re-booted
itself. And it continued doing so about 10 times a day until we found out the
power supply was the culprit. Things to look for when your power supply is going
bad or just dies on you are the following.
No Power to the Computer
Here you must first check the wall outlet for power by connecting another device
such as a radio or lamp to be sure power is present. If the computer is connected
through a surge protector, check it as well.
If the wall out has power, check the power cable going to the PC to see if AC
voltage is making its way to the system unit. Do this with the use of a multimeter.
If there is power, you will have to open the PC and check for power from the
power supply to the motherboard. When using a multimeter to check voltage, be
sure you have a good ground for the black lead of the multimeter.
Re-booting Problems
One main problem you may face with an ailing Power Supply is that it may re-boot
the computer without any warning. All information is lost and it seems as though
this happens at the worst possible time.
Booting errors when the computer first start's up is another indicator of this
component going on the blink.
Power Distribution Problems
When the power supply begins to fail, you may receive power at one device and
not another. For example, the Hard Drive may receive power but the CDROM Drive
has nothing at all.
Another headache with would cause re-booting is the intermittent power going to
the drives or the motherboard itself. Follow the steps below to check your power
supply should you experience some of the above problems.
Checking the Power Supply
If the wall outlet, and the power cord are good, make sure the connection at the
motherboard is secure. Then you may have to face the fact that the power supply
itself is bad. If you have a Multimeter you can test the power supply output
before purchasing a new one. Simply follow these steps.
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