No power....clicking noise

[yankor]

hi guys


I went away for a few days and turned the computer of normaly,then removed the socket from the wall..
Got back yesterday,pluged it in and its dead!! there is a flickering green light(at the back)under the power supply cable but no other sign of power anywhere...theres also a continuous clicking noise that seems to be coming from the power supply unit.


anyone any ideas?

thanks

Compaq presario
intel pentium 4-3 ghz
1 gb ddr-160 gb hd

 

[sjs1717]

there is a good chance the pwr supply has gone to the afterlife. WARNING don't go poking around inside the psu the results can be shocking.psu's are cheap and its not like it would go to waste at some point it will be needed.

 

[edfair]

Some are slow in bringing up the standby power, which is needed to bring up the rest.

Try leaving it plugged in for a couple of hours and see if it finally gets enough for the standby to work.

I'm basing this on a Dell of mine that takes about 30 minutes to get standby steady.

A new power supply will fix it. But if it comes back up it will likely stay up until the mains are pulled again.

Ed Fair
Give the wrong symptoms, get the wrong solutions.

 

[sjs1717]

yes i knew someone who had a similar issue i forgot all about it.you can put a meter on the connector to see if the psu is putting out the correct voltages

 

[gbaughma]

Also make sure to double-check the voltage switch. If it got moved to 220V and you're plugged into 110, it won't start up.



Just my 2¢
-Cole's Law: Shredded cabbage

--Greg

http://parallel.tzo.com

 

[yankor]

thx for the replys!

ive had it pluged in but no joy..its also on the correct voltage.
sjs,what do you mean"put a meter on the connector"?

sorry new to this!

 

[roland63]

If edfair's advise didn't pan out - move onto testing another power supply in it - perhaps you can borrow one from another computer...

 

[sjs1717]

I agree a psu is easier.......... in order to test the psu voltages you need a good meter and you would test the connector that goes to the motherboard but you need to know what lead is what......a new psu is easier..........sorry for the potential loss of the unit.........give it a proper sendoff

 

[cjelec]

You said that you are hearing clicking noises? Sorry to ask a stupid question, have you made shore that the power lead is inserted correctly? The clicking noises could be the sound of short sparks common to the kettle plug not being inserted properly...

If its not that I would go with most of the other people here and suggest a new psu.

 

[yankor]

thx guys


update...

according to the hp site my sup is probably fine...i disconnected all power cable connectors from their connectors on the motherboard and from the back of internal devices,pluged it in and the led light was solid no flicker or click.

btw i think it was the led making the clicking noise because they were in total sync with eachother.



"If the LED is on solid and is not flashing, the power supply is probably good and the problem is most likely caused by a defective component (processor, memory, PCI card) or a defective motherboard."


How do i find out which part is not corrupt?

 

[edfair]

The click you heard was the main power attempting to power up and throwing a big enough load that the whole supply shut down.

Unplug all but the M/B for starters. If it still does the same thing you probably have lost the M/B or CPU. If the M/B powers up OK then you power down and add items one at a time till it upchucks again. But even though the LED lights, it can still be the power supply. The signal to power up the main power comes from the M/B. And it could be that signal that attempts to fire up a bad section.

Last thing added when it fails again is usually the culprit.

SWAG that it probably is the CPU, but anything that can short out has to be suspect.

 

[sjs1717]

edfair is right. work your way up and check also if you have
"known good" parts lying around you can swap them for "suspected bad" as a way to verify.

 

[yankor]

Thank you all for the comments!!

edfair,when you say unplug all but the M/B,am i rigt in saying that there should be only two connectors running from the psu to the M/B?
just want to make sure im doing it right.

Just noticed that when the pc is unpluged for a lengh of time and then repluged theres a very(slight shudder),if thats any help.

 

[yankor]

sjs,im absoloutley new to this,its the first time i popped
open the cover of a pc...so no bits lying around

I realy want to try and fix this probem myself(even if it takes month)

 

[edfair]

Yeah, assuming ATX, a 20 or 24 pin block with a latch on the side, and a different type of 4 pin block with latch or a 6 position slide on block.

No, the shrudder is when both DC supplies come back up and it takes a short while for the standby circuit to assert control and cut the main power off. Grnrtslly a second or so.

 

[sjs1717]

Hi Yankor i would have replied sooner....out on a job all day and night school all night....even at 40 yrs old.I think you're gonna be fine. you came here to all these wonderful bright folks right? Since you have access to another pc hunt around to some sites that you can see some photos with descriptions to see what edfair and i are talking about.(they are out there i just can't remember any at this time) Will check in friday in the meantime relax you will prevail!




Steve
We're doing this stuff for the wealth and fame right?

 

[yankor]

I tried with only the M/B connected,nothing.
I think ill go buy a multimeter and see if its the psu.

sjs,thanks for the words of encouragement...

btw,have i lost all my data on the hd?

thx all

 

[wahnula]

There is a testing unit designed just for power supplies, like this:

http://www.directron.com/pst03.html

or even this:

http://www.directron.com/ps101pstester.html

at half the price. I spent zero time comparing the units, but I own the first one and can testify that it works great.



Tony

"Buy what you like, or you'll be forced to like what you buy"...me

 

[wahnula]

Now I see the difference...the more expensive one adds 6 & 8-pin GFX sockets + SATA socket. Worth the $$$.

Tony

"Buy what you like, or you'll be forced to like what you buy"...me

 

[acewarlock]

Unless the HD itself has gone bad, which is unlikely you havn't lost your Data.




This is a Signature and not part of the answer, it appears on every reply.

This is an Analogy so don't take it personally as some have.

Why change the engine if all you need is to change the spark plugs.