help me!!!!might have a dead PSU

~~hackerx~~ · Aug 17, 2006, 04:20 AM

I was playing age of empires 3 on my system.The power went off but fortunately my comp is plugged into a UPS which is then plugged into the mains which has backup power.
But as fate would have it,my sister had to turn on the tv.The power went off throughout the house and as a result the computer went off.And doesn't turn on again. the PSU appears to be dead.
I tried firng it up withan old generic PSU and it comes on.
Is there anyway to fix this?
My PSU is a silverstone ZEUS 650W.its supposed to have overloading protection and all but i don't know what happened?
Please help.
I'm desperate!!!

The led on the motherboard comes on when the PSU's 24 pin connector is connected to the motherboard but it doesn't start up.Please tell me theresa way to fix this!!

BWX · Aug 17, 2006, 05:13 AM

Quote:

But as fate would have it,my sister had to turn on the tv.The power went off throughout the house and as a result the computer went off.

If you have a UPS why would it matter if she did that or not?

You mean you plug everything into the UPS? Seems like that would pretty much be overloading it and make it useless anyway.

Isn't the PSU under warranty?

~~hackerx~~ · Aug 17, 2006, 05:18 AM

it is.But isn't there anyway to get it running?Like it can't have shorted out,can it?.It has active PFC,over/under voltage protection,short circuit protection etc..
And it says in the manual,that incase any of the above happens it goes into latch state?What doesthis latch state mean?

BWX · Aug 17, 2006, 05:57 AM

Active PFC doesn't help really.. That just auto switched between 220 and 120v I thought.. Yeah it should have protected itself, but not sure what it had to protect itself from. Why would a power failure kill or short out a PSU? I have had quite a few power failures for one reason or another with no ill affects.

The UPS should have protected it... Maybe it has a fuse inside it (the PSU). That would be one thing I can think of. The problem is, it probably will void your warranty if you take it apart. Plus you can get electrocuted possible by touching the wrong thing inside a PSU just like a CRT monitor or TV... even when they are unplugged. So be careful if you take it apart.

I would just RMA it... unless you can take it apart and check for a fuse w/o it voiding the warranty. Most PSU's have a sticker that goes across the opening- if seal is broken, warranty voided.. That type of thing.

Do you have a volt meter? Like a digital multimeter? You can test it with that.

~~hackerx~~ · Aug 17, 2006, 06:27 AM

i have a mutlimeter.Checked the connectors.All have 0.0 volts.With the thing plugged in and the PSU switch on.
Opened it up.no seal over the opening and sides.
Check insides(didn't tamper with anything).Nothing visibily worng.
The funny thing is my old generic PSU survived near infinite no of power failures without a single scratch.And thats just 300W and no protection features.The silverstone zeus which is pretty close to the pinnacle of PSU technology with all sorts of protection features went down with a power failure.
I knew i should have got the strider.Still l'm open to any suggestions on how to fix this.
i can't RMA it cause i live in India.(the land where pentium 4 prescotts are king,AMD is unheard of,geforce fx 5200 are royalty,higher the clock speed the better and where generic power supplys run like te wind)
I got the PSU along with a gfx card(x1900 xt)from my uncle.(he lives in germany)So no chance of RMA.
So is it safe to conclude that PSU is dead?(i.e RIP)
Is it a good idea to give it to a dude who repairs UPS's?Will he be able to fix it?

Neshi · Aug 17, 2006, 07:25 AM

why no chance of RMA? doesnt matter where you live, you can RMA the products back to the company. They have to accept it.

~~hackerx~~ · Aug 17, 2006, 07:45 AM

but would silverstone send back the product via international courier?
That is kinda expensive.otherwise i'd have to tell my unlce to collect,but who lnows when i'll get it again.
Any comments on me giving the PSU to a dude who can repair UPS's?

BWX · Aug 17, 2006, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hackerx

So is it safe to conclude that PSU is dead?(i.e RIP)?

You shouldn't just turn it on with nothing connected.

You need to hook up a fan to it or something.. and also should have a load on all the rails.

Most of the rails have a minimum voltage as well as a maximum voltage. You can actually hurt a PSU I think by just plugging it in to power with no load on any of the rails and turning it on. I think last time I tested a PSU for making a dual PSU setup, I actually hooked up a fan and an old hard drive, and something else to the PSU so that it had a load. Then I had to short the power remote lead to turn it "on" even after it was switched on.

From memory it was lead "14" and it was GREEN. Don't just quote me on that, I have to go look it up and I don't have time I have an appointment to go to.

You need to go look this stuff up before you just go plugging in a 500+ watt PSU to the wall w/o it being plugged into a working PSU man. Someone will probably answer you with correct info before I get a chance to verify it.. I need to go for now. If no one answers I'll look it up for you when I get back. Leave it unplugged until you know what you are doing though.

That's why those cheap 20 dollar PSU testers are nice to have.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Aug 24, 2006, 11:41 AM

If you fry that UPS and plug a TV and computer and monitor into it... you do know that if the thing isn't an uber good UPS (like APC or something) the lead acid battery could heat up and explode... depending on how its built. And it isn't a good idea because overloading them is bad for them all the same.

@BWX: Active PFC helps ALOT because it reduces the heat waste (MUCH more efficient) and makes the PSU more resistant to voltage fluxes. It also smooths out the initial turn on spike on the AC side so it does help beyond not having to have a switch for the 115/230VAC.

And yes those 20 dollar PSU testers are far better than running the PSU dry...far better

BWX · Aug 24, 2006, 05:10 PM

Well maybe my next one will be Active then.. if this one isn't already..
Of course it didn't help him much though.

~~hackerx~~ · Aug 24, 2006, 09:41 PM

the funny thing is that the UPS is working fine.
Infact i'm typing this post from my comp(with generic power supply)plugged into the UPS.
I still haven't decided what to do with my PSU.Cause sending it back to germany is gonna be expensive and who knows when i'll get it back.
And like i asked earlier.Can anyone who knows how to fix UPS's be able to fix this?

H3X4D3C1M4L · Aug 24, 2006, 10:49 PM

Not really. They're two different beasts... lead acid batteries and all.

May want to just buy a new PSU then... and get it from somewhere local

~~hackerx~~ · Aug 24, 2006, 11:58 PM

only things available local are generic ones.Can't run my x1900 xt on that.
Damn this unfair.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Aug 25, 2006, 04:07 PM

Well... order up an Enermax PSU online then.

Then you know for 110% sure its a good one... I've never even heard of a defective Enermax PSU

OCZ are good ones too the warranty and customer service on OCZ ones rocks

BWX · Aug 25, 2006, 05:08 PM

I've actually heard of a lot of defective Enermax PSU's, but not any more than any other brand. I think no matter what, no company is so good that it gets 100% of it's products out the door and to the customer in perfect working order. Some things are beyond their control.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Aug 26, 2006, 10:39 PM

Yeah... maybe all the defective ones I should have heard about, got shoved over your way instead

BWX · Aug 26, 2006, 11:05 PM

I never had one.. i think they are over priced. -but I have definitely heard people pissed off about having one or more that was defective. But it is a popular brand, so like I said, there are bound to be people that get bad ones. I would probably buy one still, if I found a good deal. I have personally had great luck with Antec- but i have also heard people talk smack about them too.

PangingJr · Aug 27, 2006, 02:31 AM

i also use some of Enermax's ve(fma) 460W/535W models, they are kinda old now all the ones i have are ATX 12V ver. 1.3,
i don't really have any high-end gaming system, but do use many hard drives and other devices in each system.
i think they are very acceptable and reasonable price supply units, i'm not sure if thay are good enough for a high-end card and gaming system or not, but the newer models should do. i think i can count on this brand when i want to buy a new one. anyway, there is still some good computer power supplies out there like the ones that made by Zippy technology corp, but some people may not like some of their models because the supply units are to be noisy with its fan in high RPM.

~~hackerx~~ · Aug 27, 2006, 03:17 AM

because of that dead PSU i can't game what so ever.My pentium d rig is offline along with the x1900 xt.I can only use my old P4 531+915GAV mobo.So no AOE3,Oblivion,FEAR etc...
Anyway is about time this thread got closed.
I'll have to get a new PSU.End of story.
So please close this thread.

PangingJr · Aug 27, 2006, 03:30 AM

well, wish some one here can help you but it seems that no one (include me) can answer to some of your questions, things that you really want to know. and the only way that is to buy a new supply.

BWX · Aug 27, 2006, 05:45 AM

Quote:

Can anyone who knows how to fix UPS's be able to fix this?

Yes, I bet someone could fix it.. It would cost more to fix it than it is worth though I presume...

The time it would take a person (qualified to fix it) to just narrow down the problem would cost more than it is worth I am sure. It isn't like your average electrician could fix it..

How much to send it back for RMA? Have you checked UPS rates or some other courier? How expensive can it be? Certainly not more than the PSU is worth..

I would RMA it.

PangingJr · Aug 27, 2006, 06:04 AM

if you want to play your fav game fast buy a new one, just sent that one back if you can.
power supplies are like us, they can die... when you get it back you can keep it as a spare, and as you know this spare supply can equally work so you can continue with your fav system...

~~hackerx~~ · Aug 27, 2006, 09:26 AM

thanks for all ur help and advice guys.I'll be buying a new PSU soon enough.And i'll RMA the zeus sooner or later.
So like i said earlier.Please close the thread.And thanks again.

And sorry if my i asked too many(noob like) questions.

BWX · Aug 27, 2006, 10:52 AM

The only noob question is the question not asked.

H3X4D3C1M4L · Aug 28, 2006, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWX

The only noob question is the question not asked.

Agreed.

~~hackerx~~ · Oct 1, 2006, 07:30 AM

its been a long while.but i managed to find a replacement for my PSU which is locally available(sorta,about 400km away)using newegg for a reference.(i'll RMA the other one later)
Is it a good PSU?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817171009
Please advice.