# Neverending Saga of Covered In Bees and His Computer Problems \[Power Supply?\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 10, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488 "2011-07-10T05:19:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/1 "2011-07-10T05:19:05Z")
Hello kind people. Here’s the situation: Playing Team Fortress 2 like I normally am on a Saturday evening. Then my computer shuts completely off and doesn’t start again. I gave it a good spray down with some canned air. Lots of dust admittedly and the room was kinda hot, but no worse than it’s been. Window was open and air conditioner was on full blast. When I press the power button, a light on the motherboard will flash (like it normally does when I turn it on) and the rear fan will begin to spin but won’t even make a full rotation. And that’s it. I didn’t have any other games running simultaneous to Team Fortress 2. Graphics were at the highest setting, but I have hundreds of hours of the game on the highest graphics settings with no trouble. Power supply was supplying a good 750W. Two fans and lots of ventilation holes on the top of the case. EDIT: Other than replacing the power supply, I have no idea where to even go after that. The motherboard? Processor? How do I even test to see if those are working if it won’t even turn on? ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/2 "2011-07-10T05:42:33Z")
That’s… bad. It’s a hardware issue of some kind. Could be as easy as it overheated and it’s now not turning on as a safety measure until it cools off enough. How old is your PC? It’s been my experience that when it will power on but not POST it’s the power supply, the motherboard, or possibly RAM or the CPU. If you have another PC around to be able to swap parts with that’d make troubleshooting way easier. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/3 "2011-07-10T05:46:56Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > That’s… bad. It’s a hardware issue of some kind. Could be as easy as it overheated and it’s now not turning on as a safety measure until it cools off enough. How old is your PC? It’s been my experience that when it will power on but not POST it’s the power supply, the motherboard, or possibly RAM or the CPU. > > If you have another PC around to be able to swap parts with that’d make troubleshooting way easier. It was a custom build project of mine, can’t be older than two years. You can assume three at the most to compensate for people’s bad memories, but it truly is not old at all. EDIT: I cannot figure out what POST stands for. Also, the power supply, motheroard, RAM or CPU are almost everything that make up a computer. So you’re saying it could be everything but the hard drive. 😛 Seriously though, I know it’s likely to be just one thing and likely the power supply, but is there any way for me to really test these things without swapping out parts from another computer? Technically I do have another computer, the one I’m on, but it’s not really mine and the user of it will get all bitchy if I start playing Frankenstein with my computer using parts from hers. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/4 "2011-07-10T05:53:59Z")
[POST](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power-on_self-test) ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/5 "2011-07-10T08:26:53Z")
By “rear fan” do you mean the one built in to the power supply or one built into the case? If you have a multimeter or a dedicated power supply tester, check the power supply first. If yours will not even turn on, than it’s most likely a power issue. Be sure to check the plug, cord and surge protector (if any). I just had a custom build of my own short out after less than a year due to a pre-existing flaw in the motherboard. It would power on but not POST. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/6 "2011-07-10T12:33:01Z")
You could try disconnecting various outputs of the power supply, and see if that changes behavior. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/7 "2011-07-10T13:01:27Z")
It does sound like the power supply. Have you tried disconnecting the power cord for a few seconds, then giving it another go? ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/8 "2011-07-10T14:23:13Z")
No Post and no fans with no beeps is gonna most likely land in one of two places. Power supply or motherboard. Dead CPU’s are pretty rare, and a bad ram stick would usually give you a beep code or visible error message. Either way, try unplugging everything but the motherboard and see what happens (including video power if present, as if the thing stays on without video power plugged in we learn something too) Try using single sticks of ram in different slots to isolate for bad ram and or slots. Power supply is the cheapest and easiest thing to try and replace, if its not PSU, good chance you have a blown board. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2011, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/9 "2011-07-10T16:47:26Z")
Thanks for the replies everyone. I will give it all a test later tonight when I get off work and will of course keep the thread updated. Any other tidbits you all feel like adding, feel free to do so as well, it’s all appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/10 "2011-07-11T02:36:01Z")
Okay, unplugged everything except the motherboard, no dice. Same light flashed once and that is it. And when I say “rear fan” I mean the one built into the case. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/11 "2011-07-11T05:19:41Z")
So the power supply fan isn’t even moving at all? ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/12 "2011-07-11T05:57:01Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > So the power supply fan isn’t even moving at all? Nope. Also, the light on the motherboard that flashes only flashes once per time I unplug the power cable. Every time afterwards zero signs of life. ---
**Author:** ![ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a8b319/32.png) [@ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/13 "2011-07-11T09:25:02Z")
Pull all the connectors off the motherboard and see if the power supply will turn on at all (use the switch on the back of the PSU itself). If it doesn’t, replace it. ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/14 "2011-07-11T10:28:34Z")
> [@ryan](#): > > Pull all the connectors off the motherboard and see if the power supply will turn on at all (use the switch on the back of the PSU itself). > If it doesn’t, replace it. PSU’s will usually only fire with a load, even a good power supply will fail this test as described/ ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/15 "2011-07-11T17:38:30Z")
I _did_ forget to remove the RAM while doing the above. So I did that just now, still no dice. Removed one stick of my two sticks of RAM, nothing. Removed both, nothing. Put them back, in the opposites slots than they were in previously (still in the main slots, just switching the positions), nothing. New power supply time? Recommendations? ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/16 "2011-07-11T17:45:16Z")
You could take the PS out and connect it to the working PC without having to take the PS out of the working PC. Of course you’d have to disconnect it, though. But only from the few essential connections for the test. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/17 "2011-07-11T17:48:53Z")
No time to do that now, I’ll see what I can do about testing my PSU in a different computer tonight. Results will be reported. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/18 "2011-07-11T18:05:22Z")
I suppose you could check the power supply by disconnecting the motherboard from the power supply, connecting a couple of case fans and/or hard drives to the power supply to give it some kind of load, then trying to start the power supply (if turning on and off the power supply switch doesn’t seem to do anything, you need to use a paperclip or something to briefly connect two particular lines on the end of the (now disconnected) cable from the power supply to the motherboard). If this ends up having the power supply and fans running happily, then it’s more likely the motherboard. If not, it’s probably the power supply but maybe the power supply just didn’t like the way you were trying to start it, so it’s not a very definite conclusion. The other thing to check is to just closely examine the motherboard – if there are any black marks where the[magic smoke](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_smoke) escaped, or obviously misshapen capacitors (the cylindrical things on legs), then you’ve probably found the problem. If it were me, though, I’d try and borrow or buy a different power supply and try that. Not that I’m sure that’s the problem, but power supplies are relatively cheap (plus you can probably return one you bought, for a small restocking fee), and it’s very hard to damage them with a defective motherboard or really anything else. So it’s pretty low cost to test that. Conversely, motherboards are relatively expensive (and you’d probably need a new CPU to fit), and people won’t want to lend them because it’s much easier to accidentally destroy a motherboard. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/19 "2011-07-11T18:08:25Z")
The drives are not spinning up? It has been a while since my heyday in PC troubleshooting, but I would think that means the power supply rather than the mobo. Testing the power supply in another machine should give you the answer. If the power supply turns out to be good the most likely explanation is bad mobo. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488/20 "2011-07-11T18:16:10Z")
I ran into a similar problem recently, and want to emphasize checking the simple things first. Start from the wall outlet. My problem ended up being a bad power cord. It completely failed on me one night and was just poorly manufactured. If you eliminate the cord and outlet as problems, you can check the PSU under some sort of load. Check any troubleshooting suggestions from the manufacturer. Mine showed the pinouts for the PSU fan. So, I was able to use a paperclip to load only the PSU fan and see if it was getting any juice. If you verify the PSU is good, the mainboard is the next logical step. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/neverending-saga-of-covered-in-bees-and-his-computer-problems-power-supply/588488.md?page=2)