The night before last I used my computer (an HP Pavilion, three or four years old) and shut it down normally. Everything was fine.
Last night I tried to turn it on and nothing happened. No sounds, no activity, no nothing. I checked to see if it was still plugged in and that the cats hadn’t somehow shut off the power strip/surge protector, but everything was still functioning correctly.
Today I came into work and somebody else who lives in the same city as I do posted on our work message board that she’d had the same problem. She said there was a power failure yesterday. I don’t think we actually had a power failure at our place, because we didn’t have to reset any of our clocks or VCRs when we got home. (Plus, San Jose is a big city, so it’s entirely possible parts had a failure while the rest was fine. It was an odd coincidence that she and I had the same computer failure on the same day, though…)
Anyway, I’m kind of assuming that the power supply on my computer went bad, but all this talk of power surges has got me scared that somehow this problem could be worse than just that.
So, my questions for you computer hardware folks out there:
- If we didn’t have a power failure, could we still have had a surge?
- If I have a pretty good surge protector (which I do), what’s the likelihood that a surge got through it?
- Does it seem likely that my problem is just a power supply?
- If not, and there is further damage, what’s the likelihood that my hard drive is damaged?
- If my hard drive is damaged, what’s the likelihood that I can recover my data from it?
Frankly, I don’t care if I have to buy a new computer–I’m probably due for one anyway. But even though I’ve got a lot of my data backed up, there’s some stuff on there that I would hate very much to lose. I’m trying not to panic (I’m at work and can’t deal with it until I get home tonight) but naturally I can’t help but fear the worst.
Any encouragement would be really appreciated, as would information in general.
Thanks!
Your data is on your hard drive. Its unlikely, although possible, your hard drive was taken out at the same time as your power supply or motherboard. Plug your hard drive into another computer and you’ll most likely be able to get your info back.
A new power supply is like $40. If you can borrow one and see if your system will work with it, its worth replacing.
Have you tested your surge protector? Perhaps it took the hit for you.
I’m planning to get a power supply and try switching it (is it difficult to do? It doesn’t look like it from the back of the machine–just take out a few screws and swap it out?) and hopefully that will take care of the problem.
The more I think about it, it’s not looking likely that we had a surge. It would have to have been awfully selective, since the Mac plugged the flat panel monitor plugged into the same power strip are both fine, (and everything else in the house that we’ve tried is fine too) but I tend to fear the worst when it comes to potential data loss. Can surges hit one component and leave the rest untouched?
This is probably a stupid question, but how do you tell if the surge protector took the hit? I can’t examine it right now since I’m at work and it’s at home, so if it’s obvious I apologize. 
Utterly stone dead? Your hard drive is probably OK, and it’s the power supply that took early retirement.
HP’s not exactly well-known for using durable components in their home PCs, so it’s likely that a power surge came by and pushed it over the edge. Happily, they’re easy to swap and not very expensive.
Before you replace it, double check that power is getting to the PC - you may be lucky and find it was no more than a bad plugstrip.
Yup, stone dead. Hit the ‘on’ button, nothing happens. I sure hope you’re right.
This seems to be my day for stupid questions, but what’s a plugstrip? You mean the power cord? The powerstrip seems to be fine–other things plugged into it are still working with no trouble. Thanks!
Pavillion power supplies are notoriously prone to failure. Replacement is easy enough for anyone who bows in the presence of the ESD gods and knows how to use a Phillips screwdriver. $40 is pretty standard for a power supply that will fit the case. You shouldn’t need anything larger than 300W, anyone trying to sell something heavier is misleading you. Your original supply is most likely only 250W and was probably more than sufficient. Switching power supplies are more efficient at 85% load than at 50%, so common sense does not necessarily prevail here.
That being said, you did double-check the cables, didn’t you?
Oh, yeah. I didn’t panic quite that badly.
I unplugged the cord from both ends and even tried plugging it into a different power strip/surge protector (I have two under my desk to handle all my electornic goodies). No dice.
Glad to hear HP’s power supplies are prone to failure. This one lasted a few years (might be as many as 5–can’t remember how long I’ve had this beast) so I guess it’s ready for a new one.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed that it’s the problem. And if it is, I plan to do more frequent backups in the future!