Hello, Ive been given a PC and it doesnt work. Its a Emachines 190(old maybe, but for free i cant argue). Its a 2.2GHz processor, 512MB Ram, Uknown Mobo(Socket 478 tho) and a 60GB hard drive.

I tried to turn it on, it failed. Just totally dead! So, I did a few checks(cables etc etc) and returned nothing. I then first thought of the PSU, So i got another one and tried it. It was a wrong PSU so obivously failed. I then tried another Emachines PSU and the computer started working. I then removed the PSU as i needed to put it back in the other machine. So i found another PSU in my house, The right connections - Basically a compatiable PSU. I plugged all the board in ok, That went fine. I then plugged the power cable in and BANG. The PSU goes bang.


Im very confused with this as one PSU worked and a different one goes bang. Any help would be very nice, Thanks!

Quote from mcgas001 :

Hello, Ive been given a PC and it doesnt work. Its a Emachines 190(old maybe, but for free i cant argue). Its a 2.2GHz processor, 512MB Ram, Uknown Mobo(Socket 478 tho) and a 60GB hard drive.

I tried to turn it on, it failed. Just totally dead! So, I did a few checks(cables etc etc) and returned nothing. I then first thought of the PSU, So i got another one and tried it. It was a wrong PSU so obivously failed. I then tried another Emachines PSU and the computer started working. I then removed the PSU as i needed to put it back in the other machine. So i found another PSU in my house, The right connections - Basically a compatiable PSU. I plugged all the board in ok, That went fine. I then plugged the power cable in and BANG. The PSU goes bang.


Im very confused with this as one PSU worked and a different one goes bang. Any help would be very nice, Thanks!

Did you have the PSU turned ON when you plugged the LIVE power cable into it? My guess is you did. That means you burnt it out - when putting the power cable in a PSU you can keep the mains electricity on, but turn the PSU switch OFF, then plug it in and turn the PSU switch on.

Quote from mcintyrej :

Did you have the PSU turned ON when you plugged the LIVE power cable into it? My guess is you did. That means you burnt it out - when putting the power cable in a PSU you can keep the mains electricity on, but turn the PSU switch OFF, then plug it in and turn the PSU switch on.

This PSU wasnt exactly new, Therefor it didnt have a switch.

Which end did you plug in first then? Wall socket or PC?

I didn't know that plugging a live cable into a PSU when it was turned on would fry it...

Quote from amp88 :

Which end did you plug in first then? Wall socket or PC?

I didn't know that plugging a live cable into a PSU when it was turned on would fry it...

Its happened to me before, I did it once by accident then found an old useless PSU to test if thats what blew it, and it broke that one too.

It might not do it every time, but both times i've done it its resulted in sparks and a broken frazzling PSU.

Quote from mcgas001 :

This PSU wasnt exactly new, Therefor it didnt have a switch.

In that case, I would have turned the cable off at the wall then, get it all plugged in and then turn it on. Rather than jumping a spark.

Quote from mcintyrej :

In that case, I would have turned the cable off at the wall then, get it all plugged in and then turn it on. Rather than jumping a spark.

Well, Can you explain how the Emachines PSU worked then? Im a little confused.

Quote from mcgas001 :

Well, Can you explain how the Emachines PSU worked then? Im a little confused.

Well it was a different PSU correct? The other one that fried may have had a dodgy connection, a PSU isn't something you should normally go cheap on.

Anyway, looking at the state of that PC I think i'd recommend you buy a new one.

Quote from mcintyrej :

Well it was a different PSU correct? The other one that fried may have had a dodgy connection, a PSU isn't something you should normally go cheap on.

Anyway, looking at the state of that PC I think i'd recommend you buy a new one.

Its not my main PC. As i said, i was given it for nothing, So why not try get it working? Yes it was a different PSU, Also a more powerfull one at that.

Quote from mcgas001 :

Its not my main PC. As i said, i was given it for nothing, So why not try get it working? Yes it was a different PSU, Also a more powerfull one at that.

Okay, sorry i don't understant it wasn't your main PC - my bad.

Are you wanting to spend any money on it? I'd suggest getting a good quality branded PSU, to make sure its not that. Then start going through all of the different componants to see which is faulty.