Ahh, the smell of burnt circuitry

[Merkuri]

I would just junk the ram from the dead machine if it turns out that the problem is not just a dead power supply.

I'll probably end up junking the whole machine if the power supply isn't the problem. I don't want to spend any more money on a machine that I already replaced. If it'll take $25 for a new power supply then fine, but if it'll also take $100 for new memory and $500 for a new motherboard/processor then it's gonna go out the window.

Stupid faulty parts frying my working machine *grumble grumble grumble*

Isn't it ironic that I now wish I had used that power cord on my new machine? If it fried the new machine I'd be able to get a replacement because it would be covered by the warranty. Now, because I fried the older machine with the new cord, I have to eat the cost of the damage myself.

 

[Rackhir]

Isn't it ironic that I now wish I had used that power cord on my new machine? If it fried the new machine I'd be able to get a replacement because it would be covered by the warranty. Now, because I fried the older machine with the new cord, I have to eat the cost of the damage myself.

It is highly unlikely that it's a problem with the power cord, they're pretty simple, generic and very hard to screw up by accident. It's far more likely that the power supply just died for reasons unrelated to the cord and/or the memory being forced in damaged something. If there was something wrong with the cord, the power supply would most likely have died almost immediately. That said, they are also a dime a dozen and there's no reason to use a possibly damaged one.

 

[Merkuri]

If there was something wrong with the cord, the power supply would most likely have died almost immediately. That said, they are also a dime a dozen and there's no reason to use a possibly damaged one.

The power supply did die immediately. As soon as I turned the PC on the lights flickered and died and the computer became unresponsive (further presses of the power button did nothing). The smoke didn't come until later, but there was a problem from the moment I turned it on. It's likely that the power supply was damaged as soon as I turned it on but the heat or whatever didn't build up to smoking/crackling levels until some time later.

And now that both the place I bought it from and the manufacturer refuse to have anything to do with it I think I'll just throw out that cord. I have plenty of spares. I kept it with the idea that if somebody was going to replace my power supply they'd probably want to see the cord to "prove" that it was faulty. Even if it's not faulty, I don't want to risk destroying another (more expensive) power supply when I have plenty of cords that I know work.

 

[LightPhoenix]

Motherboards will usually have some sort of power lights on them, but if even if the problem isn't the power supply, it never hurts to have a spare power supply you can use in your new machine. Since they are one of the most likely to fail components.

It's highly likely that there will be no visible signs of damage to the motherboard even if there are. Also there can often be a cascade of problems. IE. bad power supply fries motherboard that fries memory which might fry the motherboard if put in a new machine. I would just junk the ram from the dead machine if it turns out that the problem is not just a dead power supply.

I agree with everything Rackhir said.

The problem with motherboards is that they don't visibly show signs of what is wrong usually. A small short (usually caused by a power surge from a failed power supply to one of the supplies) with be nigh invisible. Really, the only visible sign of any circuit component failing is going to be a capacitor or inducer blowing, which will create scorch marks. If it's something like a resistor or a logic chip, there's no visible sign.

And now that both the place I bought it from and the manufacturer refuse to have anything to do with it I think I'll just throw out that cord. I have plenty of spares. I kept it with the idea that if somebody was going to replace my power supply they'd probably want to see the cord to "prove" that it was faulty. Even if it's not faulty, I don't want to risk destroying another (more expensive) power supply when I have plenty of cords that I know work.

No harm in that, though as Rackhir said, power cables are almost never the problem. The only things that can really go wrong with a power cable are a break in the wires (which would mean it wouldn't work at all) or a faulty ground, which is more likely to be wiring in your home. It's likely your power supply has actually been dying for some time now, and it's happenstance it happened when it did.

Before junking the whole machine though, here's what I would test, roughly in this order:

Replace the power supply. If your computer boots up, great! If not, you have a spare power supply, which is never a bad thing.

Take out all the RAM. Then put in one stick, and try booting up your computer. If it boots, it's probably a faulty stick of RAM - find out which one and throw it away (or replace it). RAM is fairly cheap, just make sure you get the right kind. If you have some spare RAM lying around you can use to test with too, that's even better - then you can rule out all the RAM being bad.

If you have a floppy drive, a copy of your BIOS and update utility, and are comfortable with it, I would try booting from the floppy and attempting to reinstall the BIOS. You can find specific instructions for your motherboard online - likely at the manufacturer's website, but also with Google as well.

If it doesn't boot from a floppy at this point, having tried the above two steps, there's nothing more to do.

 

[babomb]

By the way, both the place I bought it from and the manufacturer are being pricks and refusing to give me anything because the piece that broke was not from them, even though their product caused it.

As has been said, it's extremely unlikely that the power cable caused it. Power cables are very simple and hard to mess up, and most of the time when they are bad, they won't work at all. If you have a simple multimeter, you can easily test the cable.

In fact, if any wires are crossed, the most likely place by far is your home's power outlet. (If you plugged the computer into a different outlet when it broke, you may want to spend the ~$20 to buy an outlet tester at a hardware store.)

But more likely than that is that your power supply simply went bad. Maybe the timing is just a coincidence, or maybe between opening the computer up, moving it around, and perhaps some electrostatic discharge, you added the straw that broke the camel's back.

Unfortunately, a bad power supply will often fry your motherboard or other components.

 

[Nadaka]

Just blame your boyfriend ... it is all his fault [/QUOT]
IT always is isn't it?

As to why is his machine still working and yours not? Just dumb luck for you.

The third prong is what I was talking about on the power cables. That is the earthing prong. And the fact you used a surge protector discounts the cable being at fault.

FYI: Here in the US we generally call that grounding. In some contexts earth and ground are synonyms, but this is not the case here.

 

[Merkuri]

*sigh*

Okay, I just installed a new power supply, the exact same model as my old one, plugged everything in with the exception of my misc media drive (too difficult to reach, and I figured it wasn't essential for the test). The power turns on, the fans spin up, but that's about it. No beeps, no sounds from the speakers, nothing on the monitor.

So what do you think, is my motherboard dead? Is it possible that the memory is the problem, or should I have gotten a beep code of some sort if that were the case?

 

[Rackhir]

*sigh*

Okay, I just installed a new power supply, the exact same model as my old one, plugged everything in with the exception of my misc media drive (too difficult to reach, and I figured it wasn't essential for the test). The power turns on, the fans spin up, but that's about it. No beeps, no sounds from the speakers, nothing on the monitor.

So what do you think, is my motherboard dead? Is it possible that the memory is the problem, or should I have gotten a beep code of some sort if that were the case?

Sounds dead to me.

There are two things you might want to try though.

1) Replace the BIOS battery on the MB. Dead bios batteries can produce these symptoms.

2) Try some different ram. Mind you, you could toast what ever memory you try, because of possible damage to the MB. But if you're willing to risk it dead memory can also result in these symptoms.