[bsollee]

The computer at our office won't boot since the circuit breaker went off. It has happened before and rebooted no problem. What can I do?

[gerryf]

what circuit breaker? The office circuit breaker? What caused it to pop, do you know? How many things are on the circuit? The outlet shared by the PC?

When you hit start on PC, what if anything happens? Fans? Lights?

[bsollee]

The office circuit breaker blew. On the same circuit we had the microwave running and a little hand steamer. Absolutely nothing happen when we push the computer on button. The monitor, printers, etc are all working fine.

[gerryf]

certainly leaning toward dried power supply. When you turned the breaker back, or even when it popped you might have had a power surge

Some power supplies will offer limited function if they are damaged, allowing fans to spin (12 volt rail still works), or motherboards to beep or lights to flash (3 volt still works), but if the 5 volt rail goes, your power supply will not function (video cards used to use 5 volt rail, but I think only the power switch still does, irony of irony)

Some power supplies have a circuit breaker built in, so check the back of the PC.

Also, check to make sure someone didn't hit the rocker switch on the powersupply.

[bsollee]

I tried what I think would be the rocker switch. I don't see anything that looks like a breaker switch. So are you saying I need to replace the power supply? Can I do that?

[gerryf]

There are other possibilities, but the power supply is easiest. For example, the reason the circuit breaker popped is the motherboard could have malfunctioned.

Ground yourself to prevent static shock, open the case....smell anything?

Look at the motherboard...any burn marks?

If nothing, I would lean toward the psu...easy to replace...four screws, one or two plugs to the motherboard and one plug to each drive.

The tricky one is the motherboard, which will have a locking mechanism you have to unlatch, but the rest are just pull and plug.

[bsollee]

I'm certain the computer did not cause the breaker to go. The wiring in our office is the problem...old. The breaker blew all the time in the winter when we turned on the little portable heater.
There was no burning odor. I will try replacing the power supply. Can I take the power supply from an older computer that I haven't used for a year?

[gerryf]

maybe....it depends on the hook up

Looking at the current PC, how many connections run from the PSU to the mainboard? One large 20 wire connector and one 4-wire connector?

Does the old PSU have those two connectors?

How many watts (output) does the old PSU output? Modern computers typically require 300watts, though a 250 might suffice as a test....below that, it may not have enough to start.

[bsollee]

I have 300 watt power supply. Should I get the same wattage or higher? I looked at the old power supply in the other computer. It does not hook up the same way. It has an extra large black cord that goes to the ON button.

[Thuvasa3]

Hi, I'm just a random person an' all, but I have this problem from time to time. Check and see if the back of your computer has a breaker on it. Mine has a red thing that slides back and forth. It's hard to move w/ just your nails and what not, you sort of need a pen or something to slide it with. If you have one, remember which side it was on when you found it, then slide it over and try the power button. If that doesn't work, try sliding it back and forth a few times (mine needs that some times for some reason). Try the power button with the breaker in both positions. If it still doesn't work, put it back the way you found it and carry on taking the computer apart.

Jonathan

[gerryf]

same watt or more...

the old PSU does not sound like it will work, but not being able to see it :shrug:

[bsollee]

Hey, thanks everyone for your help. I bought a new power supply and installed it. The computer is working fine. The only casualty of the power surge is my Panasonic dot matrix printer. It went haywire. Oh well.