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Member
Just to add, I also suspect the power supply as Phillpower does, if you have access to a multimeter, either your own or borrowed, there is a quite good tutorial listing steps and showing what voltages should be seen or read here :-
http://www.wikihow.c...-a-Power-Supply
It is a bit long winded, and the earlier stages can be ignored as they don't apply to you, though worth reading for the information.
Nev.
Member
Hi fantastic support team,
Apologies for the late response. I have been reluctant to move ahead due to my lack of knowledge! Trying to pick this back up.
So it looks like I need to replace the Power supply. I don't have access to any to test it out. Do I need to get the exact same model? How would I know what other models would be compatible with this one? Mine is a Liteon model no PS-6301-08A. I've found a few on ebay but shipping is expensive. I'm wondering if I should be looking at some kind of equivalent model that might be more common? Also, I read about the paper clip test for the power supply. Would that be OK to try? I will be very safe and not touch the paper clip when turned on 
http://www.wikihow.c...-a-Power-Supply
Thanks for any moral support and ideas 
Member
There are a bunch of used ones available near me, but I wouldn't know where to start to narrow them down or what would be compatible with my system:
http://www.kijiji.ca...?address=J8X3V3
Mechanised Mod
Do not risk purchasing a used PSU, your PSU is a standard ATX type and a good quality brand with an appropriate power output will not cost you as much as replacing all of your hardware should you purchase a used PSU and it goes bang, test the present PSU as shown in the Corsair link that I previously provided in reply #15;
This change in behaviour is more like a bad PSU than it was previously so I would suggest that you check that first and leave the CMOS battery for now.
Excuse the title of the tutorial here which details how to remove a PSU
Once the PSU is removed you can do the most basic of tests to see if the PSU will activate and stay running, Corsair guide here (no need to connect an additional fan).
Pin-out diagrams here
You are welcome btw
Tip
If you have something to add while waiting for a reply use the edit tab – bottom right of the dialogue input box and this will ensure that no information that you provide is overlooked (this can happen if your topic has more than one page)
Member
Do not risk purchasing a used PSU, your PSU is a standard ATX type and a good quality brand with an appropriate power output will not cost you as much as replacing all of your hardware should you purchase a used PSU and it goes bang, test the present PSU as shown in the Corsair link that I previously provided in reply #15;
This change in behaviour is more like a bad PSU than it was previously so I would suggest that you check that first and leave the CMOS battery for now.
Excuse the title of the tutorial here which details how to remove a PSU
Once the PSU is removed you can do the most basic of tests to see if the PSU will activate and stay running, Corsair guide here (no need to connect an additional fan).
Pin-out diagrams here
You are welcome btw
Tip
If you have something to add while waiting for a reply use the edit tab – bottom right of the dialogue input box and this will ensure that no information that you provide is overlooked (this can happen if your topic has more than one page)
Thanks so much for your help once again. I should have realised that you were so thorough in your previous response
After working hard for over an hour, I finally managed to get the PSU out of the computer. The wires were all intertwined so I worked slowly and took lots of pictures in case I needed to put it back in. Did the paper clip test, and low and behold, it doesn't power up. When plugged in, the fan didn't move at all, and if I got close enough I could hear a faint electronic sound. Clearly it's not able to fully power up!
As you recommend I will definitely find a new one. Really great to have been able to narrow it down this far. I will place my order and let you know once I've set up up, we'll see how everything turns out!!
Thanks again for all of the support and assistance, it is really fantastic.
Quick edit: I'm having a lot of trouble finding the same model power supply. How do I know what models would be equivalent to mine? Can I buy a different brand that has similar specs? Is there somewhere I can search that will show me equivalent brands to mine? Any help you can provide on this would be great!!
Edited by maximem, 05 April 2015 - 10:38 PM.
Mechanised Mod
As I previously mentioned your PSU is a standard ATX type and so a better quality brand at a good price will be readily available to you, let us know in which country you will be making the purchase and we will see what we can find for you.
BTW, the faint electrical sound and the power light that you have previously mentioned are typical of the 5V stand by power.
Member
Thanks Phil. I just wanted to understand how to look for a PSU - so you mean any standard ATX type will fit in my computer regardless? This is what I need guidance on, from there I can search. I don't know how many watts to buy for example. I don't see that information on the current PSU and when I look online I find different information.
I am located in Canada, but I don't expect you to do all of my work for me I will search for one but I just wanted to know what parameters to use to find out. If I search "standard ATX power supply" I think that will be too vague. Will any of them fit into my computer regardless or do I need to look for certain measurements? Thanks for any guidance!
For example:
http://www.canadacom...rt=2&filter_id=
http://www.amazon.ca...=price-asc-rank
http://search.ncix.c...TX power supply
http://www.newegg.ca...ICE&PageSize=30
If you are telling me that all of these are compatible, no problem I will choose one How many watts should I get?
Mechanised Mod
Not having the PSU output on the present PSU is not helpful but it is not the end of the world 
If you can confirm that the video card is still the Radeon HD2400 Pro and you have not added any significant hardware upgrades then a 430W bronze rated PSU is more than adequate (the video card requires a 300W PSU with a minimum of 18 amps on the +12V rail btw)
If yes to the above then one of the following PSUs would be appropriate;
Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze (non modular) here
Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze (modular) here
If the budget will allow it the EVGA (non modular) here
Before making any purchase I would suggest that you ask a local tech store (many do it free or for a small fee so please ask first) or an electrician to test the present PSU to confirm that it is bad, not doubting your ability just wanting you to have it confirmed before any outlay of cash 
Mechanised Mod
Not heard from you for a while maximem, do you still require assistance or is the issue now resolved, an update would be appreciated.
Member
Not heard from you for a while maximem, do you still require assistance or is the issue now resolved, an update would be appreciated.
(SEE ADDITIONAL UPDATE BELOW)
Hi Phil, thanks for checking in. I was able to purchase the power supply on Friday (I preferred to buy it in person). It is the Corsair model you recommended, I happened to get the modular version because it had a 20$ rebate
I tried to set it up today, and I got the whole thing to power up for the first time in a long time (all fans running etc). Unfortunately nothing shows up on the display, and I do get a beep code at startup (edit: 1 long, two short). Any way to know what those beep codes mean? Actually, to be honest, they aren't very loud at all so I'm not sure if they are officially beep codes.
I also should mention that I can power the computer off - even holding down the power button for 10-20 seconds. I have to turn the power supply off, that's the only way to shut it down. I'm not sure if this means something.
I took a video of the bootup to help.
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube....ed/UStOrh1pgh4"frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Other information: I plugged the screen to the graphics card, and then directly. No change.
I have no idea if I have plugged in all of the right things. I had a lot of difficulty re-tracing what was plugged in for my first power supply, despite many pictures and numbers I left myself.
I have the motherboard 24 pin connector plugged into the motherboard, comes straight out of the PS.
I have a 4 pin connector (into white 4 squares) and says CPU, goes straight into the PS. (
I have a long L shaped plug in my disc drive, that connects to my PS in the column for peripheral and SATA.
I have a long L shaped plug (different one) into my hard drive, that connects to my PS in the column for peripheral and SATA.
Both of the above have a second L shaped plug that is not plugged into anything.
I have a cable that goes to the back of my PS in the column for PCI + CPU. It has a 4 circle plug (horizontal, not sure what it's called, looks like 4 mini headphone jacks for example, female). I plugged this into the back of a cable that is female/male of the same thing. I'm not sure what it comes out of because it's hard to trace. The reason I put this here is because the previous PS had something similar. Not sure it is actually doing anything (I can take a photo to better explain).
Finally, I have a cable I am not using at all, that should connect to the PS in the PCI+CPU column. The able is called PCI-express. Should this be plugging into my video card or something? It is 6 pin, similar to the 4-pin one mentioned above.
I hope these explanations are helpful. Please let me know what you think of all this!! I really appreciate all of the help and guidance you have given me so far.
UPDATE:
So I looked up the 1 long, 2 short beep codes, and they all seem to point to video issues. So I thought, let's just pull the video card and see if that helps. I pulled it out, then booted the computer, and then, nothing worked. Light came on for a second, fan turned once and then everything stopped. Exactly exactly the same as before, with the previous power supply. The same clip as I had posted before will show you this error. I have since put the video card back in, and the same thing happens. So the computer no longer starts up as it did in the video I posted here today. It looks exactly like where we were. Could I have blown the new power supply simply by unplugging the video card??
Edited by maximem, 12 April 2015 - 09:00 PM.
Mechanised Mod
Hello maximem,
Too late now but it would have been best if you had post back before hooking up the new PSU 
Can I just confirm that you have not been plugging anything in or out while the computer has been powered up or connected to the wall socket.
Did you ground yourself before reaching inside the case.
One long and two short beeps does mean that the video card is bad, this could mean that the card itself has failed, the card is not seated correctly or that the slot on the MB has issues.
I also should mention that I can power the computer off - even holding down the power button for 10-20 seconds. I have to turn the power supply off, that's the only way to shut it down. I'm not sure if this means something.
Without being able to boot into Windows and use the correct shutdown method there is no other way.
Finally, I have a cable I am not using at all, that should connect to the PS in the PCI+CPU column. The able is called PCI-express. Should this be plugging into my video card or something? It is 6 pin, similar to the 4-pin one mentioned above.
Your video card does not require an additional power connector.
For now I would suggest that you completely disconnect the new PSU from the computer and test it as shown in the video here
Pinout diagrams here the paper clip should be inserted in the black 15 and green 16 terminals on a 24 pin ATX power block.
Let us know how the test goes before doing anything else please.
Member
Thanks Phill for all of your patience with me in this troubleshooting. I know it hadn't been easy! I really appreciate all of the help you've been able to give me.
I didn't realise that I shouldn't have hooked up the PSU before checking in, sorry about that. I can confirm that I haven't done any work in the computer when it was connected nor powered up. I definitely ground myself on metal before touching anything inside the case.
So, pulled it out and unplugged everything, tested the power supply in the same way as instructed, and yup, looks like I fried it. I even moved the paperclip to a different black wire to make sure it was really properly in there. It had a teeny bit of juice to make the fan roll for a second, but nothing more.
Is it really possible for a video card to burn two power supplies out?? I'm very sad about this
Is there anything else worth doing at this point? I am getting ready to give up and have my parents eat the 70$ PSU and tell them I just can't fix it
Hello maximem,
Too late now but it would have been best if you had post back before hooking up the new PSU
Can I just confirm that you have not been plugging anything in or out while the computer has been powered up or connected to the wall socket.
Did you ground yourself before reaching inside the case.
One long and two short beeps does mean that the video card is bad, this could mean that the card itself has failed, the card is not seated correctly or that the slot on the MB has issues.
I also should mention that I can power the computer off - even holding down the power button for 10-20 seconds. I have to turn the power supply off, that's the only way to shut it down. I'm not sure if this means something.
Without being able to boot into Windows and use the correct shutdown method there is no other way.
Finally, I have a cable I am not using at all, that should connect to the PS in the PCI+CPU column. The able is called PCI-express. Should this be plugging into my video card or something? It is 6 pin, similar to the 4-pin one mentioned above.
Your video card does not require an additional power connector.
For now I would suggest that you completely disconnect the new PSU from the computer and test it as shown in the video here
Pinout diagrams here the paper clip should be inserted in the black 15 and green 16 terminals on a 24 pin ATX power block.
Let us know how the test goes before doing anything else please.
Mechanised Mod
Don't be too hard on yourself, we all make mistakes!
Is it really possible for a video card to burn two power supplies out?? I'm very sad about this
Unfortunately yes but atm there is nothing to suggest that the video card has caused any of this, a system short and/or I`m sorry to say human error could equally have been the cause, understandably you are sad.
The reason why it would have been best if you had post back first was so that we could provide you with a checklist to follow before turning on the power, again I`m sorry to say but after watching your last video it is apparent that such a checklist would have helped you, this because the video shows that you powered up the computer with your screen connected to the MBs video port while the add on video card was still fitted, explanation, when an add on video card is fitted into a MB that has an integrated video chip by default the onboard video is disabled by the BIOS, this is regardless of whether or not the add on video card works as the card only needs to be detected in the slot for the onboard video to be disabled.
Is there anything else worth doing at this point?
Got to ask this but was the power switch on the PSU itself correctly in the On position.
I have a 4 pin connector (into white 4 squares) and says CPU, goes straight into the PS. (
Before anything is suggested can you tell us if your MBs 12V ATX CPU socket is 4 or 8 pin.
Member 1K
try returning the power supply saying it doesn't work and with luck when/if you get a replacement phillpower can get things working again for you, be aware though if there is a hardware short problem even following phill's excellent advice he may not be able to stop you from burning out a 3rd psu.
Member
Thanks everyone for all of your support
Let's recap the original issue, as I think we are absolutely back to square one, and that we blew out the first power supply too in the exact same way.
Originally: computer boots up but nothing appears on the screen. Sounds like it's not "turning over". As far as I remember, no beep code. To isolate the problem, tried removing and reinstalling the ram cards one by one, no change. Then, we tried to remove the video card. Computer barely booted, fans died. Tried putting the video card back in, and then nothing. So that's when we killed the power supply.
Now with new power supply: When I installed it, and wanted to test with a screen, I absolutely plugged into the video card screen plug. I only plugged into the built-in one when I saw that wasn't working, just to test. I understand from your explanation that this wouldn't have shown me anything more. But rest assured I first plugged it into the card and nothing happened so we were exactly where we were in the first place before. So nothing to have uncovered there.
As to your other questions, yes the PSU was switched to on when I plugged it in and turned it on. WHen I worked on the computer the switch was always on off AND I unplugged it and waited a bit to make sure there was no charge left. My CPU socket is 4 pin, the Corsair PS came with an 8 pin connection and I was confused, finally realised that it splits in two.
So to re-iterate, I think we are exactly where we were before the new PS since the exact same steps shorted out the new PS. The computer turns on, fans power, but nothing on the screen (when plugged into the video card). When we remove the video card (with no screen plugged in), the computer dies. Try putting the video card back in, and the computer is even deader!
Any thoughts and ideas appreciated. I would just love to know what happened for all of our learning. What could be killing the PS related to the video card!! Seems so crazy to us.
Terry, thanks for the suggestion, I'll see if I can play the "I plugged it in and it didn't work" card but somehow I doubt it
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