How to Troubleshoot an ATX Power Supply

How to Troubleshoot an ATX Power Supply

In only 5 simple steps, you can easily determine if your ATX computer power supply is bad.

1. Disconnect all drive power cables while your PC is off.

2. Turn on the power to your PC. If your PC starts your culprit is a shorted drive, otherwise… continue troubleshooting your power supply. If it appears that a drive is the culprit, you will need to use the process of elimination to discover the guilty culprit.

3. Disconnect all power supply cables (including ac cord from wall), leave one hard drive connected (500W+ models, connect two hard drives).

4. Insert a bent paperclip between the green and black (often wire #4 and #6) wires on the 20 or 24-pin motherboard power connector (do not allow this to come into contact with metal or yourself when powering up).

5. Connect your AC cable from the wall within nothing in between and then power on your computer. If the fan in your power supply runs when your psu is powered up, odds are that your power supply is fine.