The other day I came home and my PC wouldn't turn on. This PC is quite old (>5 years) and is generally pretty weak. I bought it as a cheap PC that I got from a guy who was leaving the country. Still, everything software-wise works fine.
As I was saying, I usually leave my PC on when I go to work, and it automatically goes to sleep after a few minutes of inactivity. I get home and it's off and the power buttons don't do anything. I start to suspect something might have happened, like a power surge (I use a surge protector) or some kind of power outage.
So far, here is a list of things that I've tried:
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Checked all cables and switches to make sure they're all secure, turned on and correctly placed (though they already worked fine before)
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Cleaned out the case of dust
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Opened up the case and switched out the power and reset buttons on the FP1 sockets to see if it was a faulty power button.
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Removed all the parts, including leaving just one stick of RAM in one slot, trying to power on. Nothing happens when button is pressed. I then installed parts one-by-one, still no change.
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Re-wired everything, including the power buttons and hard drive cables, double checked everything once more.
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Tried the tests again with different outlets and power cables, even though the original outlet that the computer used seems to be working with other devices fine.
At this point I started to wonder if a hardware part had completely failed. I took the 20 pin connector out of the motherboard and tried the paperclip test using the green/black connectors, nothing happens when plugged in and turned on. Now I think it's a dead PSU, so I go to the store and get a new one. I install it into the case, re-wire everything, and it still won't turn on. I try the paperclip test on the new PSU as well. It doesn't short the connection and start... I'm starting to wonder if there's something wrong with the brand of paperclip I'm using. I plug the PSUs into different wall sockets and try different power cables, no change.
So I'm basically at a loss right now. Not only is the PC not turning on, the old AND new PSUs both don't work with the paperclip test.
I dread to think that it's a dead motherboard, but that also doesn't explain why I can't get the PSU to start with the paperclips. What am I missing?
Update: Something weird going on. When I plug the new power supply into the motherboard with the 24-pin unplugged and the CPU power plugged in, it spins up and works with the paper clip test, but if I plug in the 24-pin connector, the PSU won't start. It seems like something between the mobo and PSU's 24-pin connector cable.
The paperclip test emulates how the motherboard would turn on the PSU. If doing so doesn't turn on the PSU then it is likely that your PSU no longer works.
Disconnect the PSU from everything (but mains) and ideally connect a multimeter across a power lead and check if there is a voltage. Presuming you don't have a multimeter, plug in a hard drive (not an SSD!) and see if it spins up when you perform the paperclip test again (if you hold the hard drive you should feel it spin up)
Its worth understanding what the paperclip test is, and what exactly it does.
A paperclip test is a good way to work out if your PSU is completely dead, as opposed to another issue. It is no replacement for a proper PSU tester.
Essentially the only question it answers is "Does the sense cable pick up that its grounded?"
From what you say, yes you failed it. If you passed it still dosen't mean that your PSU is completely healthy. You'd want to check each 'rail' to see if its the correct voltage, which a proper PSU tester would do automatically.
Paper clip test?
PC won't power and but passed PSU paperclip test... what now?
Power Supply Fails Paperclip Test
PSU Paperclip test failed?
Videos
So, I just cleaned my CPU and heatsink to apply new thermal paste (it had random 206C spikes while gaming (probably faulty sensor)) and my PC had a black screen after this when I turned it on. So I tried to plug most of the cables out of my motherboard and reconnect them. Now my PC won't even turn on...
So, I did the paperclip test on my PSU, the fan turns on for 0.5 seconds, but then stops. I don't have any other PSUs near me to test if others work. Does this mean that my PSU died or my motherboard is faulty?
Mobo: MSI 760GM-P23
PSU: Cooler Master B600
Processor (if needed): AMD FX-4100
I'm building my new computer and when I thought I was done and turned it on, the fans spun for a split second then stopped. (The rgb ram stayed lit if that's important) so I tried the paper clip test by just unplugging the 24 pin cable from the motherboard and putting the paperclip into the correct pins. The same thing as before happened, fans spin for half second then stop. So I tried unplugging the psu from everything, then testing them 1 by 1. With nothing connected to the psu ( unplugged pcie cable from gpu, unplugged sata connector from psu, unplugged CPU cable from motherboard) the psu fan turned on and stayed on. With any 1 thing connected, (whether it be a sata connection, the gpu plugged in, the motherboard CPU cable plugged in) it didnt work (psu fan spins for half second then stops) i tried each sata connection individually (my kraken x52, my ssd, my corsair rgb fan hub) and each one made the psu fan spin for a half second then stop. Ideas of what's going on? Should I go for a new psu?
The other day my PC wasn't posting. One of the troubleshooting steps I did was to do a Paper Clip Test on my PSU (Seasonic Focus GX 1000W). Unfortunately, I didn't have any paper clip, what I used instead was a split key ring, thinking that it'd be the same. Upon turning on the PSU while it was set up for the test, it tripped our circuit breaker.
Did I kill my PSU? The Paper Clip Test was something I've done before. But I didn't have a paper clip this time, so I used something else.
EDIT: I'm surprised some people aren't familiar with the Paper Clip Test. Here's a link for your reference:
https://help.corsair.com/hc/en-us/articles/360025085372-PSU-How-to-test-a-PSU-Power-Supply-Unit
UPDATE: Bought a PSU tester. I did kill my PSU. Don't do this. lol
Some PSUs will not start up properly unless they are connected to a load, so if you did the paperclip test with no devices connected to the PSU then it may 'play dead' - and that's also why things seemed OK when you tried again later with the PSU hooked up to some PC parts.
Did you actually do the paperclip test properly?
Getting nothing could mean the PSU is dead or the paperclip test wasn't done properly. It's impossible for us to say.
But it sounds like the PSU isn't dead if the fan was activated and a LED was on.
Psu functionality questioning… please help
PSU functionality questioning. Help me please
Alright if your reading this please read the whole thing im sorry for the long text
So there was a night where i wanted to power on my pc… nothing no fans no mobo post lights just nothing. I assumed it may go away tomorrow and just went to bed. Once in bed i heard a buzz coming from my pc and my mouse randomly illuminated.
❗️Also before this my pc randomly restarted about once a week and sometimes when i plug in the back of the pc cable and its not fully seated it arced and zapped even when the switch was off.❗️i asked chatgpt alot of questions along the way and it told me to NOT try powering the pc on again so i didnt although i wasnt sure if maybe the power cable just wasnt connected properly or maybe the power switch was still flipped off. But chatgpt said to not take the risk and take it out. And i assumed there is definetely something at fault seen the symptoms i described
so this lead me to thinking it was a psu issue. Basically very clearly a psu thing right… even though i wasnt sure if maybe it just wasnt plugged in right or something. But once again chatgpt told me to not troubleshoot by plugging in the power cable again
So i made a big leap and opened up the pc took out the psu and ran the paperclip test. Boom the fan span to life. My heart sank. Idk what to do z span to life. My heart sank. Idk what to do now.
But i read in google that even if the psu passes the paperclip test that still doesnt indicate that the pc is fully functional. But i dont have another spare psu to plug into my rig to test if it really is the psu.
So now im kind of lost… and kinda regret not checking if the power cable was secured and the button was set to on. But i think these mistakes are still very unlikely to happen to me as im very alert.
Please help a fella out I appreciate the people who reach out to help so much
Thank you
When I do the paperclip test on my PSU, there's this clicking sound. Almost like a spring. I think it's some safety mechanism triggering. Is there hope? Here's a video so you can hear the sound. https://youtu.be/CzZs7gkYiAw?si=4kh3-QxDnTsnUOIZ