Power spike

Crusader

Crusader

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My UPS went crazy beeping and flashing a red light which indicates a power spike. Now my PC doesn't want to turn on. It goes so far as to light up the case and make the case fans spin, but just as it is supposed to do POST it shuts down.

I'm hoping that it's just the PSU that has been damaged. Does this sound right or should I be worried that the whole system is fried?

Nothing smells burned and no sparks were visible. I've tried bypassing the UPS by running from mains and it still does the same thing.
 
What type of UPS was it?
The UPS is cheapie and couldn't stop the spike. Some of the UPS's out there are glorified bike batteries.
If you have a good quality PSU, then its probably the PSU only, since the quality ones all have surge protectors to protect the PC component at all cost.
If you PSU is of the cheaper variety, your motherboard is possibly blown as well.

The only way to test it is to plug another PSU in and see if it starts up.
If it does not start up, take it to your local tech shop to check what's still working.
 
The UPS is a Proline one so definitely not the best. The PSU is an AOpen 700W.

Hopefully by tonight I'll be able to borrow a PSU to test. If everything is blown I don't know what I'll do... definitely don't have the cash to replace everything.
 
Sounds like the power spike got past the UPS and damaged the PSU- what is the best way to prevent this? Would a surge protection plug before a UPS be enough? Or is the only option a moose UPS??

Did you have a surge protection plug??
 
Those proline UPS's don't have very good voltage protection. It won't protect your PC very much as its main protection from surge is a fuse. When getting a UPS, get one that has OVP and UVP as well. I know all APC UPS's have got it and MGE UPS, Its part of the reason why they cost double as much.

The Surge plug wont really protect the PC more than a quality UPS, but the surge plug should block out the real show-stopper surges from blowing your entire PC.
 
I don't have a large enough PSU to test the other components, but it seems as if it's definitely the PSU that has died. While measuring it with a multimeter, the voltages were higher than they were supposed to be, and then the PSU just died.

I'll have to order a new PSU and wait till it comes to test the other components. I just hope they didn't get damaged. This is why living in a small town sucks, there's no nearby PC stores to run to to get new components.

So I'll be holding thumbs for the next week or two...
 
Obviously I realize that now, but at the time that was all my budget allowed.

Would all APC UPSs be good enough or should I save up and get a line-interactive one? The APC "Backup" line also states that it will protect equipment against spikes and the like.
 
Crusader said:
Obviously I realize that now, but at the time that was all my budget allowed.

Would all APC UPSs be good enough or should I save up and get a line-interactive one? The APC "Backup" line also states that it will protect equipment against spikes and the like.
Click to expand...

Yes any APC would be good enough. Go to the APC website and run the wizard to help you choose the right one.
 
Well, it's bad news for me. The new PSU arrived and it also shuts down after about 4 secs. So it's definitely the mobo that's dead. The CPU might also be a gone, but I don't have a way to test it. One huge luck is that the GTX 260 seems fine. Tested it go another PC and it was able to show Bios and Windows, but the PC didn't have the right driver or a game to test gaming - hopefully it will be fine.

Instead of messing round further I'm just going to replace the CPU and mobo. Have ordered a Asus P5Q-E and Core2 Duo E8500. Now the long wait continues - just hope Take2 can get the stuff before closing for Christmas.
 
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