powersupply fry motherboard?

[stangcrazy342]

Can a psu fry a motherboard? My friend was told by a computer shop his motherboard was bad and the psu was the cause. He asked me if this can happen and I do not know. He just does not want to replace his psu if he does not have to. His computer is only a year and half old and bought it at a computer show. It is a amd 1700 xp with a ecs k7sem motherboard. Thank you

[Budfred]

Welcome to http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif

Sure, it isn't likely, but it is possible. This is especially true if he bought it at a computer show since they will often put really crummy power supplies in computers at those shows. If he believes it might be ok, the best bet would be to get a multimeter and someone who knows how to use it to test it.

Also, does the board actually show evidence of being fried?? It is possible that the board and CPU are ok and the problem is exclusively the PS. He could test that by using a different PS to see if the system will boot.

[stangcrazy342]

My friend said it did show evidence of being fryed. The board had a couple of electronic pieces that were brown and discolored and there was a burnt electical smell. I guess he better replace the psu also. Are there any suggestions on a decent psu. Thanks

[superdrumr]

If the PSU fried the motherboard, the motherboard isnt going to be working either and you'll have to replace that too.

[Budfred]

Check the Article (http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20021021/index.html) for ideas about power supplies and this Web page (http://members.shaw.ca/need4speed/Power%20Supply%20Choices.htm) for some really helpful information....

[jmjones162]

I agree with budfred but you may also want to check the actual wall socket the computer was plugged into. I had a friend whos computer did the same thing and he replaced everything just to have it fried again. I'm not to sure of the details just that the wiring to that particular socket was messed up and had to be replaced. You may want to check that too. It's not always the fault of the computer and I wouldn't want you to replace it all again before checking that.

[stangcrazy342]

Thank you everyone for all the ideas. If there are anymore please feel free to leave them

[pentachris]

I had a power supply fail on me once - with a loud bang and a flash of light inside the psu! The cpu fried. The modem died. The sound card expired. The motherboard would run DOS, but crapped out trying to install Windows 98.

It was actually that experience that made me seek out some help on the internet, and I found these forums.