is my psu ruined?

McClintoc

McClintoc

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I have an Antec SP-500 PSU. I have only been using it for about 4 months (used in "Gaming Rig" in sig) and now it doesn't work. About a week ago my roommate's dog ripped out some wires on the AC condenser outside while we were both at work. My roommate got home before me and found it. He went to the breaker box and turned the main breaker off, cutting power to the whole house, and fixed the wires and turned the power back on. When I got home, he told me about the dog's antics and I didn't think too much of it, however, when I went into my room I found my computer (which I keep turned off during the day while I'm gone) making this steady, high pitched whine. I found that it was coming from the PSU. I turned my computer on with no problems but the PSU was still whinning. I turned my computer off and went and showered and ate dinner, bla bla bla. When I came back to my computer later that night it was still whinning but it wouldn't turn on. I haven't been able to turn it on since the one time I did right after I got home from work that day. My computer is plugged into a surge protector along with its monitor, my laptop, a lamp, my speakers, the cable modem and router. Everything plugged into the surge protector works except for just the computer so I have ruled out a power surge. Does anyone have any idea what might have happened to my PSU and is it now trash?
 
Well, your PSU is doomed, but it isn't the dog's fault. It's just coincidence that the incident with the wiring coincided with the inevitable failure of the crappy capacitors Antec used in that power supply. Trust me, I went through two myself.

Your best bet is to RMA it to Antec and tell them that you're aware of the inherent problems with the SmartPower and request that it be replaced with an Earthwatts 500W. They'll probably give you a Basiq, but their isn't any harm is trying for the upgrade. ;)
 
Antec has awesome tech support. They did me very well back in the day.

Call them up, get an RMA done.
 
In 6 years of building my own comps I have never had any bad hardware, surprisingly. My point being, I have never had to RMA anything. What all does this process involve? What info will I need ready when I call Antec and can an RMA be handled with a simple phone call?
 
Khaos Kid said:
In 6 years of building my own comps I have never had any bad hardware, surprisingly. My point being, I have never had to RMA anything. What all does this process involve? What info will I need ready when I call Antec and can an RMA be handled with a simple phone call?
Click to expand...

Start at the Antec customer support page.
 
thanks for all the info. im glad my psu has a 3 year waranty. for now, my rig is running off my old 400w psu. it's not a name brand like antec but i'va had it for about 5 years now and it still works great.
 
just so you guys know, i'm not blaming the dog. ;) i just gave as much info as i could on the situation so as to help you guys help me. even though i have the answers i was looking for, it may be of some help to yall to know that my my SP-500 had a minor whine since the day i installed it. like Rabid Badger said, it's just a coincidence, but the whine did get much worse the day the dog decided to be an electrician. :p
 
Most surge protectors wont protect from little jolts. Most need some high current to toast them. Just sounds like your PSU took the brunt of it. Also, the dog is lucky he is ok. I would imagine it's the last time he does that though. Funny tory to say the least. I had an Antec die the same way (whine) from normal use btw.
 
i submitted an on-line tech support inquirey. we shall see what happens. i am hoping it will go smoothly. i bought the PSU in May 2006 so it's well within the 3-year warranty period.
 
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