Windows 7: Power Supply troubleshooting

My power supply can run either in 115V or in 230V. Today I was running my pc at 115V. After running about 1 and a half hour there was a boom sound coming from the back panel.I shutdown and then restart PC. When starting,another boom sound and smoke came from the back panel of my CPU.Now my CPU does not getting any power.but back panel got earthing. Can anyone tell me that which may be the damaged part and what should I do please?

Most likely the power supply failed.

If you are a bit lucky, nothing else was damaged.

Your best move is to open the case and look for signs of damage--bulging capacitors, signs of scorching, etc.

If it looks OK, try to borrow another power supply to see if it will power up your PC. If you can't borrow one, you may have to buy one.

Decent power supplies may be hard to find in Bangladesh--I don't know. The best way to avoid power supply problems is to buy a good one rather than a lot of the junk that is out there.

There isn't really a good way to test power supplies without special tools, which I assume you do not have.

- But do not open the power supply. It can have dangerous amounts of power stored that can harm you, even if unplugged.

At the top of this sub-forum is a post containing links to various guides that will help you understand the importance of using a good PSU, and how to pick one.

Also if you cannot get a good PSU then a surge protection or UPS is a good idea if the power line is unstable, besides, some PSU explosions are caused by some surge.

Just to clarify (as already has been done) do not open the case of the power supply. Ignatz was referring to the computer case only, then look carefully on the main board for any capacitors (capacitors are the round, cylindrical components) showing signs of 'bulging' (they will appear to have inflated compared to other, normal capacitors).


When buying a new power supply, always try to get something which is of a slightly higher wattage (the number with a capital W next to it) than you have currently and do not go lower than the number on the one you have now.
A good guideline is that if it costs around £30-50 (British Pounds, sterling) then it is very unlikely to break.

WELL the boom sound depict your hardware damage but you never know what really is damaged ? ?
IF smoke came out than there are 95% chances that the damaged portion will be blacked so , Open the case and just look for the black spot . . . . .