PC Dead not sure if its the PSU or the mobo

[kinkladze10]

Was using the PC today, all fine when suddenly it switched itself off.

No bang, no power outage anywhere else.

I tried the Power again on the PC and nothing happened just 2 beeps.

"beep beep" about half a second apart repeating.

I smelt a slight burning smell as well which I don't think is good.

It won't post now, nor is there any power when I switch it on, when I press the power switch I just get the beenbs however when I plugged the power back in, my external usb drive came on?

I'm not really sure what do here, In finding the cause of the problem.

How do I rule out the potential components so I can replace or repair?

Oh and I can't go back to where I got it from as they have gone bust

Thanks

[kinkladze10]

Update, had a look inside.

When I plug the power cord back in, I see a green light come on the mobo.
and there are other lights on the front, I'm guessing this would suggest that power is going to the system?

Not really sure what I can isolate.

Mobo is a PK5 deluxe.
The beeps are quite high pitched only 2 of them and the repeat in a constant cycle.

No power is going to the pc when it's switched on either.

No idea what to do next really.

[Viper81]

The P5K appears to use an AMI BIOS and looking at the beep codes on this site it appears to suggest a memory issue.

http://www.pchell.com/hardware/beepcodes.shtml#ami

Have you got 2 memory modules? If so, I would try removing one and seeing if you can boot then (if not, swap to the module you removed and try again).

[kinkladze10]

Thanks for this

When you say memory modules do you mean the 2 banks of Ram.

I've tried it with all 4 sticks in 0 sticks in and different sticks in random slots.

No change still get the same beeping error message.

It's about a 2-3 sec delay before the double beep cycle begins again.

[peterb]

You need to unplug everything from the board - graphics cards, hard drives - the lot, and start with one bank of memory - if only to eliminate a fault on something else. If that posts (changes the beep sequence) rebuild the system step by step, testing at each point.

If it still fails, then you need to dis a bit deeper - look for damage on the mobo, if you can gert (and use) a multimeter, check the outputs from the PSU.

Although in most cases the PSU testers you can buy are pretty useless, this is one instance where they will give a (very) rough and ready go/no go if one of the PSU outputs is missing (although as these don't load the PSU very much, it doesn't tell you about the quality of the output voltage on the rails)

[EnglishLion]

I would put my hat on it being the psu. Sounds like it's not supplying enough / correct voltages. But without a spare to swap in there's little way to prove it.

Test the PC with the absolute minimum plugged it as suggested above. 1 memory module, cpu, motherboard and psu. You don't need hard drives, CD/DVD drives, case fans etc to post. If fact being as you're getting a distinct beeping that's incorrect you don't even need graphics.

People always have a go about those ultra cheap no-name power supplies on forums like this. But at times like these it's useful to have one in the cupboard - just for rough testing!

[IAmATeaf]

You really do need to get another PSU and start testing to see what's still working. Hopefully the Antec PSU won't have taken anything else with it for company on the way to PSU heaven