Power Supply Questions and Problem!

[Bored Gal]

I have a PC which might have been toasted by lightning. I have tried putting a different power supply in and all the PC does is turn on and all the drives light up - no video, beeps, or anything.

Could it be that I'm using the wrong power supply (I thought they all where the same?) or is the PC probably toasted? I don't want to spend the $ on a new power supply if it is indeed toasted.

Help!

[dunbar]

If all of the power connections to the drives are inserted correctly, and all of the data cables are fully seated in the correct orientation, then the 2nd power supply might be too weak for a system which is loaded with extras.
Pull out every card except the video card, try booting with that setup.

[Bored Gal]

I have unplugged everything but the video card and now the PC boots up, it won't let me into the Bios (doesn't even give me an option) and the only drive it sees is the floppy. The CD drives and the Zip drives lights are on solid which is weird.

Is this thing toast or could the wrong power supply be giving me all these problems?

[SiliconJon]

Get a good psu. Don't get a cheap one. My suggestion: an Antec True series or an HEC.

All power supplies are definately not the same. They are generally rated by their total watts max. So if you had a 300W in your computer and it was barely enough, and you stuck a 220W in there, you'll have problem like you mention above (though that doesn't mean for sure that's the solution, given your circumstances especially).

When you get deeper into the world of PSU's (Power Supply Units), you'll find out more about rails, amperage, and other goodies involved with getting just the right PSU...

[JPMiller]

Info...
http://www.thetechboard.com/tutorials/atx.php
http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
Deal...http://store.yahoo.com/akidacomputer/acpowsup50du.html