Post-Power Outage Check

NoviceTechie · 08-23-2009, 01:57 AM

Plz forgive me if this isn't the right forum to post this question..

I recently re-verified the Novice part in my name wherein I accidentally flipped a switch that controlled the outlet that my power strip was on.. and made an ever dumber mistake by quickly flipping the same switch back "on."

My desktop is connected to a power strip, a pretty old one, that's suppose to act as surge protection.

I tried to start the desktop back up, but it was clear that the while the PSU was fine, the hard drive and the Mobo seemed to be experiencing difficulties. The screen was just blank with little to no indication of life. I manually turned off the desktop and restarted it twice in the same fashion. When nothing came up, I turned off the PSU to dissipate any remaining charges.

After turning the PSU again, the mobo (asus) finally reappeared and everything loaded, including the OS (XP Pro). Firefox reloaded everything from cache, so apparently nothing (software wise) seemed askew. I did notice the Quick Launch bar was missing, so I'm guessing my windows profile might have been affected slightly..

My question - aside from Window's HD error check (full 5 out of 5, the type that runs before the OS loaded) what other check-ups should I do to test if my desktop was damaged by my accidental self inflicted power outage?

Any hardware checks? Software-wise? OS-wise?

Thank you in advance.

p.s. if it makes a difference, my PSU is a thermaltake W0172RU , 850 w (supposedly has some protection ability)

**wrench97** · 08-23-2009, 04:07 AM

It sounds like your ok, having to turn off the PSU indicates to me that the PSU's protection circuits did what they are supposed to do, Turning it off and back on resets them.
The only component I would consider testing is the hard drive using the manufacturers diagnostic utility or if your not sure the brand Seatools will test most other drives>
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/sup...loads/seatools

NoviceTechie · 08-24-2009, 12:09 AM

Gotcha, tnx for the reply.

Its Western Digital, dl'ing the LifeGuard Diagnostic tool now.

08-23-2009, 01:57 AM	#1 (permalink)
NoviceTechie Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 23 OS: XP Pro	Post-Power Outage Check Plz forgive me if this isn't the right forum to post this question.. I recently re-verified the Novice part in my name wherein I accidentally flipped a switch that controlled the outlet that my power strip was on.. and made an ever dumber mistake by quickly flipping the same switch back "on." My desktop is connected to a power strip, a pretty old one, that's suppose to act as surge protection. I tried to start the desktop back up, but it was clear that the while the PSU was fine, the hard drive and the Mobo seemed to be experiencing difficulties. The screen was just blank with little to no indication of life. I manually turned off the desktop and restarted it twice in the same fashion. When nothing came up, I turned off the PSU to dissipate any remaining charges. After turning the PSU again, the mobo (asus) finally reappeared and everything loaded, including the OS (XP Pro). Firefox reloaded everything from cache, so apparently nothing (software wise) seemed askew. I did notice the Quick Launch bar was missing, so I'm guessing my windows profile might have been affected slightly.. My question - aside from Window's HD error check (full 5 out of 5, the type that runs before the OS loaded) what other check-ups should I do to test if my desktop was damaged by my accidental self inflicted power outage? Any hardware checks? Software-wise? OS-wise? Thank you in advance. p.s. if it makes a difference, my PSU is a thermaltake W0172RU , 850 w (supposedly has some protection ability) Last edited by NoviceTechie; 08-23-2009 at 02:04 AM.

08-23-2009, 04:07 AM	#2 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,689 OS: Win7	Re: Post-Power Outage Check It sounds like your ok, having to turn off the PSU indicates to me that the PSU's protection circuits did what they are supposed to do, Turning it off and back on resets them. The only component I would consider testing is the hard drive using the manufacturers diagnostic utility or if your not sure the brand Seatools will test most other drives> http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/sup...loads/seatools __________________ Power Supply and Selection

08-24-2009, 12:09 AM	#3 (permalink)
NoviceTechie Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 23 OS: XP Pro	Re: Post-Power Outage Check Gotcha, tnx for the reply. Its Western Digital, dl'ing the LifeGuard Diagnostic tool now.