A user attempts to turn on a computer and receives no response. The user calls the technician to report the computer is not booting and a faint smell of something burning. Which of the following…

The correct answer is B. PSU tester. A burning smell from a computer that fails to power on is a strong indicator of a failed power supply unit (PSU). A PSU tester is a dedicated tool that plugs into the motherboard power connectors and measures the voltage outputs on all rails (+3.3V, +5V, +12V, etc.) to confirm…

Hardware and network troubleshooting

Question

A user attempts to turn on a computer and receives no response. The user calls the technician to report the computer is not booting and a faint smell of something burning. Which of the following tools will BEST help to identify the issue?

Options

AESD strap
BPSU tester
CCable tester
DLoopback plug

How the community answered

(34 responses)

A
3% (1)
B
94% (32)
D
3% (1)

Explanation

A burning smell from a computer that fails to power on is a strong indicator of a failed power supply unit (PSU). A PSU tester is a dedicated tool that plugs into the motherboard power connectors and measures the voltage outputs on all rails (+3.3V, +5V, +12V, etc.) to confirm whether the PSU is delivering correct power. If the PSU has burned out internally, it will fail the test, quickly pinpointing it as the faulty component. An ESD strap is a preventive tool used to avoid static discharge during component handling - it has no diagnostic function. A cable tester checks data/signal cables like Ethernet or USB, not power. A loopback plug tests network interface cards by bouncing a signal back to itself. None of these address a power delivery failure like the PSU tester does.

Topics

#PSU tester#power supply failure#burning smell#hardware diagnostics

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