Funny Story/PSA

[FreeBug]

I get a call from my father the other night. He said he shut down and unplugged his computer before going on vacation. When he returned, he plugged it back in, hit the power button, and got no response. I speculate that the PSU might have died (it is an 11 year old eMachine after all), but fear not, I have an extra PSU on my desk. I instructed him that the installation is easy because the connections are all keyed. Just plug the right cable into the right socket and you're good to go. Little did I know he was going to discover that 4 of the 20+4 is keyed the same as the CPU power connection. So, he separates out the 4-pin, plugs it into the CPU, plugs the 20 pin into the main power socket, throws the switch, and POOF!

Even when you think it's an easy installation, someone will find a way to screw it up.

 

[jgreco]

I'd call it a loss and move on. Power supplies are sufficiently inexpensive that risking the remainder of some other system on a PSU that's obviously seen a catastrof*** is just asking for trouble.

 

[Ericloewe]

I imagine the secondary side has been fried.

Little did I know he was going to discover that 4 of the 20+4 is keyed the same as the CPU power connection.

Even worse, PCI-e and CPU are essentially the same connector, but the GND and +12V pins are switched.