eMachines power supply smoked!

[bobber]

Well, my son was on his eMachine W4065 happily playing Half-Life 2 when suddenly the machine went dead. He tried turning it on but nothing happened.
I unplugged everything and then shook the machine (part of my testing regimen) and heard something knocking around in the power supply.
I removed the unit and found a small black capacitor rolling around loose that had popped out of the circuit board. It had some scorching evident on the board.
Well, I ordered a replacement supply and am waiting on it now.
I checked over the main motherboard and nothing seems to be burned or broken. I gave it a close smell test (another part of my testing regimen) and nothing smelled fried.
I'm hoping all other components are ok and that when the capacitor killed itself it didn't take anything else with it.
Anyway, I guess all I have to do is install the new power unit, plug everything in and hope it runs ok.
Is there anything else I should do or try before start it up?
Thanks!

 

[kiwiguy]

There is a finite but real chance that a failing PSU can take out all or some downstream items, but it's not overly common. It's totally dependent on what failed and where it was in the switchmode circuit.

Bad capacitors are a real problem (look at the cap cans on the motherboard while it's open to make sure none of them are bulging or leaking)

www.badcaps.net

 

[kiwiguy]

Oh, and you would not necessarily detect collateral damage by smell, any overvoltage may only have lasted a millisecond or so, not enough to "let the smoke out" after damage.

 

[bobber]

Nuts! Put a new PSU in and it is still dead. I'm afraid the motherboard is fried after all. When you plug the power cord in the cpu fan runs, the dvd drive light comes on and all three of the leds on the keyboard flash wildly. Nothing else happens. No boot up, nothing on the monitor. In fact the monitor does not even wake up at all.

So I guess we will be getting him a new PC soon.
I'd like to try fixing this one. Any recommendations for a replacement motherboard to replace the eMachines P4 model W4065 one?
Thank you!

 

[Triple6]

Does it have a Celeron 2.4Ghz and 256MB of RAM? If so pull out the drives and scrap it.

 

[Airmapper]

I have a similar issue. My uncle gave me his e-machine because "It wouldn't turn on anymore." I took it and examined the Power supply. It made an odd, almost metallic buzz sound when plugged in. The motherboard green LED would come on, but nothing when hitting the power button.

I've ordered a new power supply from NewEgg, it is a 430 watt box with a bunch of connectors, I think maybe it's overkill for a cheap base unit CPU, but I got a good deal on it. Around $30 with rebate, shipping included.

Any tips or suggestions for when I try to install it? Will it be compatible?

 

[Triple6]

The connections will be fine but if the eMachines case is a micro-ATX or an oddball unit the power supply may not fit properly or at all. But at least you can try powering it up and see if ir works.