idiq

About 20 minutes ago, I had placed my Antec TruePower PSU on my friend's trunk. I observed it for about 30 seconds to make sure it did not slide anywhere, and when it didn't, I went in his house to finish pulling my computer and other parts out of.

When I came back, I arrived just in enough time to see my power supply slide off of his trunk and onto his concrete garage floor.

I did not have time to re-assemble my rig, and half of my parts were shipped out to lucky auction winners from ebay earlier that week. So a good method to just test if your PSU will even power-on, is to jump it. Another reason is some people jump their power-supplys to test other components, such as fans, cd-roms, etc..

What we will need:
1) A Power Cable
2) A Power Supply
3) A Paper Clip



Once we have the three P's, we are ready to begin, and will follow a simple three step process.

Step 1
Plug in the Power Cable to the wall, and then into the back of the Power Supply. Make sure the Power Supply is flipped to 1 and not 0. I like to remember 1 is for power because 1 looks like I, and I have ADHD. So I always haves me some powers. 0 is like O which is like my OH face. Then I am drained of power.



Step 2
Take the paper clip and bend it into a 'U' shape. We want the two ends of it to be next to each other, or relatively close.



Step 3
Now we are in the final step. Locate the Green wire on your PSU. There should only be one Green wire, whether you have a 20 or 24 pin power cable.



Alright, we found it. Now we get have to find a Black wire on your PSU as well. There are a few, but we should be fine.

Finally, take the paper clip and insert one end into the Green wire and the other end into any Black wire.



And there we have it. Your power supply is alive and kicking. Again, this is a good way to test fans for functionality, CD-ROMs, and Floppy Drives. Almost any component that will plug into this is fine. I would not advise for your hard drive in case of data loss, but if it's a questionable hard drive (why else would we test it?) then you I'm guessing you don't care if it has anything on it, or it's too old to matter.

FAQ:
1) Can I be electrocuted?
No! There is no way you can be electrocuted with the paper clip. However, if you touch a capicator or something else that would cause you to be electrocuted, I take no responsibility.

2)How many volts are running through there?
I have no clue. I honestly do not. But you need not worry because you cannot be electrocuted.

Sorry about the blurry pics. I had a Kodak LS753 that got stolen from a lame frat party at school, out of my backpack, WHILE IT WAS ON MY BACK. So now I'm using a Nikon P2, which I bought because of the wifi, but it actually sucks at pictures. I do not advise you to purchase.

Oh yeah, and give me feedback on how this guide helped you! And things I can add in / improve on. Thanks and hope this helps.

Version History:
2006-06-10 Guide Is Submitted
2006-06-17 Guide Is Posted
2006-06-18 Updated Guide With A FAQ Section

anjokid

is there a chance of electricution, how many volts are going through that paper clip?

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Burn

Very minimal, this is only the circuit that tells the PSU to turn on. Still, I wouldn't suggest you stick your tongue on it. I have touched paper clips like this many times- You're fine.

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idiq

Updated guide with a small 'FAQ' section.

kaxx

How about using a short insulated wire instead (with about 1/4" or more of insulation stripped off). I'd hate to accidentally touch a bare paperclip against the side of the PSU or some other grounded device and possibly fry it and whatever's connected to it.....

anjokid

hmmm may use a Paper clip with rubber coating :D

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Vagrant Storm

This is also a handy way to use two power supplies...for what reason you have. You could run a peltier, water pump or just your case fans and al you need to do is instal a cheap flip switch. Just remember to flick it on.

You can mod a PSU so you can turn two on at once, but you have to mod both PSUs. If you didn't want to touch your nice 600watt PSU just make an old 250 watt turn on...use a switch.

uberjon

here is an idea.

use a wire ;)

that way u have the wire coating on it (just in case) so u dont get shocked :P

or even that way so u feel more comfortable doing this ;)

i know i dont wana take a chance o geting shocked by no 700 watt psu :O lol

im sure if your grounded somehow... u could get shocked ;)

just might make peps feel better about doing this :D

hope it does :D i know im not crazy enough to do it with a paper clip :P

born2killU

just make sure you dont stick the paper clip in the wrong hole lol

Mootsfox

The psu should be using 14-16 AWG wire for the 20/24 pin cord, I suggest you use similar sized wire, or you could catch something on fire.