[Inflict]

This is my third computer I have built - I put everything together, plugged it in and, nothing. I look further into it - making sure the power switch pins are correct and what-not, and everything is in order (I double checked every connection). When I press the power switch, sometimes I would get a flash from the fan and it would shut off almost instantly after. I play around some more, and disconnect the main atx connector on the power supply from the board (while still plugged into the wall) and plug it back in, and I get sparks from the power supply. Odds are I fried the power supply some how (it came with the case - 500w. But I'm definitely worried if the motherboard or other components could be damaged also? Everything was hooked up at the time of the power supply sparking. Is there anyway to check this? Please respond, I appreciate any help.

-Inflict

[motoxer4533]

throw in a different power supply and see what happens.

[S0ULphIRE]

In my experiance if the fan starts momentarily, then shuts off, the psu is not the problem. Its some settings in the bios which are causing the pc to fail. Try resetting the bios using the jumper-reset then booting. If that fails try using a different psu like motoxer4533 suggested.

[suicide007]

It might be a pain, but take out the mobo and make sure there are no screws lodged down under it, because they can cause some unwanted connections. And as long as the component itself didnt spark, all thats probably fine. Most psu's (even ones that ship w/ cases) will have enough over-voltage protection to protect things from frying (but it still might have screwed something up) . Yea but my bet is on a screw lodged under the mobo.