Question about hard drive and psu

[Vincentval]

A couple of days ago my computer crashed(think i was playing wow for a bit) and wouldn't start back up. I found out in the subsequent hours that my psu had fried (figures). I don't know if it was something on my part or if it was a faulty piece, i've only had the comp for 3 months now.
I think it was a CG 580w power supply? I don't think i should have had any power problems within the computer itself so if anything it was brought about by something external like my guitar amp or something.
Thats my first question - Most likely a faulty piece (thats what im hoping) or is this on me ?

The second is well about the hard drive. I bought a new psu (a 550w) to test out mainly so i could get the comp to start up to see if there were any other probems. Well i got a boot up device problem and it seems the comp isn't picking up my hard drive anymore.
So i guess its fried as well? I don't know much of anything about hard drives but my main question is, if it is fried, is it possible that data could still exist, or is it all lost?
Just wondering before i contact warranty and all, thx .

 

[AlbertLionheart]

Hi - work through these diagnostics - proceed if good - stop if not!
test 1 - try another power cable. Sorry but it has been known!
test 2 - does the PSU smell? If yes not a good sign and replace it.
test 3 - check the connections to the motherboard - take them off and look at them - any discolouration on the connector pins is a bad sign. Replace the PSU
test 4 - disconnect all drives from the PSU leaving just the connections to the motherboard and graphic - if it boots reconnect each drive one by one until you find which is causing the problem.
Replace it.
If none of this works, the PSU is u/s
Hard drive - If the controller card is blown you can sometimes get at the data with a replacement but it has to be exactly the same model and revisions - can be hard to find!

 

[Vincentval]

Thx for the reply
Tried a power cable, that didn't work.
The power supply did smell burnt (actually that was my first inclination about it being fried Q.Q).

Is this sort of thing common among psu's? I've never had this happen before with a power supply.

Thx again for the suggestions, i won't hope too much for the hard drive but it would be nice.

 

[AlbertLionheart]

PSUs can cook themselves especially if starved of airflow - they draw air from inside the system case so if the vents are blocked (very common with Dell) or someone has fitted more fans that draw air out of the case there simply is not enough getting in to cool the PSU. If the machine is working hard the CPU, drive and VGA card will all generate heat meaning the air getting into the PSU is already hot - what happens next is predictable!

 

[Vincentval]

I see thanks .