A faulty PSU can definitely cause freezing in your computer. Not only can a faulty PSU cause freezing, but it can also cause other issues like BSOD and complete resets which are more likely to occur.
Generally, a PSU that goes above or below its voltages is called voltage ripple. This is what can cause system instability and crashes.
Another thing worth noting is a PSU may even prevent your computer from starting if it doesn’t have enough watts to power all your pc parts, this is especially true with high end PC’s with gaming graphics cards.
How Do I Know if My PSU Is Failing?
A faulty PSU can cause a variety of different issues. These issues can range from a few random BSOD’s to your computer not even turning on at all. Here’s a small list of potential issues that you may encounter with a faulty PSU.
Computer Randomly Shuts Off
This is a very common symptom of a PSU that is going bad. Every computer requires a different amount of wattage to run. This is heavily dependent on the graphics processing unit, but the type of processor, and other installed hardware will also dictate how many watts you will need for your computer to properly stay on.
A PSU that is on its last leg will start to underperform, or put out less volts than it’s supposed to. This can cause your computer to randomly shut off, even if its been running for some time without issues.
Random Blue Screen of Death
Although the infamous blue screen of death isn’t always directly related to a failing power supply, it is definitely one of the symptoms that can occur. BSOD can also be caused by other hardware’s malfunctioning as well like hard disk or ram issues.
Random Crashes and Computer Restarts
Similar to the above issue, a failing PSU will cause random crashes or computer restarts as your motherboard is not able to function properly due to the lack of power being supplied.
Visual or Display Issues
This issue can either be your monitor or your PSU. The best way to check this is to unplug your monitor from your PC to see if there are any display issues, abnormal lines or dots on the screen. If Your monitor is fine while unplugged from your PC, then it can be a faulty power supply.
The reason for this is because the CPU and Graphics Card are very power intensive. If the PSU is failing, there will be issues powering these pieces of hardware which will lead to these types of issues.
How Can I Test My PSU to See if It’s Faulty?
If you’re feeling tech savvy, then there’s a few things you can do to test your power supply. The first method of checking your power supply is to use a method with a paperclip. The paper clip test allows you to verify the functionality of your PSU when it isn’t connected to any of the hardware in your PC.
This test will help you find out of there are shorts inside pf the PSU, live power inside the connection, or other failed components that will render your PSU faulty.
The first step to doing this is to power off your PSU with the power off switch. Most power supply units will have an O or I, make sure the O is pressed down.
Look for and find the 24-pin connector. Gently bend a paperclip and insert one end into the green colored pin and the other end into and of the black pins which are ground.
Turn the switch of the PSU to on and listen for the fan. This will verify if it is indeed turned on. This method is a simple test and won’t show all the symptoms of a failing PSU, but is a good place to start nonetheless.
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Final Thoughts
A faulty PSU can definitely cause random freezes for your pc. Not only can your pc encounter occasional freezing, but a myriad of other problems can occur when a PSU is going bad which should not be overlooked.
Random shut offs, blue screen of death, strange noises coming from your PSU, display issues, and other random crashes can occur on top of the occasional screen freezes.
When experiencing a faulty PSU, the best option is to purchase a new PSU before any long term damage can occur to the hardware in your computer. Always remember to use a PSU that has enough watts to power your system to alleviate other issues.