What do you think..

[psp83]

So I turned my PC on today after 4 days being off.

Couple secs into powering up there was a loud bang/pop and bright flash & the rooms smells of burning electrical smell.

I had a HDD dock on top the PC, so I don't know if it was the dock that blew or the main PC power supply..

What do you think? is there a way to test the power supply unit on the PC without causing any problems?

OR should I just replace both to be sure?

[Simon]

I'd have thought, if the PSU has blown with either component, whichever it is simply won't power up.  Don't take my word for it, but I don't see that you could do any more damage by trying them and seeing what works.   

[talos]

I had something simler, turned out to be a spider gone into the case,  luckily it blew the fuse not the transistors,  try it again cant do any more harm I should think 

[psp83]

When it happened today it blew the surge protector and tripped the house power.

I just don't want to power it on and risk any electrical shocks or fires, I hate electrical stuff when you get faults, it scares me after getting an electric shock before (it hurts)

[Clive]

The worst that can happen is that your surge protector will trip again.  Any damage that can be done has already been done so plug it back in and see what happens.  I can't see how you can get a shock or set the place on fire.  But if you are that nervous about it you will have to take in to a repair shop.

[Steve]

I think HDD dock is the unlikely cause unless it's mains powered and the cable to the transformer is damaged

[kinmel]

You can test a PSU without having any hardware connected,  power it up and connect a paperclip between the green wire and any black wire on the 20/24 connector.

There is a guide here = http://www.overclock.net/t/96712/how-to-jump-start-a-power-supply-psu-test-a-power-supply-and-components

[Steve]

I assume the result of the paperclip is the fan spins up as it doesn't say in the article?

[Glenn]

Once you have the PSU powered then you need to check the power lines, the fans work on +12v generally. http://pinouts.ru/Power/atxpower_pinout.shtml

[Steve]

 

[psp83]

So I decided to buy a new one in the end, got a Corsair HX+ 750W.

I've took the old PSU apart, I guess it blew (with all that white stuff)

[Technical Ben]

Is the white stuff sticky? It could have been from manufacture, as, well, I've seen some poorly made ones.
But if it blew, there will be a part somewhere out of shape/fractured.

[edit]
Yeah, seems to be "normal"?
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1598243

Best to write it off as dead even if no obvious signs. Could be the internal fuse went, but that's down to both the cost of a TV/electrictian, and usually not worth the risk either. Though that's what I did when I blew the fuse on mine as a kid (18 year old kid! ).