Power supply isn't working

Yo, my PSU fried so I grabbed a used one from a buddy with the same wattage, but since I was swapping it out myself, I noticed the 24-pin connector feels weirdly reversible; one way it seats perfectly, but the other way it feels awkward and only goes in halfway, even though there’s this little plastic notch on the motherboard side and the plug side seems to be flipped. Anyway, I went with the "natural" way it fits and now the PC won't even boot, so I'm assuming this second PSU is probably junk too, but I'm lowkey freaking out wondering if I actually caused more damage by forcing that connector in backwards. Any ideas?

I’m not entirely sure what you mean by "network" power supply, but I’m going to assume you're talking about a standard NYSE power supply unit that plugs into the motherboard via a 24-pin connector.

http://www.nordichardware.com/skrive...32/psu.atx.jpg
http://corbietech.co.uk/wp-content/u...24pin001a1.png

As the images show, the 24-pin connector is designed so you can't really plug it in the wrong way—the pins have two different shapes specifically to prevent that, and the clip should line up with the latch on the motherboard slot. If you somehow managed to force it in backwards, there's a chance you might have fried the motherboard.

Maybe try double-checking the orientation of the connector one more time; just make sure the first pin on the slot matches up with the first pin on the connector. If you've got the orientation right, then I guess you should check if the power button is properly connected to the motherboard.

Yeah, whatever, you're right. I honestly have no clue, maybe I didn't even leave the burner on. And besides, what could I possibly have burned if I put everything in backwards, and is it even going to be some massive disaster?

The damage could be pretty catastrophic, IF there was an electrical surge caused by a faulty power supply connection. At the very least, the motherboard would be fried—and honestly, it’s highly likely any connected parts like the CPU, RAM, or graphics cards went with it too.

Again, that's only IF a surge actually happened. Have you double-checked the connector orientation and the power switch?

George Sanders37 said:The damage could be pretty catastrophic, IF there was an electrical surge caused by a faulty power supply connection. At the very least, the motherboard would be fried—and honestly, it’s highly likely any connected parts like the CPU, RAM, or graphics cards went with it too.

Again, that's only IF a surge actually happened. Have you double-checked the connector orientation and the power switch?

So I just got back from the repair shop and man, thank God everything is fine. Turns out that damn connector has 20 pins plus 4 extra ones that can be positioned on either the front or the back of the plug. I shoved it in exactly how it came, but those 4 extra pins were supposed to be flipped to the other end... Thank God I didn't wreck the whole rig... PC is running smooth now...
Thanks for the help...