24 public posts in this discussion.
Need help here.
Have a PC that will occasionally just power off in such a way like the cable was pulled from the back of it.
If I then try to start it up, it can run for a few secs then wham, same thing. Try again, last a little longer, then wham gone. Hit the power swtich on back, wait a bit, then power up and sometimes makes it all the way and sometimes not.
Tried unplugging devices to decrease load but doesn't seem to make a difference.
Any ideas?
Sounds possibly like a capacitor in the power supply on its way out - sometimes charging, sometimes not.
How old is the PSU?
I've had a few PCs do this trick.
generally for a full turn off, it's power or heat.
failing that I've had two motherboards go faulty in this fashion.
PSU is first guess... but at a glance, 90% of the time I've experience issues like this it's been memory related.
If you haven't already, reset the BIOS (by removing battery, those silly reset buttons don't like me ^_~) and see if the memory resorts to default timing.
So to put it another way...
1. First thing to check if easy enough is PSU (try with another one)
2. MORE LIKELY TO BE memory, but put second because PSU check is much easier.
3. Chipset. It's quiet possible that the chipset is running too hot, either because it's fan has died, is dying or doesn't even have one, and the chipset itself is starting to feel its age.
4. If all else fails, it may be the power source... If there's a UPS, unplug it, run from the mains and try that. Alternatively try another UPS. - If you don't have a UPS, try one with the full gamut of protection to filter out any irregularities. (may also be a problem with the surge protector).
On a side note, it COULD be a physical shorting out on a frayed wire somewhere. This isn't all that likely, but could be.
sounds heat related here. as it cools down more, it gets further with each subsequent attempt?
my psu overheats and does that sometimes but thats usually when i stress it out ..
mind you 7 hard disks, 4870X2 and Core i7 will do that :)
try new psu cant hurt ?
Understand what you mean pala but based on the patters I've pretty much ruled out heat. Can be off for a day then not turn on at all. I have to flick the switch on the actual PS before it will then turn on, and even then still goes "Whirrrrrrrrrrrr - blink - off".
PS or mobo I'm thinking.
It IS an older box - it's my first dualcore box - AMD x2 4600. ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe.
slim possibility of a sticking power button?
lol mungus ive run into that problem before! LOL.
being that I had an A8N-SLI premium, and it did exactly the same thing, i'm gonna call faulty mobo.
As Harb said... nVidia board is most likely the bad boy in this case.
2 Weeks ago my motherboard went out like that. Replaced Mobo and all good.
Not running a DX38BT, or similar by chance are you OD? There was a known issue with the latest BIOS that caused the PC to do exactly as you are describing.
Maybe just something else to check.
I had an identical problem with an old PC. Ended up being a popped capacitor on the mobo.
Based on your explanation of symptoms, I'm going to say the mobo is fried.
I would go caps dieing somewhere either in the power supply or on the MB.
Same for me... Mobo to blame.
Just pulled out the PS (Antec TruePower 2 550W - about 4yrs old) and tried it in another PC. Same issue. New PS time it seems... What's a cheap but decent PS around the 600W mark?
Yeah, baby!!
(Sorry - had to gloat. It's not often that I'm right :-))
I recently bought a Vantec ION+2. Great cheap unit, huge 140mm very quiet fan and decent cable management.
600W for $95 @ MSY
Corsair 620 modular is doing me well atm, i think HX620 TX series has fixed cables.
Quote from OverDrive;363597:
What's a cheap but decent PS around the 600W mark?
Decent and cheap in the same sentence? Anyway, just had a look at the specs on the Vantec ION+2 600w and looks to be a decent unit (nice find ResLo) if it outputs what it says, although as with any PSU it's the Amps that are the worry, not watts.
Good info
Power Supply Unit - OCAU Wiki
Quote from Eater_Of_Souls;363665:
Corsair 620 modular is doing me well atm, i think HX620 TX series has fixed cables.
+1, nice unit.
The Gigabyte modular PSU's are fantastic and all the reviews I've read have reported them as being ridiculously overbuilt.
I have a 550w in mine powering 6xHDD's, 2xDVD's, Overclocked quad core, 8800GT, 6200TC, digital tuner and wifi card without skipping even the slightest beat under full load.
To give you an idea the 1200W has 95 amps on the 12v rail and the GT versions have USB connectors for tweaking voltage rails from their software.