Power Failure - Need help plz!

Discussion in 'Power Supplies and UPS's' started by morganic, Oct 4, 2006.

  1. morganic

    morganic Geek Trainee

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    Hello there,

    I'm brand new to the forum and have read some very helpful threads so far but couldn't find one that matched my dilema.

    I've had my PC bout a year now and all of a sudden it completely dies. No warnings or slowing down - lag etc, it just shuts down.

    To get it back on i flick the switch at the back and then it restarts normally as if nothing has happened!? It doesnt act as if someone pulled the plug and scan the drivers or anything.

    So my question is has anyone known of a problem like this? Is this a power supply problem? I'm really in the dark here, and sometimes literally!

    Thanks for any help,

    Morgan
     
  2. thoonie

    thoonie hmmm....

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    Hi welcome to HWF.

    First of all, post the specs of your PC including the PSU brand and model.
     
  3. Ghostman 1

    Ghostman 1 Mega Geek

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    The power supply is a good starting point, I would try another one to see if that works. It also could be a ram stick going bad. There are a number of things, but i would start with the power supply.
     
  4. Xamata

    Xamata Geek Trainee

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    I got my comp back around april I think, and it's doing this too, power just goes out.

    OCZ Premier PC3200 Dual with Ramsink
    PSU not sure, its the 450W that comes with the XION-SL Silver ATX tower

    I sux with computers and got so much to do atm, dun wanna be taking out the PSU right now to find the model #

    Is there some programs to test, see if something is malfunctioning?
     
  5. izzy007

    izzy007 Big Geek

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    you'll have to open ur case and it should say the PSU name without taking it out, anyway if it came with a XION case then it definitely should be a XION Psu. im afraid there isnt a program to test that
     
  6. Xamata

    Xamata Geek Trainee

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    So, would this problem be the PSU than >.> how could RAM make the power go out on the computer? It's just like if the power went out, but its only happening to my computer :p
     
  7. izzy007

    izzy007 Big Geek

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    i would think so because it is cutting off due to insufficient power. does it happen when running a particular application or randomly
     
  8. Willz

    Willz MiCrO$oFt $uK$ :D

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    Xamata, whats your full system specs?, place them in your signature or the My Computer section located in the blue bar at the top.

    Yea, i would say aswell that it's the powersupply, unknown brand, 450w, depends what your running though, if your going to buy a new power supply, get one from a decent brand like Hiper, antec, seasonic, tagen etc..., its not about watts, its about amps on the +12v rails.
     
  9. Xamata

    Xamata Geek Trainee

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    The power outtage can happen before windows loads, and can happen while I'm in a game, random.

    It seems it could happen a few times but eventually it doesn't and I can leave my computer on all day o.0

    gonna dust out my comp today and check the hardware for signs of dmg >.< finally got time, post specs if I ever got time
     
  10. Big B

    Big B HWF Godfather

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    I'd like to echo what Willz said: what are the full specs of this system?
    2nd: are you overclocking?
     
  11. Xamata

    Xamata Geek Trainee

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    mkay, well I air dusted the comp, all fans work, I shook it and nothings loose.

    Added specs to my signature o.0 PSU I can't figure out and I dun wanna be pulling it out yet, the guy who put it in made the wiring all nice inside and I tend to break stuff the first time I learn how to do it.... even simple things where I've ripped a soap dispencer off a wall trying to open it carefully >.<

    The PSU manufacturer website sux, no specs, just info on how to put in their PSU.... assume it cheap generic crap with the right settings I need, custom built comp by a smart person... my budget didn't include getting a better PSU.

    Overclocking, the amd box says 2.0ghz and the Ai Booster and system says its at 2100, 5% overclocked I guess. But I think this mobo is meant to overclock? some sort of gamers mobo that adjusts speeds for usage.


    After I dusted it today, I went to turn it on in good hopes, it powered out in 1 second after starting up. I saw the lights, count 1 sec, than its out. It did this a dozen times in a row, than went on for a min, than back to a few 1 secs...... eventually now its been on 20mins and I guess it will stay on forever until I turn it off, and the crap happens again. It's been running fine since april, first power outage 1-2 weeks ago.
     
  12. Xamata

    Xamata Geek Trainee

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    bump >.> any more help?
     
  13. Willz

    Willz MiCrO$oFt $uK$ :D

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    Maybe the Motherboard is faulty, my old computer is experiencing similar issues and it's the motherboard with me, unfortunatly i found out the hard way by replacing all other hardware in the computer.

    I still think i could possibly be the PSU, you have a nice spec system there with a not so nice PSU...
     
  14. StimpE

    StimpE lol, Internet!

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    First off, there can be a few things at work here. It's just a matter of trial and error.
    Try running memtest to test your RAM, make sure all your drivers are updated, and make sure you don't have viruses/trojans/adware.
    Next check your temperatures, CPU, HDD, and chipset. If the temps are above the norm, that's probably why it's shuttin off.
     
  15. Big B

    Big B HWF Godfather

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    [google]Memtest86+[/google]

    As far as temps, your CPU temp should be fine so long as you're under 60*C under load, or about 50*C idle. GPU's have a much higher threshold, so anything under 100*C should be fine, although you might get away with something higher.
     

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