I am a novice in computers, so this question may be elementary to you folks...My computer would shut down completely, and would not come on unless I waited at least 15 minutes. I believed I had a heat overload problem, so checked the fans to see if they were all working, and they were. I then took the cover off the pc to let more air in, and the problem went away until today. When it shut down, there was no power light, and even waiting 20 or 30 min.would not come on. I figured that the power supply was bad..took it out, disconnected the wires to measure it for replacement, and just for grins plugged it in..it now works! What's happening???? Any replies would gratefully accepted. Oem Hp Pavilion 774e, windows XP, 1gb ram, AMD processor Regards, Camman65
It might well be the powersupply. Prebuilt pcs generally come with lower grade power supplies but they seem to be getting a lot better. How old is the pc? You can probably check your temps in BIOS.
Thanks for responding, My computer is about 5 years old. The strange thing, though is that once I disconnected all the wires and reconnected the power cable, the power light did come on, however, the fan never came on eventhough I left it on for a long time.Isn't the fan supposed to come on after awhile, to keep it cool? Does that mean that one of the connecting cables was bad, and that when hooked up, it shut it down? Thanks again, Camman65
When you say the pc is shutting down is it suddenly turning off or is windows shutting down and then the pc is turning off? So far I have assumed its just turning off as if you have pulled the plug. If this is the case..... What you have said about disconnecting the wires etc and noticing a bit of a change is just one of those temperamental symptoms of a dodgy power supply. Fans usually powerup as soon as the powersupply powersup. You do get some computer which will increase the fans rpm when temps are a bit high but given the age of your pc I dont think this will apply to your issue. The other thing that is a possibility is the stitch on the front of your case is dodgy. This might be the case if windows is shutting down and then your pc is turning off.
Zeus, Thanks for your reply. I am now hearing that the power supply should be replaced. The space is very tight for a replacement, so I am opting to replace it with the identical Bestech power supply.However, if I can fit a more powerful 230-250 volt, would that be beneficial, or a waste of money? Regards, Camman65 Happy New Year All!
The volts need to match your outlets. I dont know what they are in the us but dont worry about that! Or do you mean watts? a 350-400w psu will probably be plenty. Most people here would recommend spending £50 on a decent one. Cheap psus (and im assuming bestech will be a cheapo one!) dont last long and when they do work they can have an irregular current which will cause stability issues... especially upon boot. Enermax, FSP, Hiper, Antec etc are the ones to go for. From what I can tell from google your pc uses a standard atx psu. What is the part number of the psu? 5187-1061 by any chance?
Thanks again for replying so quickly. You are right! Watts it is! My is part # is Bestec ATX 1956D B2, not sure if your part # matches. I will take your advice and look for an upgrade of at least 300W. Now I have to ck the credibility of the supplier, as they do offer an upgrade to this unit. My big problem is it is really squeezed in, and anything even 1 1/2" larger would not fit, as the power cables needs to fit this area. Thanks again! Camman65
Computers are built to standard sizes. Its has got a little more complicated in recent years because there have been a few standards added to the existing pool. ATX is the most common and longest running of the standard sizes. Because you have "ATX" in your part number I would assume it is an ATX psu so I wouldnt worry about the size issue. If you want to make sure you are getting a psu that will fit id measure it and compare it to the image on this page.... PCGuide - Ref - Power Supply - Form Factors Your psu is only 200w max output so a 300w will be fine. Especially if its a decent one.
Thanks again, Zeus. I was not aware that there was a standard in sizes of power supplies, thanks to your link.I will order a 300 W and be done with it...hopefully, because the mysterious power off episondes will now disappear with the new PS. BTW, since you are so knowledgeable, I have been trying to solve another mystery..I have a 250 GB simple tech usb external hard drive with photos and videos(most are backed up) and it has gotten corrupted. Every time I click on the drive letter(which I can at least id)it asks me to format..I have tried 3 or 4 recovery programs with little success, and I have also tried a partitioning program also..Any suggestions? Regards, Camman65 p.s. If you have any questions regarding video or digital photography(since that is my field), I would be glad to return the favor!
