Power Up Problem

  • Thread starter Thread starter Pedge
  • Start date Start date
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Pedge

hello, I have a bit of a problem and I am not sure what is causing the
problem. every morning with I first start-up my machine, I press the button,
and the power light flashes and the speakers make a noise as when u plug
them in the power, then the pc goes dead. after this I cannot turn the pc on
until I take the plug out, take out the fuse, and replace it. (I sometimes
have to do this a number of times before it starts up correctly, also each
time I do it and its does work the same thing happens, the pc goes dead).
now this wasn't a major problem until lately once I do get it going the hard
drive starts spinning, as do the cd-roms as they do when it the pc starts up
normally however then they stop and start and stop and so on... also I get a
no signal message on my screen.
so does anyone want to guess as to what is failing? the power cable, power
supply or the motherboard?

ps. I am running XP home, with a MSI 6309 m/board, PIII 866, and a 300W p/s.

thanks
Pedge
 
If you are blowing the PS fuse, that means there is a very
large power draw causing a surge that is blowing the fuse.

I would open the computer and remove the 12 v connectors
form all drives except the primary hard drive (CD/DVD, 2nd
hard drives, etc.) because these would be the most likely to
be causing the problem. When a motor is starting, until it
is rotating at nearly rated speed the power required is very
much higher than normal. If the drive motor is stalled it
is nearly a dead short.

If it starts normally with only one hard drive, begin
connecting one more drive at a time until you find the bad
drive. If you have a large number of drives, a lot of RAM,
external USB devices, etc. you could just have a weak PSU.
300Watts may be marginal and it may be failing.


| hello, I have a bit of a problem and I am not sure what is
causing the
| problem. every morning with I first start-up my machine, I
press the button,
| and the power light flashes and the speakers make a noise
as when u plug
| them in the power, then the pc goes dead. after this I
cannot turn the pc on
| until I take the plug out, take out the fuse, and replace
it. (I sometimes
| have to do this a number of times before it starts up
correctly, also each
| time I do it and its does work the same thing happens, the
pc goes dead).
| now this wasn't a major problem until lately once I do get
it going the hard
| drive starts spinning, as do the cd-roms as they do when
it the pc starts up
| normally however then they stop and start and stop and so
on... also I get a
| no signal message on my screen.
| so does anyone want to guess as to what is failing? the
power cable, power
| supply or the motherboard?
|
| ps. I am running XP home, with a MSI 6309 m/board, PIII
866, and a 300W p/s.
|
| thanks
| Pedge
|
|
 
that's the thing.... it doesn't blow the fuse.
the same fuse work seconds later after the failed start-up as long as I take
the fuse out and put it back in.
 
Then the time you spend doing the fuse change is the key.
The PSU is over heating and it cools a little, as do the
drives. Try cleaning the computer of all the dust with
compressed air, in the power supply, all the heat sinks.

Motors can go bad, depending on the type of motor they may
have open circuits in the coils that make the motor work.
When you start the computer, if the motor is stopped on a
dead spot, it won't start and the power draw will be very
high causing a build up of heat.

A gentle rap on the side of the computer as you turn it on
[to cause some vibration] may allow the sticky motor to
begin running.

Bottom-line, you have some hardware problems and some
troubleshooting to do.


| that's the thing.... it doesn't blow the fuse.
| the same fuse work seconds later after the failed start-up
as long as I take
| the fuse out and put it back in.
|
in message
| | > If you are blowing the PS fuse, that means there is a
very
| > large power draw causing a surge that is blowing the
fuse.
| >
| > I would open the computer and remove the 12 v connectors
| > form all drives except the primary hard drive (CD/DVD,
2nd
| > hard drives, etc.) because these would be the most
likely to
| > be causing the problem. When a motor is starting, until
it
| > is rotating at nearly rated speed the power required is
very
| > much higher than normal. If the drive motor is stalled
it
| > is nearly a dead short.
| >
| > If it starts normally with only one hard drive, begin
| > connecting one more drive at a time until you find the
bad
| > drive. If you have a large number of drives, a lot of
RAM,
| > external USB devices, etc. you could just have a weak
PSU.
| > 300Watts may be marginal and it may be failing.
| >
| >
| > | > | hello, I have a bit of a problem and I am not sure
what is
| > causing the
| > | problem. every morning with I first start-up my
machine, I
| > press the button,
| > | and the power light flashes and the speakers make a
noise
| > as when u plug
| > | them in the power, then the pc goes dead. after this I
| > cannot turn the pc on
| > | until I take the plug out, take out the fuse, and
replace
| > it. (I sometimes
| > | have to do this a number of times before it starts up
| > correctly, also each
| > | time I do it and its does work the same thing happens,
the
| > pc goes dead).
| > | now this wasn't a major problem until lately once I do
get
| > it going the hard
| > | drive starts spinning, as do the cd-roms as they do
when
| > it the pc starts up
| > | normally however then they stop and start and stop and
so
| > on... also I get a
| > | no signal message on my screen.
| > | so does anyone want to guess as to what is failing?
the
| > power cable, power
| > | supply or the motherboard?
| > |
| > | ps. I am running XP home, with a MSI 6309 m/board,
PIII
| > 866, and a 300W p/s.
| > |
| > | thanks
| > | Pedge
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|
 
thanks for u advice.

Jim Macklin said:
Then the time you spend doing the fuse change is the key.
The PSU is over heating and it cools a little, as do the
drives. Try cleaning the computer of all the dust with
compressed air, in the power supply, all the heat sinks.

Motors can go bad, depending on the type of motor they may
have open circuits in the coils that make the motor work.
When you start the computer, if the motor is stopped on a
dead spot, it won't start and the power draw will be very
high causing a build up of heat.

A gentle rap on the side of the computer as you turn it on
[to cause some vibration] may allow the sticky motor to
begin running.

Bottom-line, you have some hardware problems and some
troubleshooting to do.


| that's the thing.... it doesn't blow the fuse.
| the same fuse work seconds later after the failed start-up
as long as I take
| the fuse out and put it back in.
|
in message
| | > If you are blowing the PS fuse, that means there is a
very
| > large power draw causing a surge that is blowing the
fuse.
| >
| > I would open the computer and remove the 12 v connectors
| > form all drives except the primary hard drive (CD/DVD,
2nd
| > hard drives, etc.) because these would be the most
likely to
| > be causing the problem. When a motor is starting, until
it
| > is rotating at nearly rated speed the power required is
very
| > much higher than normal. If the drive motor is stalled
it
| > is nearly a dead short.
| >
| > If it starts normally with only one hard drive, begin
| > connecting one more drive at a time until you find the
bad
| > drive. If you have a large number of drives, a lot of
RAM,
| > external USB devices, etc. you could just have a weak
PSU.
| > 300Watts may be marginal and it may be failing.
| >
| >
| > | > | hello, I have a bit of a problem and I am not sure
what is
| > causing the
| > | problem. every morning with I first start-up my
machine, I
| > press the button,
| > | and the power light flashes and the speakers make a
noise
| > as when u plug
| > | them in the power, then the pc goes dead. after this I
| > cannot turn the pc on
| > | until I take the plug out, take out the fuse, and
replace
| > it. (I sometimes
| > | have to do this a number of times before it starts up
| > correctly, also each
| > | time I do it and its does work the same thing happens,
the
| > pc goes dead).
| > | now this wasn't a major problem until lately once I do
get
| > it going the hard
| > | drive starts spinning, as do the cd-roms as they do
when
| > it the pc starts up
| > | normally however then they stop and start and stop and
so
| > on... also I get a
| > | no signal message on my screen.
| > | so does anyone want to guess as to what is failing?
the
| > power cable, power
| > | supply or the motherboard?
| > |
| > | ps. I am running XP home, with a MSI 6309 m/board,
PIII
| > 866, and a 300W p/s.
| > |
| > | thanks
| > | Pedge
| > |
| > |
| >
| >
|
|
Click to expand...
 
Removing power cord (and fuse) resets power supply control
circuits on motherboard. Is it power supply or motherboard
control circuit? These problems begin with measurements using
a 3.5 digit multimeter. First is the +5VSB to that control
circuit. Is it stable and in spec - even when computer is
turned off and when computer is turned on? Monitored by
measuring purple wire from PSU to motherboard. That voltage
should not change.

When power is turned on by front panel switch, what does
Green wire do? When ordering power supply to stay off, then
voltage on this wire maintains > 2.4 volts. When switch is
pressed, then this wire drops to near zero volts. Does power
supply remain on when ordered by green wire?

Once power supply gets stable, it then sends a signal back
to motherboard. However if any critical voltages become
unstable, then power supply cuts off the Power Good signal.
Using multimeter, monitor voltages on the 3.3, 5, and 12 volt
wires (orange, yellow, and red wires). These voltages must
remain in specs as listed in chart at:
http://www.hardwaresite.net/faqpowersupply.html

If these voltages don't remain stable, then power supply
will shutdown computer.

No way around using that essential 3.5 digit multimeter to
learn which side the problem is on. Forget the nonsense about
cooling. Your computer should work just fine even when the
room is at 100 degree F. That means cooling has nothing to do
with your problem at 70 degree F. First get the important
facts - meaning you require a 3.5 digit multimeter - so
ubiquitous as to even be sold in Home Depot, Lowes, Sears, and
Radio Shack.
 
Try checking the voltage on start up at one of the extra
plugs on the power supply output. Check if you have stable
voltage when the problem starts. Black is negative red is
5 volts; Yellow is 12 volts make sure that these are not
changing.
 
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