Power keeps going out in my house. Is my computer safe?

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Remur

Remur

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Every few days or so, power goes out in my house and I have to flip the breaker switch to turn it back on. Not too long ago my Swiftech H220 CPU Cooler died and I'm not sure if the outages were the issue, but I replaced it with a Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 CPU Cooler and so far everything is good (except my computer still reports CPU Fan Error despite both fans on the Noctua spinning and temperatures being normal).

I just want to know if my computer is safe from the power outages and if not, how can I fix it? Will a surge protector keep it safe? Is there a way to avoid the power outages altogether?

This is my setup:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2H1rw
 
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hunter315

hunter315

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May 12, 2009
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You need to track down the source of your power fault to figure out if you are safe let alone your computer, you shouldn't be tripping circuit breakers on a regular basis, they are safety devices, when they are triggered it indicates that something bad happened somewhere.

Whether it will do any damage to your computer or not really depends on what the power line does when you lose power. If there is only a dip in the line before the power outage nothing will be harm, but you may end up with bad data on your HDD if it loses power while writing. If there is a voltage spike your PSU will be taking slight damage each time but should be shielding the stuff downstream fairly well, at least for a while. A large spike has the potential to force its way through everything and cause some damage down stream but you would likely lose your PSU in that scenario.


But seriously, every time a breaker flips your first priority should be to figure out what caused it not to turn power back on.
 
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millwright

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There is something wrong with your electric system.

Breakers don't trip for no reason.
Either you are using more power than the breaker is rated for, or you have short, somewhere.
The only other choice is a bad breaker.
You should have it looked at.

A surge protector will help to protect against surge, but that is going to happen when you turn it back on if at all.
The surges you generally worry about cone from the electrical company, not you breaker box.

You can also get a battery backup, But I'd fix the problem first.
You should have a surge protector anyway.
 
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jshoop

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Jun 25, 2013
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yea have a pretty power hungry system. im not sure if this is the problem but i know this person who wired his kitchen himself and put too much juice on one breaker. If you turned on the microwave and the dishwasher at the same time the power went out. So your problem might be the computer is putting too much stress on the breaker. Another friend i have said he cant overclock because just running his computer makes the lights flicker. Its a long shot at best but you never know, this might be your problem
 
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Remur

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The only power that goes out is the things associated with where my computer is plugged in if you know what I mean. I don't know what USP would be good for my setup. Anyone have any recommendations?
 
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millwright

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I haven't had one for years APC is the biggest brand.

They should have a chart for size.

Sounds like it is the breaker for just that room, not the whole house.
It could just be an overload in that case.
It won't help the overload, it is only for surge protection, and runs just long enough for you to shut the computer normally in an outage.
The better ones will shut down the computer normally, when they sense an outage, all by themselves.

Are there other plugs in the room, that might be on a different breaker, so you can split the load?
 
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Remur

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There is another outlet in the room that is on a different breaker which I also tried and has worked for about a week up until today when the breaker connected to that outlet went out and had to be flipped too.
 
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ko888

ko888

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Are the breakers that are tripping the AFCI (Arc Fault Circuit Interrupter) type of breaker? That breaker type is notorious for tripping when a computer is plugged into it and then turned on due to the large inrush current. They are mandatory for circuits that are in bedrooms according to most current North American building codes now.
 
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Remur

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How do I check this?



I've tried that. There are three outlets in my room. Two go to one fuse, and the third goes to another. The two outlets are also connected to the breaker that has the TV and Internet connected to it in the Livingroom. The third outlet is also connected to the breaker that controls the lights in the livingroom, my room, and another bedroom as well as an outlet two laptops are connected to. So..

 
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millwright

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If you whole house is over loader, there is not much you can do.
Can you move things off the circuit in the other room.

A GFI or a AFCI breaker. will have a button as well as a switch.

If the wiring is as bad as you say, I doubt they would have one of those very expensive AFCI breakers.


My home office is on 1-15 amp AFCI breaker, because it was a bedroom.

I have 3 computers 5 monitors, lighting, and sometimes a laptop, on that one breaker. 2 monitors were CRTs

It hasn't ever tripped in 11 years.
But the breaker only serves this room.

 
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Remur

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The breaker that is labeled "Bedroom 1" controls two outlets in my bedroom which has my computer and my monitors plugged in. It also controls an outlet in the second bedroom, which has another computer (but a really low end one) plugged in. It also controls two outlets in the livingroom which has a TV, the Internet, and a fireplace plugged in.

The breaker that is labeled "Bedroom 2" controls an outlet in my bedroom which has my computer, my monitors, and a laptop plugged in. It also controls the lights in my bedroom, the lights in the second bedroom, and the lights in the livingroom.

I don't get it.



The breaker that is labeled "Master Bedroom" (which does not affect anything near my room) is labeled "GFI". Other than that, I don't see AFCI or anything anywhere unless there's a place I'm supposed to be looking that I haven't.
 
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Remur

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So I just had an electrician come by and he said he will run a new cable for 20A that is dedicated to just my computer and monitors on Monday. After he left, I turned my computer on and the power went out again as soon as I got to the desktop. Now when I try to turn it on, all I see is this:

http://imgur.com/a/RHQpX

A bunch of scrambled pixels along the top of the monitor. The left top corner has blue pixels and across the rest of it is rainbow pixels, kind of. I don't quite understand this because I can go into the BIOS just fine.

EDIT: Nevermind, fixed. I think I'm gonna stop using my desktop until my electrician comes back on Monday, lol.
 
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iam2thecrowe

iam2thecrowe

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i think you should replace your psu, clearly if it can trip a 20a fuse there is a problem
 
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Remur

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It was on a 15Amp fuse when it happened. I have a 20Amp fuse now and everything has been good so far.
 
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millwright

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I hope you didn't just change the fuse to 20amps, without changing the wire to 12 Gauge.

Unless it was already 12Gauge wire.

15 amp fuses are for 14Gauge wire

If you put a 20amp fuse on 14Ga wire, you could cause a fire.

Edit
Never mind, I just remembered you had an electrician do it.
 
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terry4536

terry4536

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Unfortunately, it sounds like you need an additional electrical circuit in your house. A surge suppressor or UPS will not fix anything if you are drawing too many watts for your circuit breakers.

I would consult your power supplier or an electrician, they can solve the question.

 
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