Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit (More info?)

No I am not advertising for UPS usage <g>.

I have an older AT7 mobo which has had problems in the past with my USB ports.
It seems they were not connecting properly in some way, since often I would boot
and my USB mouse would not connect and occasionally I would even have problems
with my USB keyboard, or if I tried to move the mouse or keyboard to other USB
ports no connection was made.

About a week ago I got a UPS for my computer and monitor. Since then all of my
USB ports now work flawlessly. This appears to suggest some power issue. Can
this be:

1) Brownouts, or an unsteady electrical current, in my normal electrical
connections through my home's outlets ( I do live in the country ) ?

2) A computer power supply ( Enermax 430 ) which is not functioning properly ?

3) A short on the mobo ?

4) USB ports that were not grounded properly when I originally inserted my mobo
? ( I know there are overhanging metal tabs on the top of mobo where the USB
ports are but I never understood whether these should be touching the top of my
USB ports or not, or inserted between the USB ports and my back panel in some way ).

Although the USB ports are now working properly, I am still interested in
investigating any of the reasons for why they did not work before. Or maybe I
should just be satisfied that they now work, and leave things as they are.

Any Abit hardware gurus out there with any knowledge or advice they can give me,
I would be glad to get it as long as it is well-meant. Thanks !

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit (More info?)

On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 17:50:46 +0000, Edward Diener No Spam wrote:

> No I am not advertising for UPS usage <g>.
>
Well then I will. Compare a UPS to a cars fuel filter. What happens to
your car when the fuel filter gets clogged? Sputters, dies, etc. Same
thing happens to your computer when the power source drops.

> I have an older AT7 mobo which has had problems in the past with my USB
> ports. It seems they were not connecting properly in some way, since
> often I would boot and my USB mouse would not connect and occasionally I
> would even have problems with my USB keyboard, or if I tried to move the
> mouse or keyboard to other USB ports no connection was made.
>
> About a week ago I got a UPS for my computer and monitor. Since then all
> of my USB ports now work flawlessly. This appears to suggest some power
> issue. Can this be:
>
> 1) Brownouts, or an unsteady electrical current, in my normal electrical
> connections through my home's outlets ( I do live in the country ) ?
>
Very possible.

> 2) A computer power supply ( Enermax 430 ) which is not functioning
> properly ?
>
Not likely, although some PSU's with larger caps will work slightly
better, but not enough to make a real difference.

> 3) A short on the mobo ?
>
Not likely. The UPS wouldn't fix that.

> 4) USB ports that were not grounded properly when I originally inserted
> my mobo ? ( I know there are overhanging metal tabs on the top of mobo
> where the USB ports are but I never understood whether these should be
> touching the top of my USB ports or not, or inserted between the USB
> ports and my back panel in some way ).
>
If the ups corrected the problem one can only assume one had a power
problem.

> Although the USB ports are now working properly, I am still interested
> in investigating any of the reasons for why they did not work before. Or
> maybe I should just be satisfied that they now work, and leave things as
> they are.
>
Take the UPS out of the system and see if they fail again. That should
answer your question.

--
KT133 MB, CPU @2400MHz (24x100): SIS755 MB CPU @2330MHz (10x233)
Need good help? Provide all system info with question.
My server http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
Verizon server http://mysite.verizon.net/res0exft/cpu.htm

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit (More info?)

Wes Newell wrote:
> On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 17:50:46 +0000, Edward Diener No Spam wrote:
>
> If the ups corrected the problem one can only assume one had a power
> problem.

I agree this is almost certainly the case, but I guess I am curious to find out
why. Does the UPS supply a more constant voltage by internally dealing with
intermittent spikes or voltage fluctuations in my electrical line ?

>
>
>>Although the USB ports are now working properly, I am still interested
>>in investigating any of the reasons for why they did not work before. Or
>>maybe I should just be satisfied that they now work, and leave things as
>>they are.
>>
>
> Take the UPS out of the system and see if they fail again. That should
> answer your question.

I am almost too happy to get everything working to remove the UPS but sure, I
can do it <g>. If I remove the UPS and then get intermittent failures again, the
question still remains if I can discover why the UPS is fixing my problem. I
guess that is why I posted originally, to see if anyone had any ideas.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit (More info?)

On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 18:20:19 +0000, Edward Diener No Spam wrote:

> I agree this is almost certainly the case, but I guess I am curious to
> find out why. Does the UPS supply a more constant voltage by internally
> dealing with intermittent spikes or voltage fluctuations in my
> electrical line ?
>
Depends on the UPS. Some constantly supply regulated power (and this is
usually better) while some just do a quick switchover to the regulated
power when power drops below a certain point. These might still cause
problems if they don't switch fast enough. But that shouldn't be a problem
unless the PSU is weak or overloaded.

>> Take the UPS out of the system and see if they fail again. That should
>> answer your question.
>
> I am almost too happy to get everything working to remove the UPS but
> sure, I can do it <g>. If I remove the UPS and then get intermittent
> failures again, the question still remains if I can discover why the UPS
> is fixing my problem. I guess that is why I posted originally, to see if
> anyone had any ideas.

It would be a power source problem if it fails again when you take the ups
off line.

--
KT133 MB, CPU @2400MHz (24x100): SIS755 MB CPU @2330MHz (10x233)
Need good help? Provide all system info with question.
My server http://wesnewell.no-ip.com/cpu.php
Verizon server http://mysite.verizon.net/res0exft/cpu.htm

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit (More info?)

In article <D%sIe.874$RZ2.781@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
eldiener_no_spam_here@earthlink.net says...
> Wes Newell wrote:
> > On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 17:50:46 +0000, Edward Diener No Spam wrote:
> >
<snip>
>
> I am almost too happy to get everything working to remove the UPS but sure, I
> can do it <g>. If I remove the UPS and then get intermittent failures again, the
> question still remains if I can discover why the UPS is fixing my problem. I
> guess that is why I posted originally, to see if anyone had any ideas.
>

The only way to tell for sure is to get one of these:
http://www.electrical-contractor.n [...] LAS800.htm
and record your house power. Kinda pricey though.

Bill

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit (More info?)

Bill wrote:
> In article <D%sIe.874$RZ2.781@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
> eldiener_no_spam_here@earthlink.net says...
>
>>Wes Newell wrote:
>>
>>>On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 17:50:46 +0000, Edward Diener No Spam wrote:
>>>
>
> <snip>
>
>>I am almost too happy to get everything working to remove the UPS but sure, I
>>can do it <g>. If I remove the UPS and then get intermittent failures again, the
>>question still remains if I can discover why the UPS is fixing my problem. I
>>guess that is why I posted originally, to see if anyone had any ideas.
>>
>
>
> The only way to tell for sure is to get one of these:
> http://www.electrical-contractor.n [...] LAS800.htm
> and record your house power. Kinda pricey though.

No I am not willing to spend that kind of money for a Voltage Spike Recorder,
nor do I know what it would prove.

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit (More info?)

Edward Diener No Spam wrote:
> Bill wrote:
>
>> In article <D%sIe.874$RZ2.781@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
>> eldiener_no_spam_here@earthlink.net says...
>>
>>> Wes Newell wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 17:50:46 +0000, Edward Diener No Spam wrote:
>>>>
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>>> I am almost too happy to get everything working to remove the UPS but
>>> sure, I can do it <g>. If I remove the UPS and then get intermittent
>>> failures again, the question still remains if I can discover why the
>>> UPS is fixing my problem. I guess that is why I posted originally, to
>>> see if anyone had any ideas.
>>>
>>
>>
>> The only way to tell for sure is to get one of these:
>> http://www.electrical-contractor.n [...] LAS800.htm
>> and record your house power. Kinda pricey though.
>
>
> No I am not willing to spend that kind of money for a Voltage Spike
> Recorder, nor do I know what it would prove.

Kind of a smart-ass reply to someone who was just trying to be helpfull.

Mort

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit (More info?)

Mortimer wrote:
> Edward Diener No Spam wrote:
>
>> Bill wrote:
>>
>>> In article <D%sIe.874$RZ2.781@newsread3.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
>>> eldiener_no_spam_here@earthlink.net says...
>>>
>>>> Wes Newell wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Thu, 04 Aug 2005 17:50:46 +0000, Edward Diener No Spam wrote:
>>>>>
>>>
>>> <snip>
>>>
>>>> I am almost too happy to get everything working to remove the UPS
>>>> but sure, I can do it <g>. If I remove the UPS and then get
>>>> intermittent failures again, the question still remains if I can
>>>> discover why the UPS is fixing my problem. I guess that is why I
>>>> posted originally, to see if anyone had any ideas.
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The only way to tell for sure is to get one of these:
>>> http://www.electrical-contractor.n [...] LAS800.htm
>>> and record your house power. Kinda pricey though.
>>
>>
>>
>> No I am not willing to spend that kind of money for a Voltage Spike
>> Recorder, nor do I know what it would prove.
>
>
> Kind of a smart-ass reply to someone who was just trying to be helpfull.

I did not mean it that way. The price tag for such a device is exorbitant, and I
do not understand how such a device could be useful for determining a possible
power problem on my system. It might determine a power problem in the electrical
lines where I live, but even that seems inconclusive to me since if there were
no problem with my electrical system, I would still have to investigate other
systems. For the price of the device mentioned I could probably build a very
good new system.

>
> Mort

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.abit (More info?)

In article <DEDIe.956$Je.308@newsread2.news.atl.earthlink.net>,
eldiener_no_spam_here@earthlink.net says...
>
<snip>
>
> I did not mean it that way. The price tag for such a device is exorbitant, and I
> do not understand how such a device could be useful for determining a possible
> power problem on my system. It might determine a power problem in the electrical
> lines where I live, but even that seems inconclusive to me since if there were
> no problem with my electrical system, I would still have to investigate other
> systems. For the price of the device mentioned I could probably build a very
> good new system.
>


A: It would either show or eliminate your power as the problem.

B: You actually hire a guy who owns one of these to check your power
for somewhat less money than the purchase of the equipment.

C: You just leave the UPS on and be thankful that your power has
disappeared.

How much do you want to spend to scratch the itch of your curiosity?
You won't find a definitive answer here, just guesses, some educated,
some wild assed, but still guesses.

Maybe you have a bad electrical outlet. Just another wag, but I've
seen it happen. They do wear out you know.

You eliminate all the possibilities one at a time until you've found
the problem. Sherlock Somebody.

Bill