power problems

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

hi all

hope someone can help as I'm really tearing my hair out here with this... I
installed a second hard drive into my PC a month ago and it's been playing
up ever since...

When I first booted up the PC after the installation it was on for about a
nano-second then switched straight off again. I pressed the 'on' button and
again, it just died after a split-second. Pressed 'on' again and it finally
booted up fine. The new hard drive is working fine too.

However, I left the PC running overnight and found it dead the following
morning. Completely dead - even pressing the 'on' button did nothing... I
found that unplugging the power cable from the back of the PC and leaving it
for a few seconds then plugging back in and hitting the 'on' button brings
it back to life - for a split-second. Then, once again I have to keep
pressing 'on' repeatedly until it finally stays on and boots up!!

Windows is a bit corrupted and needs a reload at some point so I find myself
having to regularly restart the PC due to it freezing up. This also results
in the same thing as above happening. The PC switches off as normal then
starts to reboot until a split-second later when, boom, it's dead again.
Press 'on' about 10 times and it finally properly comes to life..

So... it's a flippin nightmare. I'm terrified that one day it's gonna die
for good and there will no turning it back on at all.

Any ideas as to what could be causing it or has anyone ever encountered
anything similar?

Thanks in advance.

Daz

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

dustie wrote:

> hi all
>
> hope someone can help as I'm really tearing my hair out here with this... I
> installed a second hard drive into my PC a month ago and it's been playing
> up ever since...
>
> When I first booted up the PC after the installation it was on for about a
> nano-second then switched straight off again. I pressed the 'on' button and
> again, it just died after a split-second. Pressed 'on' again and it finally
> booted up fine. The new hard drive is working fine too.
>
> However, I left the PC running overnight and found it dead the following
> morning. Completely dead - even pressing the 'on' button did nothing... I
> found that unplugging the power cable from the back of the PC and leaving it
> for a few seconds then plugging back in and hitting the 'on' button brings
> it back to life - for a split-second. Then, once again I have to keep
> pressing 'on' repeatedly until it finally stays on and boots up!!
>
> Windows is a bit corrupted and needs a reload at some point so I find myself
> having to regularly restart the PC due to it freezing up. This also results
> in the same thing as above happening. The PC switches off as normal then
> starts to reboot until a split-second later when, boom, it's dead again.
> Press 'on' about 10 times and it finally properly comes to life..
>
> So... it's a flippin nightmare. I'm terrified that one day it's gonna die
> for good and there will no turning it back on at all.
>
> Any ideas as to what could be causing it or has anyone ever encountered
> anything similar?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Daz
>
>
>

You give no details on the hardware or PSU but that sounds like a severely
overloaded power supply that's shutting down due to the overload.

Hard drives pull maximum load when spinning up because the motor has to
accelerate those spinning disks inside to operating speed. Plus, all the
capacitors in the PSU, motherboard, and other devices, need to charge up
causing an increased load at initial turn on. And needing to unplug the PSU
is indicative of an over current shutdown. The over current protection
circuit stays latched on until mains power is removed, which resets it.

Interesting that the turn on surge is apparently so severe that while the
overcurrent detector shuts it down there isn't enough dribble to latch it.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

David has provided but one possible answer. A 3.5 digit
multimeter is necessary find this or other reasons for your
problem. If the trivial current load of a disk drive was
enough to overpower a power supply, then the meter previously
would have exposed a power supply with already too much load
or a power supply in process of a slow failure. At any rate,
the meter is necessary to identify in seconds whether this is
or is not the problem.

Removing power cord to reset a lockout suggests a motherboard
function that would be unrelated to new disk drive. So again,
additional facts such as numbers from that meter can properly
answer your question.

dustie wrote:
> hi all
>
> hope someone can help as I'm really tearing my hair out here with
> this... I installed a second hard drive into my PC a month ago
> and it's been playing up ever since...
>
> When I first booted up the PC after the installation it was on
> for about a nano-second then switched straight off again. I
> pressed the 'on' button and again, it just died after a
> split-second. Pressed 'on' again and it finally booted up fine.
> The new hard drive is working fine too.
>
> However, I left the PC running overnight and found it dead the
> following morning. Completely dead - even pressing the 'on'
> button did nothing... I found that unplugging the power cable
> from the back of the PC and leaving it for a few seconds then
> plugging back in and hitting the 'on' button brings it back to
> life - for a split-second. Then, once again I have to keep
> pressing 'on' repeatedly until it finally stays on and boots
> up!!
>
> Windows is a bit corrupted and needs a reload at some point so
> I find myself having to regularly restart the PC due to it
> freezing up. This also results in the same thing as above
> happening. The PC switches off as normal then starts to reboot
> until a split-second later when, boom, it's dead again. Press
> 'on' about 10 times and it finally properly comes to life..
>
> So... it's a flippin nightmare. I'm terrified that one day
> it's gonna die for good and there will no turning it back on
> at all.
>
> Any ideas as to what could be causing it or has anyone ever
> encountered anything similar?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Daz

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

w_tom wrote:

> David has provided but one possible answer. A 3.5 digit
> multimeter is necessary find this or other reasons for your
> problem. If the trivial current load of a disk drive

Hard drive spin up current isn't all that trivial, which is moot because if
it's enough extra to trip the current limiter then it trips the current
limiter.

> was
> enough to overpower a power supply, then the meter previously
> would have exposed a power supply with already too much load
> or a power supply in process of a slow failure.

Possibly but not certainly. If the power supply can provide 9 amps on the
12 volts, but trips at 10, then an additional 1.5 amps, typical for a hard
drive spin up, could trip it. And he had added a drive so he has two
pulling a spin up surge that drops to a much lower value once it's running.

The bigger question is why it tripped, if that was the cause, once up and
running as, at that point, the additional load from a second hard drive
really is rather trivial. Which means he was either running on the razor
thin bleeding edge of the thing all along or something else is the problem.

Or perhaps he has his power settings configured to spin them down and when
they spun up again...

> At any rate,
> the meter is necessary to identify in seconds whether this is
> or is not the problem.
>
> Removing power cord to reset a lockout suggests a motherboard
> function

Latch up, requiring power removal to clear, is a common characteristic of
the typical fold back current limiter/crowbar, otherwise it would oscillate
off-on-off-on-off... as voltage was clamped, causing a load current drop to
near zero which would let it release due to the low current, at which point
load current would surge again causing it to re-clamp, and on and on. So it
clamps and stays clamped until power is cycled off and the internal caps
bleed down.

That is in the PSU current limiter and independent of any motherboard function.

> that would be unrelated to new disk drive. So again,
> additional facts such as numbers from that meter can properly
> answer your question.
>
> dustie wrote:
>
>>hi all
>>
>>hope someone can help as I'm really tearing my hair out here with
>>this... I installed a second hard drive into my PC a month ago
>>and it's been playing up ever since...
>>
>>When I first booted up the PC after the installation it was on
>>for about a nano-second then switched straight off again. I
>>pressed the 'on' button and again, it just died after a
>>split-second. Pressed 'on' again and it finally booted up fine.
>>The new hard drive is working fine too.
>>
>>However, I left the PC running overnight and found it dead the
>>following morning. Completely dead - even pressing the 'on'
>>button did nothing... I found that unplugging the power cable
>>from the back of the PC and leaving it for a few seconds then
>>plugging back in and hitting the 'on' button brings it back to
>>life - for a split-second. Then, once again I have to keep
>>pressing 'on' repeatedly until it finally stays on and boots
>>up!!
>>
>>Windows is a bit corrupted and needs a reload at some point so
>>I find myself having to regularly restart the PC due to it
>>freezing up. This also results in the same thing as above
>>happening. The PC switches off as normal then starts to reboot
>>until a split-second later when, boom, it's dead again. Press
>>'on' about 10 times and it finally properly comes to life..
>>
>>So... it's a flippin nightmare. I'm terrified that one day
>>it's gonna die for good and there will no turning it back on
>>at all.
>>
>>Any ideas as to what could be causing it or has anyone ever
>>encountered anything similar?
>>
>>Thanks in advance.
>>
>>Daz

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Sounds like either a corrupted harddrive, OR your power supply is either too
underpowered for your components or is unstable/failing.

--
DaveW



"dustie" <xxdjdustxx@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:IQ1Uc.109$H07.83@newsfe4-gui.ntli.net...
> hi all
>
> hope someone can help as I'm really tearing my hair out here with this...
I
> installed a second hard drive into my PC a month ago and it's been playing
> up ever since...
>
> When I first booted up the PC after the installation it was on for about a
> nano-second then switched straight off again. I pressed the 'on' button
and
> again, it just died after a split-second. Pressed 'on' again and it
finally
> booted up fine. The new hard drive is working fine too.
>
> However, I left the PC running overnight and found it dead the following
> morning. Completely dead - even pressing the 'on' button did nothing...
I
> found that unplugging the power cable from the back of the PC and leaving
it
> for a few seconds then plugging back in and hitting the 'on' button brings
> it back to life - for a split-second. Then, once again I have to keep
> pressing 'on' repeatedly until it finally stays on and boots up!!
>
> Windows is a bit corrupted and needs a reload at some point so I find
myself
> having to regularly restart the PC due to it freezing up. This also
results
> in the same thing as above happening. The PC switches off as normal then
> starts to reboot until a split-second later when, boom, it's dead again.
> Press 'on' about 10 times and it finally properly comes to life..
>
> So... it's a flippin nightmare. I'm terrified that one day it's gonna
die
> for good and there will no turning it back on at all.
>
> Any ideas as to what could be causing it or has anyone ever encountered
> anything similar?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Daz
>
>
>

 

[guido]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

I had a similar problem and tracked it down to a loose power supply harness
at the motherboard. My voltages were all a bit low and system crashed
intermittently, requiring powering off at the power supply swith to reset
things.

Download a "motherboard monitor" here: http://mbm.livewiredev.com/
and check your voltages with it.

If it's not an under powered power supply, you may have a loose connection
like I did.


"dustie" <xxdjdustxx@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:IQ1Uc.109$H07.83@newsfe4-gui.ntli.net...
> hi all
>
> hope someone can help as I'm really tearing my hair out here with this...
> I
> installed a second hard drive into my PC a month ago and it's been playing
> up ever since...
>
> When I first booted up the PC after the installation it was on for about a
> nano-second then switched straight off again. I pressed the 'on' button
> and
> again, it just died after a split-second. Pressed 'on' again and it
> finally
> booted up fine. The new hard drive is working fine too.
>
> However, I left the PC running overnight and found it dead the following
> morning. Completely dead - even pressing the 'on' button did nothing...
> I
> found that unplugging the power cable from the back of the PC and leaving
> it
> for a few seconds then plugging back in and hitting the 'on' button brings
> it back to life - for a split-second. Then, once again I have to keep
> pressing 'on' repeatedly until it finally stays on and boots up!!
>
> Windows is a bit corrupted and needs a reload at some point so I find
> myself
> having to regularly restart the PC due to it freezing up. This also
> results
> in the same thing as above happening. The PC switches off as normal then
> starts to reboot until a split-second later when, boom, it's dead again.
> Press 'on' about 10 times and it finally properly comes to life..
>
> So... it's a flippin nightmare. I'm terrified that one day it's gonna
> die
> for good and there will no turning it back on at all.
>
> Any ideas as to what could be causing it or has anyone ever encountered
> anything similar?
>
> Thanks in advance.
>
> Daz
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

> You give no details on the hardware or PSU but that sounds like a severely
> overloaded power supply that's shutting down due to the overload.
>
> Hard drives pull maximum load when spinning up because the motor has to
> accelerate those spinning disks inside to operating speed. Plus, all the
> capacitors in the PSU, motherboard, and other devices, need to charge up
> causing an increased load at initial turn on. And needing to unplug the
PSU
> is indicative of an over current shutdown. The over current protection
> circuit stays latched on until mains power is removed, which resets it.
>
> Interesting that the turn on surge is apparently so severe that while the
> overcurrent detector shuts it down there isn't enough dribble to latch it.
>

hi all

thanks for all the responses. My existing hard drive is a 120gb Maxtor one.
My new secondary drive is the same make but the 160gb one. I've
disconnected it and the PC boots up just fine every time yet, the second I
reconnect the new one it just starts doing it again.

I had another 30gb secondary drive which was replaced by this one and I
never had this problem with that. My power supply is a Q-Tec "400w dual fan
gold - switching" one.

Does that help diagnose what the problem could be?

cheers

daz


>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

Get the numbers. Without numbers from that 3.5 digit
multimeter, then the only answers you will get are wild
speculation.

dustie wrote:
> hi all
>
> thanks for all the responses. My existing hard drive is a 120gb
> Maxtor one. My new secondary drive is the same make but the
> 160gb one. I've disconnected it and the PC boots up just fine
> every time yet, the second I reconnect the new one it just
> starts doing it again.
>
> I had another 30gb secondary drive which was replaced by this
> one and I never had this problem with that. My power supply
> is a Q-Tec "400w dual fan gold - switching" one.
>
> Does that help diagnose what the problem could be?
>
> cheers
>
> daz
>
> >