Power problems, clueless and need ideas ; ;

[eeto]

Hi all,

The power supply of my old Athlon1200 computer has died down recently and wouldnt start up so i went and bought a 350w replacement (old was 250w). Now it seems all fine with one problem tho; whenever I unplug any thing (e.g. keyboard USB) the computer will shutdown itself immediately and with some trouble turning it back on (no response when pushing the power button). This time, it's worst, my keyboard num lock lights are on but I couldnt type anything, so i went back to check on my keyboard cable, and upon a little confirming that it's fully plugged it, the computer shuts down and I couldnt turn it back on now. ='(

So, what can possibly be the problem, could it be a faulty PSU? ; ; Any ideas help...

My computer is an
Athlon 1200
ECS K7SMA
Seagate 160gb
Ultra V-series 350w ATX (the new one)

Regards,

eeto

 

[Rugger]

When was the last time you cleaned the inside of the case? The CPU HSF? How much dust/dirt is in there right now?

 

[20070503]

replus hardwave, clean the chassis, maybe it works again.

 

[eeto]

I cleaned everything and dust out shortly after replacing the PSU. CPU heatsink, fan, inner case, video card....

I was finally able to turn it on after numerous tries.. every 10mins; holding down the power button (case) slowly and not releasing it immediately even after the "click" sound; turning the PSU power on/off. I got lucky and it turned on after like the 10th time when I switch on the PSU button (no idea why, just by turning the PSU "on" will make the computer turned on, since my case button doesn't technically have a "off" or "pushed down" state)

There should be enough power in the new PSU since previously I had been using a 250w for 5yrs and now with a 350w. It's an old PC too which shouldn't require that much power... Oh oh, and during those 10 tries, I would sometimes see the CPU fan run on for 2 seconds then go off. Sounds like a car having problems starting up, and once it's up it runs smoothly. Could it be a faulty PSU? my case's on/off button? Or my computer is unhappy that I ordered a new PC that will be coming in few days? Regardless, i really wish to know what's the problem behind. Even tho my new computer will be arriving in few days, I still wish to let my parents to use this old computer...

 

[kittle]

Definately sounds like something has died.

the "run for 2 seconds and shut off" sounds like a short somewhere, or a fried component in your motherboard.

when PSU's die they frequently take parts of the system with them, this is especially the case with older ones.

but if you have a new PC arriving in a few days, it sounds like the problem is already solved

 

[Rugger]

Your symptoms would typically point me towards power or motherboard.

- Take a look at the capacitors (caps) on your motherboard. Are any of them bulging or leaking?
- What did you use to clean the inside of the case? Are you sure that there are no screws rolling around in the case that could be shorting out the mobo?
- Try reseating all of your cards/connections (both ends of connections).

Let us know about the results from these items and then we'll go forward from there.

 

[eeto]

First, thank you all for your replies...

My new computer parts didnt make it before the weekend and I have to wait till next business week before they'll arrive. During these 2 days of weekend, I didnt wanna risk not able to turn my computer back on so... I'm not gonna touch the case for further inspection until I have a backup computer (the new computer). However, I am able to answer some of your questions Rugger (thanks for providing some guidelines btw).

For the cleaning, I took a regular vacuum cleaner and suck the dust off around 2 inches away from the mobo. During the process I was sure the vacuum didnt touch any components on the mobo. I bought a new heatsink and was ready to replace the old noisy one, however I was too scared to unclip the old heatsink which was locked firmly to the cpu without crushing anything. I gave up, cleaned the heatsink and stopped. I did took the whole mobo from the case to take a closer look at the heatsink clip, and put it back in after i gave up.

I'm pretty sure there are no screws lying inside. Even if there is, the case is stood up and supposedly the screws will fall to the bottom of the case.

All caps that's within visible range atm seems to be normal

I'll try to reseat the cards next week when my backup computer is here.


more symptoms...

this is a pain, I couldnt even approximate the problem but thanks again for all your help... My computer atm is showing few more weird problems. The DVD writer which I bought a month ago, has been working fine but until yesterday when i was trying to burn something it went 4 times as slow. The buffer bar shown on Nero was going very unstable. 99% > 55% > 18% > 99% > 18% > 99%... so on.

I have problems viewing webpages which would give me 404 error or unresolved host after long periods of idle (e.g. after screensaver so maybe say 1hour, or overnight). It required me to reboot the computer everything resumes normal; and error after long periods of idle.



Million thanks,


eeto

 

[eeto]

I just downloaded MBM in attempt to ..... see whatever clues I can get which I spotted one thing, or more like a question...

I could see on 2nd row showing the volts i have which says...

CORE0 1.76v
CORE1 2.46v
+3.3 3.28v
+5 4.93v
+12.00 12.52v
-12.00 -12.49v
-5.00 0v

I have no idea what -5.00 does, but is -5.00 supposed to be 0v? o.o


Thanks,

eeto

 

[fferree]

In my computer 101 class I was taught that you only remove parts from the computer when it is turned off.

I have read many negative reviews for the Ultra power supply but I have two and I would buy another in the future. The second Ultra was purchased because I was so satisfied with the first one. They are both in use.

 

[kmansj]

Springing for a new PS to keep your Athlon 1200 alive! I love it.

I'm less than 24 hours from powering down my AthlonXP 2900 for the last time and putting in my shiny new e6600. She served me well, but, onward and upward.

Kman

 

[eeto]

The problems were after the cleaning. But I did alot of things during that shutdown period... eg.. chg PSU, remove mobo, cleaning etc.. It might be a static fry during the cleaning but just hard to pin point what exactly the problem is...

fferree
I didnt remove the mobo while it was still on so I have no idea what you mean by "remove parts from the computer while it's off". If you were talking about the USB thing which leads to shutdown, USB was designed with plug-and-play in mind for over 6 years. Unpluging a keyboard doesnt require you to shutdown a computer to do it >.>.

kmansj
if I can pay for $40 replacing the PSU to make it work, so this old computer can be used JUST for web browsing and office xp for my parents, an Athlon 1200 is pretty sufficient to carry that task. Who doesnt kno faster is always better anyways >.>

Our priorities are probably different and not everyone has the money to buy new computers every 2yrs. Alot of them just use it if it works for basic stuff... :x

 

[kmansj]

Hey, wasn't criticizing you at all. If a simple PSU upgrade keeps the beast running, and it does what you want, more power to you. No pun intended

Kman