When I power on my PC the house supply starts to fluctuate and at times trips. I dont think it is a UPS or spike guard problem, since this fluctuation/tripping persists even when both of them are cut out and the CPU is given a direct connection. Changing the power outlet also hasn't made any difference. Could anyone suggest what the problem may be? Is there anyway to check and see if the power supply unit in the CPU is malfunctioning?

kris2008
21-2-2008

im a little confused. What do you mean by house supply? Are you talking about the computer's power supply?

You are probably overloading a circuit in your house.
Calculate how many amps are used on the circuit and then look at the breaker.
You probably need a new separate circuit.

You probably want to get an outlet tester and check the outlets in your house for incorrect wiring also. Costs about $5.00 and gives a red light if somehting is incorrectly wired.

Are you saying the power in your entire house goes out, or just whichever one circuit you try? If just one circuit, then maybe you should put in a dedicated new one for your computer equipment. If it is your entire house, then the image that comes to mind is a house that was initially wired with knob-and-tubing back in the 1920s or so and may only have a 60A max for the whole house (no offense intended; I lived in one of those myself for a while). We'll need more information about your wiring.

I'm guessing that you mean only one breaker trips when you turn the computer on and not the main breaker....(if it's the main then you might have some problems), chances are best that you are just overloading the circuit. standard household circuits are 15Amp Max.
you said you tried another outlet, but if the outlet is in the same room it will be on the same circuit and there for not make any diff. even if you try one in the next room (ex: you tried 2 diff bedrooms) there is a good chance it's still the same circuit.
I'm a residential electrician, and when wiring a standard 3 bdrm house there tends to be about 12 receptacles (12 items is the max allowed for me to put on a single circuit anyways) and I just run them all in series. so if you are having a problem in one bdrm then trying a plug in another would do nothing.
Try a plug in the kitchen or living room or something (run an extension cord so you don't have to move your computer)

you can pick up a computer power supply tester for $15-$20, it is possible that it could be drawing to much current.

I agree with what gizmo is saying.

@OP
It would also help to understand your spec's to also get an idea how much power your system needs.

Also, if your system can start... or your circuit breaker box switches off. That also could indicate a short on the PC MB itself.

Wonder if they guy forgot to pay for the electric bill.. or really shorted out the circuit breaker box???

I mean the supply in the house.
Things have been working fine for the past two years, so I doubt if its a problem of overloading.
The supply of the whole house goes off. At times for a few seconds, or else for a few minutes.
My system is AMD Athlon Xp, Gigabyte MB, multiboot-Windows XP Pro and Sabayon. The powersupply is 300w. House voltge 250v. UPS 500w.

How old is your house? I lived in a small house for two years and whenever I used the microwave with the dishwasher the breaker would trip. We had two freezers, we ended up putting a 30amp breaker in place of the 15amp breaker. However I am not recommending you try this at all until you speak to a technician!

Why does it say in my e-mail that Zorg has replied to a post... I don't see a post from Zorg, so whats going on here?

If the house supply is tripping, and you're certain it is not an overload, then perhaps the problem is one best addressed by an electrician. The breaker may be malfunctioning. I would check your computer's PSU first though. Unplug your PC and in its place plug in another load, such as a space heater set on "low" (500W-750W in the US). If the circuit blows, then you probably do have an overload. If it doesn't, your computer's PSU is a fire hazard, whether or not it still seems to be powering your PC.
How many amps is the service in your home? The standard these days in the US I believe is still 200A. With 250V service, you obviously aren't in the US.

I stripped it and made it a PM.