Weird problem

Ever since I installed my new power supply which is this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6817103942

sometimes my computer doesnt turn on or the light around my turn ons creen doesnt light up, but the fans do and they seem to turn on loud as well (than usual). But when i turn it back off (the fans) and press it again it turns on. I am not sure if its a psu problem (too much under load) or if its my hard drive. I am running a 9800 gt 2x 46000+ anthlon, 4 gigs ram, one hard drive.

I have a regular 9800 gt.

Your gpu is taking 300W under load, cpu takes ~100W. I doubt this thing is actually even giving you 430W (most don't give cited power). You really need a 550W or more for a 9800

also, it doesnt turn on at the beginning unde rload I would imagine so why would it not always turn on (the cpu)?

I just thought of something else that has happened to me before. Bad ram might be the culpurate. Also the thermal paste may not be on properly on your cpu.

Too many things are drawing power for how much power is available. If you have an old power unit try plugging the video card in through that with the case open to see if it will boot.

actually, it boots to windows and plays games and everything when it starts. and most of the time it does start, only sometimes it doesnt and only the fans do.

OK, that rules out underpowered PSU then. Im getting too technical for myself here but i would only guess that it is either an intermitant fault with the PSU or with the motherboard power management. Just cant see why any other components would cause that kind of issue. I suppose my next move would be try another PSU so at least you could rule that out, if of course you can lay your hands on a spare one.

Maybe you do have an issue with your harddrive but i just cant see the connection with that and your startup problems. In my experience with faulty harddrives i have always managed a post screen and bois at least. When your system fails to power up does it make the crazy HDD sound at that point? Do you have an old PSU or HDD you can try?

I think maybe your computer has poltergeist, you certainly do have weird problems. My guess is that the HDD problem is quite possibly software as it sounds like it is just being accessed like crazy. All the faulty HDDs i remember either dont work at all or just make strange skippy noises. As for the power up issues ive still got my money on PSU/mobo. Hopefully someone a little wiser than me may be able to help you a little better than me. By this point i would have my pc in bits ruling them out 1 by 1.

it always turns on the second time I try it after it doesnt work and I turn it off and back on.

If this is a new psu, and things were working before, then you must suspect the psu. It could be faulty, or underpowered.
It should be ok, but failures are not unknown.

First, though,run memtest86+ for a pass or two to check that the ram is ok.

Next, run prime95 for 30 minutes or so, with rounding checking to test the ram in a different way, and also the cpu. Look to see if there are any errors, and look for abnormally high temperatures. Monitor the temps with speedfan or similar.

Are you overclocking anything? A failed start can be a symptom that the bios needs to reset itself. unplugging the psu can sometimes do that. Back off any overclocks. Check the gpu clocks, and reset to standard.

What mobo/cpu/ram etc are you using?

oh I found out its a piece of hardware that plugs into your psu not software?

Good comments and recommendations from curnel_D and geofelt.

As to question on hard drive - Create a memtest boot disk, disconnect HDD (Both power and data). After extended “Off Time” See if it boots to CD on first try. Then as others stated – Check memory.

Ref: PSU testers. These are a good go-no go tester for a new PSU, or one that you think died. They only check votages, not currents as they simulate a very light load.. These testers are very cheap when compared to a “Real” PS tester ( ie 20 bucks vs several hundred dollars. The best, and possibly the only, check would be to replace the PSU with a known PSU .

I’m still leading toward a PSU problem with inrush current and/or the Good_OK signal (Pin 8 on 20/24 Pin MB Connector. Rational is that it doesn’t power on on first try, but does on 2nd try and this seams consitant..

Quote from Wikipedia
The Power-Good signal is a +5 volt (V) signal generated in the power supply when it has passed its internal self-tests and the outputs have stabilized. This normally takes between 0.1 and 0.5 seconds after you turn on the power supply switch. The signal is then sent to the motherboard, where it is received by the processor timer chip that controls the reset line to the processor
End Quote

the weird thing is, when I first put in any new psu it doesnt boot from cd but tries reinstalling windows. Before it goes to the reinstall windows screen off the cd it says:
Yukon PXE V5.16.1.3

client mac appr
00 19 21 F11921

ANd some other crap than on the bottom it says:
DIsk boot failure
insert system disk and press enter

I dont remember actually but I might not have had the disc in by that point or I might have. But after I turn it off and on again I can go back to windows with all my previous programs and everything works without having to reinstall windows.

well it works now and boots from cd (as it states despite no boot disc being in drive) it does this every time I install a new psu though.

ok guys this is really bad, now it does it like 3-4 times in a row before it eventually powers the system on. Is my brand new psu dying or something?

it does it even when I put my overclock at startup back to default settings in nvidia control panel, so what changed bios settings would it deal with outside a new psu?