If this isn't the right section of the forum, please move the thread appropriately and I apologize.
Okay. So here's the dealio. I actually fix computers as a job, but I can't seem to figure out my own problem with my own computer. I've never had to post on a support forum, but I don't have any real ideas at this point.
Wake up in the morning to hear the fans on the computer whirring full-speed and the monitor in standby. Won't come out of standby. Weird. So I power it down and power it back up. I have 2HDDs and a DVD-ROM plugged into my SATA ports. The HDD the OS is on is not showing in the POST. Strange. So of course I get a "boot manager not found.". That makes sense if it doesn't see the HDD. Most of the time, I don't even get that far. Most of the time, I get a warning message. I hop into the BIOS to find that the 12v line is only supplying 9.8v. I wonder why. So I switch around the SATA connectors and move them all to different ports, check and re-sit all my connections, and I get the same thing. Voltage warning AND the same HDD is not showing up in a different SATA port. So I think: okay, maybe it's a fault with the HDD, causing the PSU to only output 9.8v (I'm an electrical engineer, so I know weird crap like that happens sometimes, so who knows?), so unplug that HDD from power and the SATA port, same voltage warning. I unplug ALL SATA devices, same voltage warning. So I think "okay, it's probably the PSU", so I hop into the BIOS again, and low and behold, the computer restarts on me randomly while I'm in the BIOS sometimes.
So here's the real question:
- Is it the PSU? If so, why is that one specific HDD not showing up no matter what SATA port it's in and my other ones are, even if it's the only SATA device plugged in. It just seems strange. But then again, I am getting occasional random restarts while in the BIOS...
- Is it the HDD? If so, there were none of the usual warning signs. I've had this same issue before, and completely took the computer apart and reseated EVERYTHING short of the CPU and it worked again for months, no problem.
- Is it the mobo? If so, how do I go about knowing for sure? Do I run some diagnostic software on it? There are no blown/bulged capacitors or burnt parts. No red light. Nothing to point to the mobo as the issue.
I just don't know. What do you guys think? I'm going to run some diagnostic software pretty soon here. Before that, I may reset the CMOS and/or try a new PSU.
Okay. So here's the dealio. I actually fix computers as a job, but I can't seem to figure out my own problem with my own computer. I've never had to post on a support forum, but I don't have any real ideas at this point.
Wake up in the morning to hear the fans on the computer whirring full-speed and the monitor in standby. Won't come out of standby. Weird. So I power it down and power it back up. I have 2HDDs and a DVD-ROM plugged into my SATA ports. The HDD the OS is on is not showing in the POST. Strange. So of course I get a "boot manager not found.". That makes sense if it doesn't see the HDD. Most of the time, I don't even get that far. Most of the time, I get a warning message. I hop into the BIOS to find that the 12v line is only supplying 9.8v. I wonder why. So I switch around the SATA connectors and move them all to different ports, check and re-sit all my connections, and I get the same thing. Voltage warning AND the same HDD is not showing up in a different SATA port. So I think: okay, maybe it's a fault with the HDD, causing the PSU to only output 9.8v (I'm an electrical engineer, so I know weird crap like that happens sometimes, so who knows?), so unplug that HDD from power and the SATA port, same voltage warning. I unplug ALL SATA devices, same voltage warning. So I think "okay, it's probably the PSU", so I hop into the BIOS again, and low and behold, the computer restarts on me randomly while I'm in the BIOS sometimes.
So here's the real question:
- Is it the PSU? If so, why is that one specific HDD not showing up no matter what SATA port it's in and my other ones are, even if it's the only SATA device plugged in. It just seems strange. But then again, I am getting occasional random restarts while in the BIOS...
- Is it the HDD? If so, there were none of the usual warning signs. I've had this same issue before, and completely took the computer apart and reseated EVERYTHING short of the CPU and it worked again for months, no problem.
- Is it the mobo? If so, how do I go about knowing for sure? Do I run some diagnostic software on it? There are no blown/bulged capacitors or burnt parts. No red light. Nothing to point to the mobo as the issue.
I just don't know. What do you guys think? I'm going to run some diagnostic software pretty soon here. Before that, I may reset the CMOS and/or try a new PSU.