Electricity Build up

[BrokenWind]

Hey all,

I recently had a problem with my cpu, but that was fixed with help of your great advice.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/forum2.php?config=tomshardwareus.inc&cat=28&post=312534&page=1&p=1&sondage=0&owntopic=1&trash=0&trash_post=0&print=0&numreponse=0&quote_only=0&new=0&nojs=0

But now I have another problem......

While I was using the computer when suddenly the screen flickered and so did the laser of the optical mouse I have. When it stopped flickering, the monitor was frozen and there was no response from the mouse or keyboard. All the fans in the case were still running and everything was seemed to be running fine.

So I rebooted, and it was working fine for a few seconds then the same thing happend again. And now the darn thing isn't displaying anything on the monitor again.
I can't help but think its something to do with the power supply. I don't reckon that it has to do with the wall connection, cause everything is plugged into an AVR.

Any ideas as to why this is happening??

Motherboard - ASUS P5VD2-VM SE
CPU - Intel E2180 Dual Core 2.00 GHz
HDD - Western Digital WD Caviar SE 160Gb
RAM - Kingston KVR667D2N5 1G and Samsung DLL 667 1G
GPU - Palit GEFORCE 8500GT Sonic PCI-E 256MB 128bit DDR3
PSU - Powerlogic ATX 500W
CD Drive - Lite-On ITCorp. Model: iHAS220-08 6
Monitor - Chimei LCD Model: A156B1-T02

 

[jsc]

Powerlogic PSU's are about one step above generic junk. PSU is the first place I would look.

Try to borrow a known good PSU for troubleshooting. That will eliminate the mostly likely failed component first.

The following is an expansion of my troubleshooting tips in the breadboarding link in the "Cannot boot" thread.

I have tested the following beep patterns on Gigabyte, eVGA, and ECS motherboards. Other BIOS' may be different, but they all use a single short beep for a successful POST.

Breadboard - that will help isolate any kind of case problem you might have.
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/262730-31-breadboarding

Breadboard with just motherboard, CPU & HSF, case speaker, and PSU.

Make sure you plug the CPU power cable in. The system will not boot without it.

I always breadboard a new build. It takes only a few minutes, and you know you are putting good parts in the case once you are finished.

You can turn on the PC by momentarily shorting the two pins that the case power switch goes to. You should hear a series of long, single beeps indicating memory problems. Silence indicates a problem with (in most likely order) the PSU, motherboard, or CPU. Remember, at this time, you do not have a graphics card installed so the load on your PSU will be reduced.

If no beeps:
Running fans and drives and motherboard LED's do not necessarily indicate a good PSU. In the absence of a single short beep, they also do not indicate that the system is booting.

At this point, you can sort of check the PSU. Try to borrow a known good PSU of around 550 - 600 watts. That will power just about any system with a single GPU. If you cannot do that, use a DMM to measure the voltages. Measure between the colored wires and either chassis ground or the black wires. Yellow wires should be 12 volts. Red wires: +5 volts, orange wires: +3.3 volts, blue wire : -12 volts, violet wire (standby power supply): 5 volts always on. Tolerances are +/- 5% except for the -12 volts which is +/- 10%.

The gray wire is really important. It should go from 0 to +5 volts when you turn the PSU on with the case switch. CPU needs this signal to boot.

You can turn on the PSU by completely disconnecting the PSU and using a paperclip or jumper wire to short the green wire to one of the neighboring black wires.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FWXgQSokF4&feature=youtube_gdata

A way that might be easier is to use the main power plug. Working from the back of the plug where the wires come out, use a bare paperclip to short between the green wire and one of the neighboring black wires. That will do the same thing with an installed PSU. It is also an easy way to bypass a questionable case power switch.

This checks the PSU under no load conditions, so it is not completely reliable. But if it can not pass this, it is dead. Then repeat the checks with the PSU plugged into the computer to put a load on the PSU.

If the system beeps:
If it looks like the PSU is good, install a memory stick. Boot. Beep pattern should change to one long and several short beeps indicating a missing graphics card.

Silence, long single beeps, or series of short beeps indicate a problem with the memory. If you get short beeps verify that the memory is in the appropriate motherboard slots.

Insert the video card and connect any necessary PCIe power connectors. Boot. At this point, the system should POST successfully (a single short beep). Notice that you do not need keyboard, mouse, monitor, or drives to successfully POST.
At this point, if the system doesn't work, it's either the video card or an inadequate PSU. Or rarely - the motherboard's PCIe interface.

Now start connecting the rest of the devices starting with the monitor, then keyboard and mouse, then the rest of the devices, testing after each step. It's possible that you can pass the POST with a defective video card. The POST routines can only check the video interface. It cannot check the internal parts of the video card.

 

[delluser1]

Powerlogic PSU's are about one step above generic junk. PSU is the first place I would look.

It's a 500 watt psu with a single 16 amp 12 volt rail, might be a step or 2 below generic junk :lol:

 

[BrokenWind]

It was an alright PSU... The computer has lasted almost 5 years. A lot better than any other I've had. I'll try a breadboard it did help last time.

 

[BrokenWind]

Not getting any beeps from the speaker. No beeps without CPU. No beeps with CPU Installed. No beeps with a different CPU installed. No beeps with CPU and RAM. Not getting into post.

 

[BrokenWind]

Wow. Here's a new one. There seems to be some grounding occuring. I had just turned off the AVR that the PSU is plugged into and mistakenly forgot to remove the power cable from the PSU. I touched the lever to release the CPU and I got a minor shock in my finger... Could this be affecting the CPU and Motherboard? Everything is on a non-conductive surface too.

 

[MrBig55]

Of course it can. Also take note that I've never taken any shock when the power cord was still plugged both into computer and wall outlet (even tho it is recommended to unplug it before working in the computer, which is something I forget to do most of the time anyways). That electricity discharge may be related to the power supply that is defective, the power cable that is damaged, the power outlet that is not correctly grounded or the motherboard that touches the casing.

1- Try another cable with a functionnal round pin, since that is the one responsible for eliminating electricity spikes.

2- Also ask someone good with electricity. Ask him/her to check if the power outlet is grounded correctly.

3- When you builded your computer, did you use the little metallic/plastic spacers behind the motherboard? Also verify that the case is not touching the motherboard. This would cause any type of crash/freeze/BSOD.

If you did all that and it doesn't solves the electricity discharge issue, then you'll know your power supply is likely a bad one. Anyways I've never heard of that brand before. Time to get a really good unit: Corsair, BeQuiet, Seasonic are good brands to look for. There are others too so do some homework on google to find a good psu review for your budget.

 

[BrokenWind]

Yeah I figure it's a bad PSU... But it worked fine for 5 years so, beats me... I just tried replacing the AVR with another. It seems to have got rid of the grounding. But still no beeps from the speaker.

 

[BrokenWind]

I now think I've traced the sorce of the shock to the monitor. I touched the end of the VGA cable and there's is some current in it. Going to my mates place to borrow his monitor and see if this fixes the problem.

 

[BrokenWind]

Best answer selected by BrokenWind.