PSU problem?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I have a 6 month old dimension 3000, with hyper threading enabled which has
recently seemed to be getting slower and slower to access the hard drives.

The obvious things, to me at least have been done, i.e. virus guard up to
date and it has been checked with updated spybot for other malicious
software. The hard drives have plenty of space, and are defragged with no
errors.

I currently suspect the PSU at present, given the following.

The fan speeded up and got very loud, and eventually the house mains
consumer unit tripped out, not just the circuit the computer was on but the
while house. This has happened 3 times with the only common thing on being
this PC, and I suppose this monitor.

Now when I switched the mains back on, I checked the various temperatures of
the components inside and nothing seemed to be too hot.

I switched the pc back on the fan went immediately to full speed then
dropped back to a more normal speed.

The pc then powered up and worked fine with the fan on the psu gradually
getting faster. I left the PC running and on line for around an hour, and on
my return the USB modem had gone totally off and the usual "Safely Remove"
icon had disappeared from the system tray. I removed and replaced the USB
lead and it powered up and connected ok.

Does any of this ring a bell with anybody, before I try a spare PSU which I
have from an older PC?

Hamish

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I'm not an electrical engineer, but I don't see how your 3000 could have
triggered a main panel circuit breaker. I can break one of the circuits in
my apartment any time I want by plugging in a fan, heater or other such
device in a particular outlet with specific hardware turned on and running.
But I have never been able to trip the main panel breaker no matter what I
have plugged in and running. If the PSU drew so much power that it did
that, something would have fried.

Be careful. Electricity is not to be played with. Call your local power
company and ask them to check the line to your house or apartment,
explaining that you had a power surge and just want to be safe.

"Hamish" <nothanks@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:db3u1l$or1$1@nwrdmz02.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
>I have a 6 month old dimension 3000, with hyper threading enabled which has
>recently seemed to be getting slower and slower to access the hard drives.
>
> The obvious things, to me at least have been done, i.e. virus guard up to
> date and it has been checked with updated spybot for other malicious
> software. The hard drives have plenty of space, and are defragged with no
> errors.
>
> I currently suspect the PSU at present, given the following.
>
> The fan speeded up and got very loud, and eventually the house mains
> consumer unit tripped out, not just the circuit the computer was on but
> the while house. This has happened 3 times with the only common thing on
> being this PC, and I suppose this monitor.
>
> Now when I switched the mains back on, I checked the various temperatures
> of the components inside and nothing seemed to be too hot.
>
> I switched the pc back on the fan went immediately to full speed then
> dropped back to a more normal speed.
>
> The pc then powered up and worked fine with the fan on the psu gradually
> getting faster. I left the PC running and on line for around an hour, and
> on my return the USB modem had gone totally off and the usual "Safely
> Remove" icon had disappeared from the system tray. I removed and replaced
> the USB lead and it powered up and connected ok.
>
> Does any of this ring a bell with anybody, before I try a spare PSU which
> I have from an older PC?
>
> Hamish
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Thanks Kevin

That part of the mystery has been resolved. It turned out that the table
lamp at the side is defective, and occasionally when the desk moved I.E. I
was fiddling with the pc under the desk the fault occurred on the lamp,
blowing the power off. I am currently running the PC on its side with the
top open, and the fan seems to be steady and quiet now.

I suppose the lamp could have been generating spikes which could have been
affecting the PC, and causing errors on sound, which I forgot to mention.

Hamish




"Kevin" <webman6@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:TvfBe.472$S94.790@news.uswest.net...
> I'm not an electrical engineer, but I don't see how your 3000 could have
> triggered a main panel circuit breaker. I can break one of the circuits
> in my apartment any time I want by plugging in a fan, heater or other such
> device in a particular outlet with specific hardware turned on and
> running. But I have never been able to trip the main panel breaker no
> matter what I have plugged in and running. If the PSU drew so much power
> that it did that, something would have fried.
>
> Be careful. Electricity is not to be played with. Call your local power
> company and ask them to check the line to your house or apartment,
> explaining that you had a power surge and just want to be safe.
>
> "Hamish" <nothanks@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
> news:db3u1l$or1$1@nwrdmz02.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
>>I have a 6 month old dimension 3000, with hyper threading enabled which
>>has recently seemed to be getting slower and slower to access the hard
>>drives.
>>
>> The obvious things, to me at least have been done, i.e. virus guard up to
>> date and it has been checked with updated spybot for other malicious
>> software. The hard drives have plenty of space, and are defragged with no
>> errors.
>>
>> I currently suspect the PSU at present, given the following.
>>
>> The fan speeded up and got very loud, and eventually the house mains
>> consumer unit tripped out, not just the circuit the computer was on but
>> the while house. This has happened 3 times with the only common thing on
>> being this PC, and I suppose this monitor.
>>
>> Now when I switched the mains back on, I checked the various temperatures
>> of the components inside and nothing seemed to be too hot.
>>
>> I switched the pc back on the fan went immediately to full speed then
>> dropped back to a more normal speed.
>>
>> The pc then powered up and worked fine with the fan on the psu gradually
>> getting faster. I left the PC running and on line for around an hour, and
>> on my return the USB modem had gone totally off and the usual "Safely
>> Remove" icon had disappeared from the system tray. I removed and replaced
>> the USB lead and it powered up and connected ok.
>>
>> Does any of this ring a bell with anybody, before I try a spare PSU which
>> I have from an older PC?
>>
>> Hamish
>>
>>
>>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Just to be certain there is no disk damage, I would run checkdisk and also
system file checker. Is the computer protected by a surge suppressor?

"Hamish" <nothanks@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:db431i$o65$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
> Thanks Kevin
>
> That part of the mystery has been resolved. It turned out that the table
> lamp at the side is defective, and occasionally when the desk moved I.E. I
> was fiddling with the pc under the desk the fault occurred on the lamp,
> blowing the power off. I am currently running the PC on its side with the
> top open, and the fan seems to be steady and quiet now.
>
> I suppose the lamp could have been generating spikes which could have been
> affecting the PC, and causing errors on sound, which I forgot to mention.
>
> Hamish
>
>
>
>
> "Kevin" <webman6@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:TvfBe.472$S94.790@news.uswest.net...
>> I'm not an electrical engineer, but I don't see how your 3000 could have
>> triggered a main panel circuit breaker. I can break one of the circuits
>> in my apartment any time I want by plugging in a fan, heater or other
>> such device in a particular outlet with specific hardware turned on and
>> running. But I have never been able to trip the main panel breaker no
>> matter what I have plugged in and running. If the PSU drew so much power
>> that it did that, something would have fried.
>>
>> Be careful. Electricity is not to be played with. Call your local power
>> company and ask them to check the line to your house or apartment,
>> explaining that you had a power surge and just want to be safe.
>>
>> "Hamish" <nothanks@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
>> news:db3u1l$or1$1@nwrdmz02.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
>>>I have a 6 month old dimension 3000, with hyper threading enabled which
>>>has recently seemed to be getting slower and slower to access the hard
>>>drives.
>>>
>>> The obvious things, to me at least have been done, i.e. virus guard up
>>> to date and it has been checked with updated spybot for other malicious
>>> software. The hard drives have plenty of space, and are defragged with
>>> no errors.
>>>
>>> I currently suspect the PSU at present, given the following.
>>>
>>> The fan speeded up and got very loud, and eventually the house mains
>>> consumer unit tripped out, not just the circuit the computer was on but
>>> the while house. This has happened 3 times with the only common thing on
>>> being this PC, and I suppose this monitor.
>>>
>>> Now when I switched the mains back on, I checked the various
>>> temperatures of the components inside and nothing seemed to be too hot.
>>>
>>> I switched the pc back on the fan went immediately to full speed then
>>> dropped back to a more normal speed.
>>>
>>> The pc then powered up and worked fine with the fan on the psu gradually
>>> getting faster. I left the PC running and on line for around an hour,
>>> and on my return the USB modem had gone totally off and the usual
>>> "Safely Remove" icon had disappeared from the system tray. I removed and
>>> replaced the USB lead and it powered up and connected ok.
>>>
>>> Does any of this ring a bell with anybody, before I try a spare PSU
>>> which I have from an older PC?
>>>
>>> Hamish
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

The pc seems to be running OK now with the side off. Putting the side back
on seems to cause a gradual build up of the CPU extracter fan speed,
suggesting the airflow into the pc case is restricted.

I have defragged the hard drives with no errors, how do I actually run
scandisk, on the XP home OS.
Also how do I check the system files?

Hamish

Just to be certain there is no disk damage, I would run checkdisk and also
system file checker. Is the computer protected by a surge suppressor?

"Hamish" <nothanks@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:db431i$o65$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
> Thanks Kevin
That part of the mystery has been resolved. It turned out that the
table
lamp at the side is defective, and occasionally when the desk moved
I.E. I
was fiddling with the pc under the desk the fault occurred on the
lamp,
blowing the power off. I am currently running the PC on its side with
the
top open, and the fan seems to be steady and quiet now.
I suppose the lamp could have been generating spikes which could have
been
affecting the PC, and causing errors on sound, which I forgot to
mention.
Hamish

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Chkdsk
Creates and displays a status report for the disk. The chkdsk command also
lists and corrects errors on the disk.

The chkdsk command with the parameters listed below is only available when
you are using the Recovery Console. The chkdsk command with different
parameters is available from the command prompt.

chkdsk [drive:] [/p] [/r]

Parameters

none

Used without parameters, chkdsk displays the status of the disk in the
current drive.

drive:

Specifies the drive that you want chkdsk to check.

/p

Performs an exhaustive check even if the drive is not marked for chkdsk to
run. This parameter does not make any changes to the drive.

/r

Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. Implies /p.

Note

a.. The chkdsk command requires the file Autochk.exe. If it cannot find it
in the startup directory (\%systemroot%\System32, by default), it will
attempt to locate it on the Windows Installation CD. If you have a multiboot
computer, be sure you are issuing this command from the drive containing
Windows.





Using Disk Defragmenter
You might need to have a computer administrator account to perform some
tasks.

Disk Defragmenter consolidates fragmented files and folders on your
computer's hard disk, so that each occupies a single, contiguous space on
the volume. As a result, your system can gain access to your files and
folders and save new ones more efficiently. By consolidating your files and
folders, Disk Defragmenter also consolidates the volume's free space, making
it less likely that new files will be fragmented.

You can also defragment disks from a command line using the defrag command.
For more information, click Related Topics.

Open Disk Defragmenter.

Notes

a.. To open Disk Defragmenter, click Start, point to All Programs, point
to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.
b.. For information about using Disk Defragmenter, on the Action menu,
click Help




Try the above for some help. Good luck!

"Hamish" <nothanks@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
news:db66uq$lkd$1@nwrdmz01.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
> The pc seems to be running OK now with the side off. Putting the side back
> on seems to cause a gradual build up of the CPU extracter fan speed,
> suggesting the airflow into the pc case is restricted.
>
> I have defragged the hard drives with no errors, how do I actually run
> scandisk, on the XP home OS.
> Also how do I check the system files?
>
> Hamish
>
> Just to be certain there is no disk damage, I would run checkdisk and also
> system file checker. Is the computer protected by a surge suppressor?
>
> "Hamish" <nothanks@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
> news:db431i$o65$1@nwrdmz03.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
> > Thanks Kevin
> That part of the mystery has been resolved. It turned out that the
> table
> lamp at the side is defective, and occasionally when the desk moved
> I.E. I
> was fiddling with the pc under the desk the fault occurred on the
> lamp,
> blowing the power off. I am currently running the PC on its side with
> the
> top open, and the fan seems to be steady and quiet now.
> I suppose the lamp could have been generating spikes which could have
> been
> affecting the PC, and causing errors on sound, which I forgot to
> mention.
> Hamish
>
>
>


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[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Kevin,

Both hard drives check out OK with no problems, and I am now running the pc
through a mains smoother and it seems ok.
I am off to try and understand codec's now. Thanks for you help

Hamish

K> The chkdsk command with the parameters listed below is only available
K> when you are using the Recovery Console. The chkdsk command with
K> different parameters is available from the command prompt.

K> chkdsk [drive:] [/p] [/r]

K> Parameters

K> none

K> Used without parameters, chkdsk displays the status of the disk in the
K> current drive.

K> drive:

K> Specifies the drive that you want chkdsk to check.

K> /p

K> Performs an exhaustive check even if the drive is not marked for chkdsk
K> to run. This parameter does not make any changes to the drive.

K> /r

K> Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. Implies /p.

K> Note

K> a.. The chkdsk command requires the file Autochk.exe. If it cannot
K> find it in the startup directory (\%systemroot%\System32, by default),
K> it will attempt to locate it on the Windows Installation CD. If you have
K> a multiboot computer, be sure you are issuing this command from the
K> drive containing Windows.

K> Using Disk Defragmenter
K> You might need to have a computer administrator account to perform some
K> tasks.

K> Disk Defragmenter consolidates fragmented files and folders on your
K> computer's hard disk, so that each occupies a single, contiguous space
K> on the volume. As a result, your system can gain access to your files
K> and folders and save new ones more efficiently. By consolidating your
K> files and folders, Disk Defragmenter also consolidates the volume's free
K> space, making it less likely that new files will be fragmented.

K> You can also defragment disks from a command line using the defrag
K> command. For more information, click Related Topics.

K> Open Disk Defragmenter.

K> Notes

K> a.. To open Disk Defragmenter, click Start, point to All Programs,
K> point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk
K> Defragmenter.b.. For information about using Disk Defragmenter, on the
K> Action menu, click Help

K> Try the above for some help. Good luck!

K> "Hamish" <nothanks@btopenworld.com> wrote in message
K> news:db66uq$lkd$1@nwrdmz01.dmz.ncs.ea.ibs-infra.bt.com...
??>> The pc seems to be running OK now with the side off. Putting the side
??>> back on seems to cause a gradual build up of the CPU extracter fan
??>> speed, suggesting the airflow into the pc case is restricted. I have
??>> defragged the hard drives with no errors, how do I actually
??>> run scandisk, on the XP home OS. Also how do I check the system files?
??>>
??>> Hamish