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power problems

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ed109

Technical User
Jun 23, 2003
11
GB
just recently built new pc using msi mother-board with via
chipset, duron chip , atx power supply but shuts down
every now and again and wont re-boot unless power is
unplugged from wall socket also power plug pulled out of
mother-board then plugged back in again and it works. when
it does re-boot it does a scandisk, which suggests the power
supply is shutting down. any ideas
 
insure your fans are running, it sounds like its overheating.
 
Possible overheat, possible power supply crowbar from excessive power need. Do you have another power supply available? Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 
Does the system just power off suddenly or does it just not power up the first time i.e. when the press the power button? If the system powers off suddenly touch the base to see if the base is too hot, and check that the CPU fan is installed correctly and turns fine, not slowly.Also check the extra cooling fan from the PSU, in some PSU models the PSU fan has an extra fan that blows towards the CPU thus acts as a Active Heatsink.
 
There are several utilities to check your PC Temp while it's running. Most are free. Get one and run it - see if your temp is going way up there.

If the temp is still in acceptable limits when the pc is shutting down you can adjust the value in BIOS, or if you're truly brave, disable the temperature interrupt if you are SURE all fans are running and the temp is within limits at all times.

I've had a bad thermocouple on a board give me a similar problem (I turned it off, never had the prob again ;))
 
Ok, I too have the same power fail situation. Everything shuts down, fans, supply, board, everything plugged into the power supply goes dead at random times. The temperature is cool, there seems to be no issue with heat what so ever. I'm also not overclocking.

So, I bought a new power supply yesterday with an additional 50 watts than my last one (250 -> 300) and the system still goes dead.

Any ideas?

thanks,
Doug.
 
Run with video and floppy only. Anything internally shorting will crowbar the power supply and cause this type of problem. Then run with hard drive only. You need to see if there is any one item that crashes it.
Also make sure there is no power management that can be going astray. Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 
Thanks for the help Ed. I'll be sure to try that. Last night I received some advice to shut off power management in the BIOS so I've done that and hopefully that solves the issue. It hasn't shut down since then so maybe???

I'll let you know if that was the issue or not - if you are curious anyway! ;)

Thanks,
Doug.
 
i have just replaced my power supply because my old one burned
out i don't know why.I have install a new one the new unit fan runs
but the pc is still dead, any idea what i should look for?

I appreciate answer.

Thanks
Tony
 
Try unplugging any power connector output from the PS (floppy,hard,CD) everything except the MB. Double check that you didn't loosen any memory when you were plugging the power back in. Check that the video card tail is seated fully. They have a habit of unplugging themselves. Check that the power switch is set for 115v. And see if the power up switch was accidentally disconnected. These are starters.
Something may have killed your PS, and if it is still plugged in it can kill the next one. Ed Fair
efair@atlnet.com

Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply.

Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 
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