I recently got another monitor and made my system dual monitor, and quite frequently the power will seem to just cut out, and all the lights will go out. Then the power comes back on with the HDD light solid, but no power light. Could my 300W power supply not be able to handle the power to the video card to drive two monitors (I also have one IDE hard drive, DVD Burner, and CD Burner)?
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Power supply not powerful enough?
- Thread starter borrrden
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It is possible you don't have enough power. 300W is a bit on the weak side these days. Your monitors have their own power, so it's not the dual monitors causing your problem. It may have been the extra video card that "broke the camel's back".
I had a similar issue, replaced my 350W with a 500W and now everything works fine. Power supplies are cheap ($30-$50), so it's a fairly inexpensive fix.
-If it ain't broke, break it and make it better.
I had a similar issue, replaced my 350W with a 500W and now everything works fine. Power supplies are cheap ($30-$50), so it's a fairly inexpensive fix.
-If it ain't broke, break it and make it better.
borrrden
Certainly could be a PSU issue but also check system and CPU temps, these symptoms are typical of overheating.
Check fans for free movement and the heatsink for dust build up.
With PSU's it's all about quality and not necessarily quoted power figures, give me a 350watt Antec Truepower over a crappy 500watt no name Winpower/murcury etc etc
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Certainly could be a PSU issue but also check system and CPU temps, these symptoms are typical of overheating.
Check fans for free movement and the heatsink for dust build up.
With PSU's it's all about quality and not necessarily quoted power figures, give me a 350watt Antec Truepower over a crappy 500watt no name Winpower/murcury etc etc
We like members to GIVE and not just TAKE.
Participate and help others.
borrrden, you said you added a monitor but you didnt add another video card, right? Mich says that you did, so maybe a clarification on that?
If you havent added a video card, which i dont think you have, then its a matter of overheating or a power supply that is starting to go bad. Power supplies sometimes just die but other times they act up here and there and cause problems but they still appear to be working ok.
Just for a test, take one side off your computer and place a house fan blowing right on the cpu\heatsink\fan setup and see if that solves the problem. If it fixes the problem then you either have to clean your heatsink\fan unit real well or get a better one. They arent expensive.
It might be a good idea to take out the cpu\heatsink\fan, clean it all up well and re-seat with fresh thermal paste, then try your system with and without the house fan, see if there is any difference.
If the fan doesnt fix the problem then perhaps it might be the power supply. If you can borrow one from a friend that is known to be good and try it out that might help you find the source of the problem.
After heatsink\fan and power supply, if you still havent found the problem, then maybe have a look at the ram.
You can download memtest from google for free and run that prog to test your ram as ram can go bad. Test only one stick at a time.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
If you havent added a video card, which i dont think you have, then its a matter of overheating or a power supply that is starting to go bad. Power supplies sometimes just die but other times they act up here and there and cause problems but they still appear to be working ok.
Just for a test, take one side off your computer and place a house fan blowing right on the cpu\heatsink\fan setup and see if that solves the problem. If it fixes the problem then you either have to clean your heatsink\fan unit real well or get a better one. They arent expensive.
It might be a good idea to take out the cpu\heatsink\fan, clean it all up well and re-seat with fresh thermal paste, then try your system with and without the house fan, see if there is any difference.
If the fan doesnt fix the problem then perhaps it might be the power supply. If you can borrow one from a friend that is known to be good and try it out that might help you find the source of the problem.
After heatsink\fan and power supply, if you still havent found the problem, then maybe have a look at the ram.
You can download memtest from google for free and run that prog to test your ram as ram can go bad. Test only one stick at a time.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
For what you described so far, a 350 watt supply is not going to cut it for very long, if it does at all. Real lite in the 12 volt department, which is a fairly common situation these days. You might want to be looking for a quality 550 watt supply, one with lots of 12 volt delivery.
Steve
Steve
Actually almost any system could run on a TRUE 350W PSU as long as the power was distributed among the rails properly for the system it is in, as most systems actually use less than - 250WDC.
. I would also try replacing the fan first - I do it all the time. is a good place to look for fans - I just got six in the mail from them today.
. Find one of nearly the same current or power rating as the original so any thermal speed control in the psu will work well. And you want the same number of wires as the original - either two or three. Also look for a dual ball bearing fan as those will last a lot longer than the cheap sleeve bearing fans that normally come as original equipment. Good luck.
.bh.
He who dares not offend cannot be honest. -- Thomas Paine.
. I would also try replacing the fan first - I do it all the time. is a good place to look for fans - I just got six in the mail from them today.
. Find one of nearly the same current or power rating as the original so any thermal speed control in the psu will work well. And you want the same number of wires as the original - either two or three. Also look for a dual ball bearing fan as those will last a lot longer than the cheap sleeve bearing fans that normally come as original equipment. Good luck.
.bh.
He who dares not offend cannot be honest. -- Thomas Paine.
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