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Thread ID: 44669	2004-04-26 23:01:00	Computer will only start in early morning!	Mzee (158)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
232268	2004-04-26 23:01:00	I have an old Pentium2 with an ATX power pack running ME. The computer will start first thing in the morning & run all day with no problems. If it is turned off it will not start again until the following morning. At no time during the day will it respond. By not starting I mean DEAD like the power cord is removed! I have checked the switches, fuse and plugs. I think that there is a break in the switching circuit which parts when the temp is higher than the cold of early morning. Maybe I should put it in the fridge for a while ;-) Any ideas?	Mzee (158)
232269	2004-04-26 23:21:00	Change your lifestyle to fit you computer, as it is very old now you should spend as much time with it as you can, it has not got long to live. :)	Rob99 (151)
232270	2004-04-27 00:36:00	Could be dampness?? I had friends with an old telly which wouldn't start until they dried it with a hairdryer for about 10 minutes. Said it discouraged their kids from just idly turning it on all the time as the 10 minute drying period was enough to put them off! Try drying it with a hairdryer maybe?	marke (457)
232271	2004-04-27 00:58:00	it is most likely the power suppily, a new one will cost about $60	robsonde (120)
232272	2004-04-27 01:00:00	> Could be dampness?? If the computer starts fine in the morning and then runs well all day it will not be a dampness problem as the heat will have warmed it up by then . Maybe it needs dampness to start? :D	Susan B (19)
232273	2004-04-27 01:27:00	I'd suspect the 5VSB supply. Check that the "power switch" has a good 5V on one of its contacts. A digital (high resistance) meter might give a misleading reading --- operate the switch a few times and see if the volts recover "instantaneously". A faulty supply might build up enough voltage overnight for the switch to work once.	Graham L (2)
232274	2004-04-27 03:06:00	Nonsense. It's obvious. Your trusty and venerable computer has it's circadium rhythms out of sync. This can happen with age. You need to show understanding and tolerance. Place it in a dark room and give it 13 hours of light in a moving cycle until it coincides with normal daylight hours. Course, you could always dump it. ;)	Winston001 (3612)
232275	2004-04-27 03:12:00	The main switch is off at night which would seem to blow the accumulation of 5V. The clock has lost some time. Would a low battery effect the starting cycle? Just to confuse me even more, it has started 3 times today which is unusual. This computer hasn't been used for a long time & was rescued from a basement. Maybe I should leave it on for a long time. The old saying, "use it or lose it" applies :)	Mzee (158)
232276	2004-04-27 03:24:00	:D Maybe its like me and doesnt really feel alive till some ungodly hour of the mroning, and thats after my coffee????? anyway why would anyone want to be awake all day and all night is beyond me, the poor things, must be a hard life being a computer . . . . . . :p just my useless peice of input, no dif to normal . :D beetle .	beetle (243)
232277	2004-04-27 03:41:00	If the clock has lost "a bit of time", the battery is probably OK; the crystals aren't set exactly . (To be pedantic, you wouldn't notice "a bit": 1 bit in 32 is one part in about 4x10^9 ;-)) If the battery is dead you get grossly wrong date/time . Anyway, starting the PSU doesn't depend on the battery . If you use the wall switch, maybe it's a turn-on surge which gives a burst of 5VSB which is enough for one operation of the "power switch" . :D If it's been run for a while now, you could be reforming some electrolytics, so it will work a bit better . It would certainly be a good idea to leave it with mains power on for some time now you've established that it's not emitting smoke . If you want to try Winston's circadian rhythm idea, bright lights shining on the back of the knees is recommended . :D Ask a lawyer where to find a computer's knees .	Graham L (2)
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