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Thread ID: 18172	2002-04-19 08:24:00	Just need answers for a power supply.	Guest (0)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
44582	2002-04-19 08:24:00	I had a 350Watt power supply that was running fine for nearly a year. Just today I went to switch my computer on and it powered on then off instantly. I thought it could have been static electricity because of this weather. I opened up the case and cleaned out all the dust. Tried again and still turns on then off. I thought I'll try finding the source of the problem so I removed all the hardware leaving only the basics plus all my RAM still in. I switched it on and again it powered off. I pulled out one of the RAM sticks and switched it on. It powered up the fans were spinning it was doing it's thing. So I assumed the RAM stick must have had a static shock but I wanted to make certain this was true so I took out another stick and placed the other one back in it's place. Switched the computer on and it was working so I ruled out the static shock. I then thought it might be the RAM slot. So I took the stick out of the slot I just put it in and then stuck it in the other slot. Powered it on and it all fired up. So from this I could say the power supply wasn't powering all the devices because it couldn't handle all my RAM being inserted. So then I go off to the local computer store and get a 450W power supply. Reconnected the power connections tested it out and it works fine. I also know my 350W power supply works but can't handle my system anymore. What would cause this? Is it that the resistance is higher now that not enough flow of power is getting through? Is it a sign saying my power supply could go any minute? I mite take a voltmeter to test it out further. I just can't believe the hassle I went through. I know I needed more power but I thought 350W was plenty. It was handling pretty well until today when it wouldn't work. Well I hope to hear some reasons why this happened. System Specs 3 CDROM Devices, 2 Hard Drives, 1 FDD, 4x256MB RAM (1Gig), 2x1GHz P3, 4 PCI devices, 2 System fans.	Guest (0)
44583	2002-04-19 08:37:00	sounds like psu dying under load. faulty psu. if its under a year old, are you sure its not covered under warranty? i'm not to sure with server boards but i would have thought a 350w would be ok.	Guest (0)
44584	2002-04-19 08:45:00	Hi Kame While not discounting more mundane explanations, it could be that your PSU just decided it would not start up into a load anymore. I had a similar problem recently when all of a sudden my PC wouldn't start. After much messing around, I found that it would start if I unplugged one parallel port device. It didn't matter which one, and as I had two printers, a scanner and an LS120 drive on three ports I decided that pulling the power plug out of the LS120 was the quickest way to get it to start. A more powerful supply let it start OK. I decided in the end that the inrush current was too high but go figure how parallel port loads can affect a startup! Of course it could be wuppo's Klingons coming through your matter transmitter and soaking up your spare RAM Good luck, Billy 8-{)	Guest (0)
44585	2002-04-19 09:18:00	Yes it does have a year warranty. I rang the store and asked the store and they said they said that they don't accept returns or whatever. I was kind of stressed out and frustrated too which didn't help so I just accepted the fact I couldn't take it back. So I went to their store and bought a 450W power supply and it too states a 1 year return to base manufacturer so I guess I have to take it back to the manufacturer whoever they are.	Guest (0)
44586	2002-04-19 09:20:00	My uneducated guess is that one or more capacitors in the power supply have expired. Electrolytic capacitors have a finite life, with temperature and ripple current having a large impact on that life. If your power supply was fully loaded (or worse overloaded), the ripple current through the cap(s) would wear them out quicker, the result being an increase in ripple voltage. Once the ripple voltage got too large, the power supply would shut off, on an overvoltage fault. With a lower load, the ripple voltage is less, so the power supply tolerates it. While a power supply may be rated at 350W, that represents the sum of all the outputs - it is possible to overload one output and still have a total drain of less than 350W. Warp factor 6 Mr Sulu	Guest (0)
44587	2002-04-19 11:42:00	Just my 2c I'm running an XP1700 OC'd to 1610 Mhz with extra voltage, I also have 2 HDD's 1 DVD a SCSI burner, a TV card ect ect... all running on a 300w PSU. I had a strange problem with my CPU fan, because I wanted low noise I got an Alpha PAL8045 and stuck a 2800 rpm Sunon fan (actually runs at 3000). anyway, it would only start sometimes, found out it was the 'fan protect' in my bios because my fan isn't fast enuf, tuned it off, no problems since.	Guest (0)
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