Power related problem, or so it seems

[Dresden]

Hello-

On my computer I have recently fallen victim to what appears to be a power related problem. I left my computer on the other day, stepped away briefly and upon my return i noticed what looked like the monitor was off. There was an error on the screen indicating that i should check the signal cable, or something to that nature. After testing out various monitors on the computer, i deduced that the monitor wasn't the issue. Something internal was awry. At first i thought it was my power supply, but then remembered the computer was still on, i could hear the fans and the lights were lit up. Then i thought it was my video card, which i just bought. So i opened her up and inspected it, and it appeared to be fine. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. After re-seating the video card in it's slot, i turned the computer back on and everything appeared normal, until about 15 minutes when the monitor once again shut off. So i borrowed a friend's video card and installed it. Everything was going fine until, again, about 15 minutes of usage when the monitor went blank again, yet the computer remained on. Is this a matter of my power supply? Or is it something more than that?


Thank you-

Norton

 

[Tahir2]

Try this:
​

1. Go into the BIOS and leave the computer on for 15 minutes to see if it still does it - if it does then software is not causing the problem.
2. Go into Windows in Safe mode and repeat the 15 minute wait time.
If it doesn't happen in Windows at all it is a possible software issue rather than hardware (unlikely but possible)
3. If it still happens, try one stick of RAM, no optical drives or other cards except Video.
4. Most importantly only change one thing and try waiting for 15 minutes, rinse repeat and hopefully you should find the origin of your problem or at least narrow it down to the core components (VGA, CPU, Mobo)

 

[Dresden]

Perfect. I'm testing BIOS now, and will follow your steps. Hopefully it will bring to light the problem at hand.

Thank you.

 

[Dresden]

well, the monitor shut off again after i restarted the computer out of BIOS and i can't get it back on. I'm really beginning to believe this is a power supply issue.

 

[Tahir2]

So you went into the BIOS left it on for 15 minutes or so.
Now the PC switched itself off and will not power on at all?

If this is correct, and you haven't got a new PSU yet do this:

Take out/unplug all components except, VGA, CPU, RAM and HDD.

Reset BIOS using the jumper.

Check to see if PC will power on.

Can your post your full specs? Including PSU make and model.

 

[Dresden]

Well I left the computer on for about 20 minutes in BIOS, strangely the computer turned on that time, and decided it appeared to be a software issue therefore restarted so I could reformat. It hasn't been able to restore itself since. This was yesterday morning. As far as resetting BIOS via a jumper, I am unaware of how to do that. I can post my specs to the best of my ability, the computer is rather old:

P4 3.06
ASUS P4T-E (i850) Mainboard
256 MB ATI Radeon X800 XT PE
1.5 gigs of RDRAM, 2 sticks of Kingston and two of Corsair
Powerup LC-A350ATX PSU

If any further information is necessary please let me know what you need.


Thank you-

Norton

 

[Tahir2]

Did you build that PC yourself or did you buy it from a store?

So the problem doesn't occur in the BIOS but does in Windows.
I dont think it is going to be software to be honest. I say this because a software fault would not cause your PC to stop posting after it has been on for a certain amount of time.

You need to start narrow down your components and replicating the issue.

1.
Take out the Corsair RAM and try again.
Repeat by taking out the Kingston and inserting the Corsair.

2.
Unplug the Floppy, Optical drives and other drives (apart from HDD).


3.
Try a different gfx card if you can.

If after all this it still is turning itself off every few times then the PSU would be a good guess to test next. Unfortunately it is a bit of a risk if you have to buy a new one and it doesnt turn out to be the problem.

I personally feel (and dont quote me) that the problem lies with the PSU or the motherboard at this time.

 

[Dresden]

The PC is custom built. It is being lent to me temporarily by my roommate while I finish building my next rig. I do remember taking out the ram as you suggested before and there was no difference, but I'll test out your other suggestions. Hopefully the problem does lie within the boundaries of the power supply, for the PSU for that type of workstation won't cost any more than 36 dollars, which isn't really a big deal provided it's not the actual fix. The motherboard is my largest concern considering the age of the machine and the fact that I'm almost relatively certain motherboards for that brand of computer are obsolete.

I will reply in a short bit.

Thank You-

Norton

 

[Dresden]

Yep. I removed the optical drives and ram and same thing. I will be purchasing a new powerbox, and if that isn't the solution i will also purchase a motherboard. Both are relatively inexpensive.

 

[Dresden]

Well after an extensive scrutinization of my computer, I have come to the conclusion it's the motherboard. My PSU appears to be working normally, for the fans work and it appears to be working. All connections are tight as can be, and there are no visible bent pins on any of my connectors.

 

[_xxx_]

Well after an extensive scrutinization of my computer, I have come to the conclusion it's the motherboard. My PSU appears to be working normally, for the fans work and it appears to be working. All connections are tight as can be, and there are no visible bent pins on any of my connectors.

There's no way to say that the PSU is ok "because your fans still turn" and such. They will do so also if the PSU is damaged, but not completely dead. I'd try someone else's PSU before buying a new mobo.

The jumper for BIOS reset has three pins and "CMOS reset" or alike printed on the board next to it, not hard to find. There shouldn't be many 3-pin jumpers near the CMOS chip on that board anyway.

 

[Dresden]

There's no way to say that the PSU is ok "because your fans still turn" and such. They will do so also if the PSU is damaged, but not completely dead. I'd try someone else's PSU before buying a new mobo.

The jumper for BIOS reset has three pins and "CMOS reset" or alike printed on the board next to it, not hard to find. There shouldn't be many 3-pin jumpers near the CMOS chip on that board anyway.

Unfortunately there isn't a 20 pin PSU in SIGHT of me. There are six computers in this household and every single one of them uses a 24 pin connector. I'm almost certain resetting BIOS won't do anything. I've tried virtually everything humanly possible, internally, to figure out whats the cause of this overly irritating problem. The only thing I can think of would be to test out my old PSU in my old system, but it's literally in almost another state, and I'm not certain it's a 20 pin connector. I'm relatively certain with the addition of my video card to this system, something went awry along the line, and either fried the mobo or the PSU.

 

[Tahir2]

You can get 24pin to 20pin convertors and almost all 24pin PSU's allow you to remove the extra 4pins for ATX 1.x support.

Also what _xxx_ said is 100% correct. You may still have a faulty PSU even if your fans spin.

 

[Dresden]

Well, it's official. After coming to the shocking realization that a spare PSU i had had a removeable 4 pins, thank you for the enlightenment xxx, it is not a PSU nor a video card problem. Also monitors are out of the question. It's definitely the mobo. Unfortunately since the mobo in this rig uses RDRAM, finding one similar or exactly the same is damn near impossible. Any suggestions? The board is a ASUS P4T-E (i850.)


Thank you-

Norton

 

[_xxx_]

After coming to the shocking realization that a spare PSU i had had a removeable 4 pins, thank you for the enlightenment xxx

You mean Tahir2 surely?

Try the BIOS reset, here's the user manual:
http://www.unitycorp.co.jp/support/download/manual/478/p4t_e_e.pdf

Look for "CMOS reset" or "BIOS reset" or such in there.

As for another mobo, here's a blurb from Rambus site:

Common motherboards that support RDRAM memory include: Abit SI7, Asus P4T533, Asus P4T533C, Asus P4TE, Epox EP-4T2A3/4/+, Gigabyte GA-81HXP, Intel 850EMV2, Intel 850GB, , IWILL P4R533N, IWILL PX400-SN, MSI 850Emax2

I'd try eBay.

 

[Dresden]

Confusion arises...

You mean Tahir2 surely?

Try the BIOS reset, here's the user manual:
http://www.unitycorp.co.jp/support/download/manual/478/p4t_e_e.pdf

Look for "CMOS reset" or "BIOS reset" or such in there.

As for another mobo, here's a blurb from Rambus site:


I'd try eBay.

Phenomenal. With your suggestions provided I narrowed my search down to two motherboards. Unfortunately I don't know which one to purchase. Those Intel boards you provided are what I'm looking for. Unfortunately theres now confusion over which one will support my processor. What's the difference between Intel 850E and 850? Will either of them be sufficient? If not which one would you suggest?

Hopefully this will be the resolution to this probelm I have encountered

Thank you-

Norton