Power supply problems

Rawz

Rawz

Rawz

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Joined
2 Oct 2004
Posts
37
OK, I'm doing a lot of headscratching right now and could do with a bit of help.

I bought a sandybridge set up when it was brand new, 2500K and MSI-PD67-GD65.

It was to replace a failed system - which also meant I bought a new PSU (Antec Trupower new 650W) and this set up worked fine.

Couple months later one boot up caused the Antec PSU to blow, sent back on RMA and I went back to my older OCZ 700W PSU, which was fine, replaced in error as the source of a previous problem.

Recently the PC has been stop-starting on boot, eventually booting after 3 attempts and being fine. Over the weekend it just wouldnt boot though. 1 second of power and nothing.

Went to a retailer and bought a Corsair GS700 which I've read is a solid PSU and should have been fine.

But no, when all connected up it just did exactly the same as the OCZ, 1 second of boot, sounding like something had blown.

Phoned ocuk tech who then informed me my mobo is on recall anyway and will probably be the problem, so I'm shipping that back RMA for a full refund and bought a ASRock Z68 extreme4 gen3 as replacement

Connected it all up (only the mobo ram and cpu in) - 1 second of boot and nothing with the new corsair PSU. THe old OCZ turns on but the fans arent 100%, the LED's dont light up in the PSU, and it doesnt produce and system beep so I would think not enough power to boot.

What do I do? What could I have missed? Or am I that unlucky that I have blown 3 (supposedly top quality) PSU's in 8 months...

Tomorrow I'm going to walk to the shop and hopefully get a refund or swap for the new PSU, but I'm worried that the same would just happen again. Any advice or suggestions on what else to look out for would be appreciated so I can get this sorted once and for all.
 
Have you overclocked at all?

And what cooler are you using?

It seems unlikely you would blow 3 PSU's in a short space of time, so it maybe a heat issue.

EDIT: Actually, just seen that you have tested outside the case and still the same. Really confused by this.

Could it be a faulty socket your plugging the PSU into? I don't know, stumped to be honest.
 
Same, never overclocked apart from intels own boost.

Definately not heat as you say.

Tried another surge protector and cable.

Yeah, I have no idea... THe only option I have is to try another replacement PSU
 
OK so I made progress by remembering you can test the PSU.

I shorted the power on pins and plugged just a fan in. It powered on and stayed on.

Horribly confusing.... Could the CPU have failed?

edit: I tried the same with the older OCZ PSU that was installed when recent failure occurred - it barely powers on at all.

So that is indeed faulty, but the new PSU wont boot up a new mobo/old cpu/ old ram setup, it turns off instantly. But it will power itself up.
 
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So once again my misery continues. Replaced the PSU and the same thing is occurring.

Ocuk going to RMA both the mobo on recall and the CPU, it cant be anything else.

I was hoping I can play BF3 nest weekend, although I doubt it at this rate :(
 
I've tried 2 wall sockets and 2 surge protectors and 3 PSU's

Even used the paperclip trick and the PSU powers on but anything connected to the new motherboard and old cpu just fails to power on. I cant honestly think what else would be faulty. If it turns out the CPU is fine then the new motherboard would have failed and that would just be ridiculous and reduce me to start smashing things up and going insane :)
 
Rawz said:
I cant honestly think what else would be faulty. If it turns out the CPU is fine then the new motherboard would have failed and that would just be ridiculous and reduce me to start smashing things up and going insane :)
Click to expand...
Too many will post speculation rather than first learn all the components in a power system. PSU is only one component.

You want an answer that is definitive. That means numbers. No numbers means other answers are wild speculation (heat, power cord, etc). A definitive answer means spending one full minute with a multimeter. A tool even sold in ****** for 7 quid.

Set the meter to 20 VDC. Black probe to the chassis. Touch the purple wire from power supply where it connects to a motherboard with the red probe. It should read about 5 volts. But all three digits contain important facts.

Repeat same on green and gray wires both before and when the power button is pressed. Report those three digit numbers and power on behavior. Finally, get the system multitasking to all hardware. IOW search the hard drive while downloading from a web site, while playing complex graphics, (ie a movie), while reading a CD-Rom, etc. Then measure any one red, orange and yellow wire. Report those numbers to three digits. A definitive answer - no more speculation - follows.

Keep replacing good parts on speculation until something works is your only other alternative.
 
Some sound advice - if indeed my CPU comes back from RMA as no fault found I am going to invest in a multimeter and test my new PSU.

That could only leave the new motherboard as faulty, if the CPU is approved ok, PSU measured as ok and the CPU/Mobo combination is still only powering on for 1 second before powering down I dont think anything else is left for speculation.
 
Wow, after sending off the CPU/motherboard on thursday OcUK this morning have processed the motherboard for refund and are awaiting a replacement CPU, that is a much quicker turnaround than I was expecting.

Hopefully a new CPU means all will be good, thank you OcUK :)
 
I might be having the same problem. I turn my pc on, then after a second it turns off. And repeats trying to power up and shutting down on its own....no idea why
 
lee20010 said:
I might be having the same problem. I turn my pc on, then after a second it turns off. And repeats trying to power up and shutting down on its own....no idea why
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One thing i was wondering that I didnt try.

If you removed the cpu and just tried powering on the motherboard itself would it power on and try to POST? Possibly hearing some beeps through the speaker when it couldnt do CPU checks. Cant seem to find any solid info on that
 
Rawz said:
One thing i was wondering that I didnt try.

If you removed the cpu and just tried powering on the motherboard itself would it power on and try to POST? Possibly hearing some beeps through the speaker when it couldnt do CPU checks. Cant seem to find any solid info on that
Click to expand...

It wouldnt not power on at all.

I hope the replacement Mobo and CPU sort your problems out. Very frustrating when your comp dies.
 
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