Cool Boot Issues - PSU?

Andy C · 24 Jul 2006 at 12:55

Hi Guys,

I've been having problems with a cold boot for a little now, but things seem to have come to a head.

If my PC was fully shutdown I would press the power button to boot up, the PC would whine for a second or two and shutdown. The power switch then does not work at all until i have pulled the power lead put of the back and reconnected it. Sometimes it would boot on the second attempt, other times it could take three or four attempts. Usually the PC repeatedly beeps also, though one time it will make just one beep before shutting down, another day 7 or 8 beeps before shutting down, and occasionally it doesn't even have time for 1 beep before dying. once it does startup though, it's fine and reboots are fine, it just doesn't like being shutdown.

Anyway, now I haven't been able to get the thing to boot at all since I turned it off Saturday night.

Does this sound like a PSU fault? If so, then I'm planning on building a conroe system later in the year and so I'd rather get a decent replacement now that will last. Something powerful, yet quiet. Would something like the tagen Modular 580W fit the bill?

Cheers,
Andy.

bbreezeuk · 24 Jul 2006 at 13:19

it does sound like a power supply fault but the random amount of beeps is confusing, what power supply is it, and the tagan 580w will fit the bill

Andy C · 24 Jul 2006 at 13:30

Thanks for the reply, bbreezeuk.

The PSU is currently a 600W SilenX, which has always got damn hot.

As I'm in a bit of a hurry and the tagen is out of stock, I'm now looking at the OCZ 600W GameXStream. It's not modular, but the cables are ready braided so that's good enough.

As for the beeps, yeah it is odd. It will beep every second until it shutdowns, however long that takes. If it's going to boot, I get no beeps, but i don't think that's likely anymore.

Andy.

bbreezeuk · 24 Jul 2006 at 13:43

in my opinion i would steer clear of ocz power supplies as i have seen a few people have trouble with them being incapable of producing their rated power in W, id get a seasonic 500w as they are silent and reliable always best to look for reviews on google

Andy C · 24 Jul 2006 at 15:13

I'm beginning to wonder if this is a PSU fault as after the machine has died, the network led on the back remains lit, so there is power getting through. makes me wonder why I need to pull the power lead before being able to use the power button on the front panel again?! :confused:

I've just managed to get it to boot and it was beeping continuously for a while until the drives span up and it kicked into life. The hard drives seem to take 20 seconds or more before they are spinning up. Also, I think the CMOS battery needs replacing as whenever the machine has been unplugged the CMOS has been reset and I need to re-enter the various settings.

Sooo... is it the PSU not giving enough power to boot, the hard drives starting to fail (2x36g raptors in raid) or is it just the CMOS needs a new battery or reflashed. Hrmmm!

Andy.