Dying PSU?

paddyb · 10 Nov 2014 at 23:42

Boot Issue. PSU related?

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that my PC wouldn't start booting up when first switched on at the plug socket. If the plug was already on, it would start straight away, but if it had been off overnight, it would take a few seconds. As time went on this has grown to a few minutes. Am i right in thinking this is due to a failing PSU? PC about 5 years old and has had heavy use.

paddyb · 16 Nov 2014 at 14:43

Sorry to bump, but the issue is getting worse and I don't want to go down the route of installing a new PSU if there's something else causing this problem. Can anyone advise please?

paddyb · 18 Nov 2014 at 12:52

Thanks for getting back to me.

This seems like a lot of work and I'm not convinced it will get me any further. The PC stars first time if the surge protection extension it is connected to is already switched on, but now takes several minutes if the surge protection is off. Its at a stage now where I don't want to switch the surge protection off at the wall in-case I can't get it to boot again.

From this description, is the PSU a likely culprit, or is there any other reason this is happening?

paddyb · 4 Dec 2014 at 14:22

Thanks everyone and apologies for the late reply, just got back from holiday.

I got around to the doing the paper clip test, and it passes, so its likely to be something else, maybe the motherboard battery? How do I check / replace this?

I have a new PSU on order anyway, so I will try that as well.

paddyb · 4 Dec 2014 at 19:47

Thanks. Should arrive tomorrow, I hope it does the trick, if not, I fear it could be something much more difficult to pin down.

paddyb · 6 Dec 2014 at 12:15

Yep, new one fixed it! Old one was a Liteon PS-6351-2 350w which came with the machine (Dell Vostro 430). The new one is a Sumovision Power X3 500w. Everything working well, but the new one is a bit noisier than the Liteon. I had expected the one Dell had supplied to be as cheap & cheerful as they come, but the Sumovision is louder. I'll stick with it a few days and see if I can put up with it, if not I'll get a more expensive one (this one only cost £14.95 delivered, so perhaps no surprise there really).