Is this possible?

Vorash

Vorash

Vorash

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Joined
1 Jul 2008
Posts
152
I've been having PC trouble for quite a while. It randomly loses power for a few seconds or won't come back on for a while, sometimes it just 'stutters' like it's trying to come on but can't get enough power. I've tried the paperclip in the PSU test and attatched it to a working fan and it worked fine, then I added components one by one and every time it worked fine. I figured something was maybe loose so I put it back in the case, but the random power losses are back again...

I always thought the PSU was overheating or faulty, but the stuttering almost made it look like the PSU wasn't powerful enough. It was stuttering one night so I decided to disconnect the DVD RW from the PSU and Motherboard. Surprisingly it came on straight away and hasn't switched off since!

The only problem is that I'm pretty sure my Corsair 520W Modular PSU can run:

Core 2 Duo E7200
Gigabyte P31-DS3L
2GB RAM
HD 4850 (512mb)
HDD + DVD RW

It's not exactly a demanding system... so I was wondering if there's any way a DVD RW can cause a PC to lose power, fail to start or even 'stutter'?
 
It should run that lot fine. Have you got another system to try the DVDRW in, and another PSU to try in your system?
 
Although I've had a couple of those go wrong, Corsairs are usually top notch, and should go intermittently wrong like this.

My money's on it being a faulty stick of RAM as I experienced almost exactly the same symptoms as that on a PC today, and it turned out to be the memory. If you can boot into Memtest 86+ and run at least 3-4 passes of that on the system it should pick up any memory issues.
 
Unfortunately, no. :( And i'm dreading spending £60/70/80 on another powersupply only to find out that's not the problem! So I was hoping to be able to figure out what it is first. I suppose I could buy another PSU and keep it for my next build, it's just a bit annoying that I can't work out what the problem is
 
alexhull24 said:
Although I've had a couple of those go wrong, Corsairs are usually top notch, and should go intermittently wrong like this.

My money's on it being a faulty stick of RAM as I experienced almost exactly the same symptoms as that on a PC today, and it turned out to be the memory. If you can boot into Memtest 86+ and run at least 3-4 passes of that on the system it should pick up any memory issues.
Click to expand...


Thanks, I just downloaded Memtest and i'll reconnect my drive to stick it on a CD. CPU and Graphics temperatures are fine so I think that rules them out for causing the shut downs, if Memtest turns out alright then the RAM is fine too.
That will leave me with the Motherboard, PSU, Hard drive and DVDRW to rule out :x
 
This may be a stupid question, but what is the simple way to test them without having spares that work? xD
 
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Run the machine without a DVD-RW and see if the problem occurs, and likewise for the hard disk. You could use a CD or DVD live linux boot cd for an operating system.
 
Hard drive.. You can visit the manufacturers website site for diagnostic utilities. This will help illuminate the HDD.

PSU .. Follow my guide here

http://www.huddysworld.co.uk/index....rking&catid=40:techie-talk-hardware&Itemid=72

Mobo/CPU.. Always a difficult one unless you have a spare CPU of the same socket type. Generally, Mobos tend to fail more often but it depends on the CPU. Some CPUs have integrated memory controllers for example which adds to their complication.
 
Alright, it's been losing power a lot the last 2 days and sometimes refusing to come on. It just stutters as usual, the fans spin for a split second then stop. After a while it manages to start up on its own.

During the times it wouldn't power up I disconnected the graphics card, HDD and DVDRW, and the PC still wouldn't power up and kept stuttering. I also ran memtest twice and there were no errors. So this means the problem is either the PSU, Motherboard or CPU? Without spares there's no way to test them? :(


Admiral Huddy said:
PSU .. Follow my guide here
Click to expand...
Thanks, someone linked your guide in another thread and I've already followed it (minus checking the voltages and using another PSU). I did the test with just the PSU and a single fan and it worked fine, and continued working fine until I added all the components back in. Whatever the problem is it seems to be random so I'm not sure I can rule out the PSU yet. One thing I do notice though is that the fan on the PSU is spinning a fair bit slower than my PC fans. I can see it 'wobble' where as the other ones I just see a blur. Maybe it is overheating?
 
the case back isnt bent at all?

I had a similar thing once where the back was outof shape and bending the motherboard.
It worked fine out of case, but not at all when refitted in the case.
 
breadturbo said:
the case back isnt bent at all?

I had a similar thing once where the back was outof shape and bending the motherboard.
It worked fine out of case, but not at all when refitted in the case.
Click to expand...

It seems to be fine, I can't see any noticable bends or dents anywhere
 
I'm so fed up with this that I've decided to order a new PSU and pray that's the problem. I'll use it in my next PC build so that way I'm not really wasting any money. Do you guys think this OCZ 700W will be powerful enough for a PC build in say 1-2 years?
 
I tried the paperclip test again and the PSU failed to start. It came on after about 1 minute though. At least I know what the problem is now! :D I'm RMAing it back to Corsair which is gonna cost about £28 to send... jesus. :\
 
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