Panic stations! System just shut down. Pls read!

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

gizmo1990

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1 Aug 2003
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Oh no... was just working away and my pc just switched off. Thought it was a power cut until I realised my monitor was still on. Waited for a minute then tried switching on again. The psu whirred for a second but then shut off again. Since then trying to switch the pc on elicits no response at all, nadda.

What would peoples first thoughts here be? psu? Could it have fried any other components? Why would it have powered on again for a few seconds?
I know any system failure is horrid but right now for me this is a disaster.

Anyway just thought I'd post here and see if people could give me any advice of suggestions? I'm in the process of dismantling it now..

Any help greatly appreciated.

Sys
Silverstone chassis sg05
450w psu
zotec 9300 mobo
quad core cpu
4 gb ram
 
Sounds like the PSU. What brand of PSU do you have? You can test it using a Multimeter if you can get hold of one? It's fairly easy to do.
 
could be a short on the case. make sure any additional psu wires that are tucked away have insulation tape over the ends. i had a problem where a molex managed to magically attatch itself the the back of a rivet which shorted the case. that was not a good day for me but at least it was a cheap fix. always worth a look
 
PSU could have burnt out - does it smell smokey?
the PSU/components would have held a little bit of "charge" after it lost power, so that was probably why it whirred.
what make of psu is it? if its a crap generic £15 one then i wouldn't be surprised...
 
It's most likely going to be psu or motherboard i'm afraid.

Go here and follow the instructions carefully, it will allow you to test whether the psu is working. With that bridge in place, switch on the psu at the back or plug in power plug to turn it on. Have something like a fan connected to the psu too. If you don't feel comfortable doing it, don't do it.
 
Thanks for the replies guys.

I've tested the psu using the wire trick and unfortunately (from my point of view) it works! So I tried plugging it back into the mobo with everything disconnected except the cpu, fan and ram. As I switched it on I saw some slight movement in the cpu and psu fans but the psu didn't come on...

Any idea what this could point to?:(:(:(:(
 
Just tried it with another psu, no dice either. :( Same thing, slight movement in fans (and I think I saw a tiny led come on on the mobos separate wifi card) but the psu wouldn't start.

Anyone?

Should I be thinking of taking the mobo out of the chassis and trying to start it? Should I take the ram out too? Can't remember if mobos now start\post without having ram plugged in?
 
Tried both sticks singularly and in different slots, still nothing.

Can't find out how to reset the cmos on the 9300, anyone know? I'm not sure if it would make much difference tho? Considering the symptoms?

Just to reiterate what's happened, the pc just turned off on me all of a sudden. Now each time I press the power switch the cpu and psu fans jerk (very) slightly but nothing else happens.

Can anyone take pity on me and tell me what this may be pointing to? I'm gutted.:(:(
 
Unplug the PSU from the rest of the PC and jump start the PSU, if it starts properly, it will show that it is not an internal PSU error (at least not a fault when it doesn't have load). I don't think this is a major problem, this is fairly common and you should be able to locate it to a single part.

You can reset the CMOS by removing the CMOS battery and waiting 10mins, although this probably won't do anything considering your problems. You can also short the CMOS jumper pins with the PC switched off at the wall.

EDIT: Just saw you tried it with another PSU :( Most likely a motherboard problem or shorting somewhere. I would strongly suggest running it outside the case as this is the best way to rule out shorts. CPU is not normally to blame for these kinds of issues so the motherboard would be the most likely culprit.
 
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Usually you would get some form of beeping or just have the pc hanging on start up if it was a mobo/cpu/ram problem. Sounds very much like shorting or a dead psu.
 
Try it with no sticks in. Does it beep at you?

Do you have a graphic card you could try it with? That will over ride the onboard if its just that thats faulty...long shot i know but worked for me once.

Also try with other ram if possible.

Sounds like a dead motherboard to me :(
 
Chances are it's the board gone, could be power circuit wise, if the motherboard was ok and the cpu went wrong, then you would be hearing error beeps etc as previously mentioned by 8igdave. It could be a short, but then if the system remained untouched and did it on it's own it's not likely tbh.

Only way now is if you can put the cpu in a friends/relatives system. If you don't have that as an option then change the motherboard. you could put the system in for repair/diagnosis, but it's not really worth it as labour will cover 1 of the items anyway.
 
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