OT: Help! My new PC is Dead :(

JohnnyRoy wrote on 4/20/2006, 6:17 AM

I’m talking really dead. Like you push the on switch and absolutely nothing happens. No fans, no light, no beeps, nothing! It is as if the switch wasn’t even pressed. Here is what lead up to this:

I was working on some audio in Vegas the other night and I got a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) with an error about a BAD_POOL_ERROR. I had never seen this before but it has something to do with memory I presume. So instead of hitting the reset button I hit the on/off switch by mistake. Realizing this I hit it again and nothing happened. Just dead silence. I start to remove things to take it apart and I try the on switch as I remove thing. After I removed a USB hub it came on again. So I continue work on my project.

The next day the computer won’t turn on again. So I start removing things and eventually it comes back on. I plug things back in and it continues to work. I run memory diagnostics for a few hours and all of the tests complete fine with no errors. A few days after that it won’t turn on and I notice I had left a memory card in the USB reader. I take the memory card out and it turns on again. Coincidence?

Finally the other day it no longer comes back on. I’ve unplugged everything. I open the case and the motherboard green light that indicates power is lit. The red laser on the mouse is lit and when I plug and unplug the keyboard the lights flash for a moment as it gets power. So the power supply seems to be working BUT, none of the USB devices have any power. All of their lights are off. It is curious that unplugging a USB hub was what got it working again the first time.

I’m thinking it’s a bad motherboard. Why else would the USB ports not have power? What do you guys think?

~jr

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Comments

JohnnyRoy wrote on 4/22/2006, 10:16 AM

> Isn't your raid controller setup separate from the bios configuration?

Yes, but it’s enabled via the BIOS. The controller is on the motherboard. I have never used RAID before which is why I’m asking the question.

> That's interesting to hear about the 450W PSU in the Sonata.

Well... I didn’t like the idea that the Sonata II came with a PSU anyway. I always like to select the PSU separate and usually pay more for my PSU’s than I do for my case. Under normal loads I bet the Sonata II PSU is just fine. I just have it maxed out. It was even powering my M-Audio FW-410 with it. So I’m going to plug my FW-410 into it’s own power adapter next time to take that load off of the PSU.

> Will the new PSU fit easily into the Sonata case? Again, I will be anxious to hear about the new PSU.

Yea me too. I just assumed the Sonata II was a standard mid-tower size. We shall soon see.

> I'm still nervous that the 450W PSU that comes in the Sonata will fail over a relatively short period of time.

I haven’t proven it’s the PSU yet. It could be the motherboard shorted out. I just don’t know yet.

I would not be worried. The Sonata II has a very good rating and Antec makes great products. I think it was my choice of motherboard that is the problem. I could have easily settled for the ASUS A8N-SLI or A8N-SLI Deluxe because I’m not using SLI at all. I only went for the SLI-Premium mobo because it was fanless (it uses heatpipes) and I wanted as quiet a PC as possible for doing voiceovers. But I’m gather now that it requires a lot of power to begin with and then I’m adding a max load to that.

~jr

riredale wrote on 4/22/2006, 10:26 AM

We need to be realistic here. I'm reminded of the time I overheard a car salesman telling a little old lady that she needed the 300HP V8 option rather than the 6 because "it would let her accelerate out of any potential accident on the freeway."

I did my first DV project on a Compaq with a 120w power supply and a couple of hard drives.

There are several PS calculators around; I linked to one of them on a similar thread last month. If you need 250w, don't assume that only a 400w+ supply will do. If you don't know whether a supply is up to the task, install Motherboard Monitor or something similar, so you can track the voltages. There are hundreds of millions of PCs out there, and I would venture that 90% of them have dirt-cheap power supply units in them, and they run fine day to day.

Tinle wrote on 4/22/2006, 11:11 AM

Good, clean, plentiful power is always an excellent preventive medicine for a PC. The uninterruptable power supply I am running (APC brand) provides a continuous read out of the power being fed to the PC. Its nice to know that the PSU is rated for >100% more than the normal power consumption rate. I purchased the case, because of the quality PSU it offered, at a price not much more than the separate price of the same PSU.

Get a good PSU and a good beefy UPS/ power conditioner.

winrockpost wrote on 4/22/2006, 11:36 AM

Five things I always have extra,, Power supply, memory, graphics card, fans,dvd burner, used to include cpu, but not on my latest system too$$$$$

Good luck Johnny

JohnnyRoy wrote on 4/22/2006, 8:52 PM

> Get a good PSU and a good beefy UPS/ power conditioner.

A Uninterruptible Power Supply is definitely on my list. I live in the country and we have had several power failures this winter (just had one this morning). I even have a backup gasoline generator that’s how bad it gets; so I can’t say that one of those blackouts didn’t offer a few spikes to my PSU. Especially when the power comes back on.

Is APC a good brand to get? I should probably order it now while I’m waiting for the new PSU to arrive (although that is something I can probably pick up locally a Circuit City or Best Buy). Good advice. Thanks,

~jr

busterkeaton wrote on 4/22/2006, 9:29 PM

Good luck with the PC.

I think APC is the #1 brand of backup power products. I can't name another.

jrazz wrote on 4/22/2006, 9:50 PM

I have an Ultra x2 connect PSU and I have no complaints. The cables are removable and very easy to bend and place where you want them for max. airflow. I have only had it for about 9 months but no problems with it. I have went through several power outages (local electric company is widening a main road and a lot of the cable has to be moved). I have surge protectors but probably less protection than I should. Anyways, the Ultra x2 fixed my previous PSU woes and is great for air flow.

j razz

Tinle wrote on 4/22/2006, 10:06 PM

JR,

APC is a well known, reputable maker with a wide range of consumer to professional products. There are others, Tripplite comes to mind.

I have been using the APC XS 1000 a bit less than a year now. I am fully satisfied.

It supports a Pentium-4 PC with 4 internal hard drives, 2 optical drives, and the usual add-on cards. The PC’s power supply is rated at 430 W. The UPS (XS 1000) is rated at 600 W. The UPS software tells me, at the moment, it is providing 270 W grand total to all components of my system: PC(while doing a Vegas AVI to mpeg2 render with 100% CPU usage), LCD monitor, router, modem, and speakers. Less intensive CPU usage usually consumes about 210 W system-wide.

Current offerings from Microcenter:

Back-UPS XS 1200 APC $129.99 after $20 mfgr mail-in rebate.
(Smaller versions also available XS 900 $109.99 after rebate, XS 1000 $119.99)

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0210251

Product Specifications XS 1200
Features Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR) Technology
Case Color Beige
Battery Type Maintenance-Free Sealed Lead-Acid Battery with Suspended Electrolyte
Typical Backup Time Up to 99.0 Minutes Backup Time
Output Power Capacity In Volt Amps 1,200 VA
Output Power Capacity in Watts 780 Watts
Surge Protection 420 Joules
Number of Outlets (8) Outlets: (6) Outlets with Battery Backup and Surge Protection; (2) Outlets with Surge Protection
Manufacturer Warranty 2 Year Limited Warranty

Good Luck,

Tinle

craftech wrote on 4/23/2006, 5:57 AM

I have a Belkin UPS. They often have rebates. Works really well. APC is very good. Walmart and Costco and BJs carry various UPS including APC and Tripp-Lite.
But "spikes" didn't kill your power supply.

Your PS was probably inadequate for your power hungry system as I mentioned earlier. You should have done some tests with a meter under load.

Also, Antec is not all that great. There have been a lot of them that have died from poor capacitors. You could peek through the vents with a flashlight to see for yourself or open it if it is not under warranty and take a look. Don't confuse the brown or white adhesive that keeps things from rattling around with ooze from capacitors though.

For next time, a very reliable brand of power supply that states "honest" power ratings is Fortron Source. It is a much less expensive brand than Seasonic (which is also a really good brand).

John

JJKizak wrote on 4/23/2006, 6:35 AM

If your handy with a Dremel tool you can install two 350 watt power supplies one operated by the power switch and the other by a 12 volt Radio Shack relay hooked to one of the 12 volt leads. I have had this setup for years in two of my machines. But then they came out with 600 watt supplies so now that means we need 1000 watt supplies.

JJK

Frenchy wrote on 4/25/2006, 2:11 PM

Anything new, JR? I'm in the same boat as TomG, and wondering what your resolution is (if you've found one)???

Frenchy

JohnnyRoy wrote on 4/25/2006, 2:21 PM

> Anything new, JR?

Funny you should ask:

IT’S WORKING!!!!

Ya’ just gotta love Newegg.com. I order a PSU standard 3 day shipping on the weekend and I already have it in my hands by today (Tuesday). I just installed the new SeaSonic S12-500 PSU this afternoon and everything is working fine. After a brief reconfiguration because I cleared my CMOS, I have my RAID back and everything (what a BIG relief)

I have updated my web site with the new configuration information. Apparently this was my own fault. The PSU in the Antec Sonata II case is not SLI-certified. In fact, it is at the bottom of the Antec line so it should not be used with an SLI motherboard. The Antec TruePower and Neo lines each have SLI-Certified PSU’s and they are all 500w or greater.

So I should have paid more attention to the fact that I selected an SLI motherboard but did not use an SLI-Certified PSU. Apparently it’s not all hype because I burnt out the Antec PSU in only 6 months. The SeaSonic S12-500 is also whisper quiet so I’m still very happy with how quiet this PC is.

Thanks to all those who gave advice. At least this story has a happy ending (and I have my editing workstation back again).

~jr

John_Cline wrote on 4/25/2006, 3:21 PM

"so now that means we need 1000 watt supplies"

If you need one, they exist:

PC Power and Cooling 1kw supply

John

Grazie wrote on 4/25/2006, 3:27 PM

Clean cool power and air. Sounds familiar - eh? Nice one John, I'm glad you're back in biz . . Graze

Redio wrote on 4/28/2006, 3:05 PM

JR

Are you saying that even you don't use SLI, then you have to replace the SmartPower PSU?

I ask, because my system is based on your "recommendations".

Sonata, ASUS A8N-SLI Premium and only one ASUS N6600 Silencer.

Rune

JohnnyRoy wrote on 4/28/2006, 3:22 PM

> Are you saying that even you don't use SLI, then you have to replace the SmartPower PSU?

Well no, I’m not sure. My experience is just one data point. I thought if I wasn’t using SLI (which I’m, not but I do have an nVidia 6800GT which is a power hungry graphics card) that I didn’t need an SLI-Certified PSU. That may still be true. I just may have gotten a faulty PSU that failed after 6 months.

I would not run out and but a new PSU just because of my experience. Since it was very stable for 6 months it obviously works. If you start having problems with booting (or spontaneous reboots) the first thing I would suspect is the PSU. Especially if you are running a lot of hard drives and firewire devices etc.

BTW, Antec was perfectly happy to RMA the unit. It has a 3 year warrantee. I just feel more comfortable getting a SLI-Certified PSU because I do have an awful lot of stuff hooked up to it.

~jr

Jim H wrote on 4/28/2006, 6:12 PM

Antec was VERY good to me when I was having problems. They sent me a PSU just so I could use it for trouble shooting. Turns out the PSU was fine so I sent it back as no charge at all. Good company.

craftech wrote on 5/1/2006, 3:59 PM

JR,

I thought about this thread when I found out about this deal today:

APC 1000VA / 600 watts battery backup is on clearance at Staples stores but going fast.

SKU 497809

APC 1000VA / 600 watt battery backup

Was: $149.99, Now: $10.50

model / part #: bx 1000

series: xs 1000

I would call and ask instead of driving all over the place.

Apparently it is THIS unit for $10.50 !!!!

John