Do these symptoms sound like a faulty Power Suppyly?

[Mears]

My computer crashes during anything. Booting up, connecting to the web, surfing the web, opening control panel, trying to install something...basically everything. When it locks up the only way I can turn it off is through the power supply and not from the front power button. Sometimes after I turn it off, it won't turn on for a while. If you want to see more of the problems I've been having do a quick search for my username. I'm hoping this is what is wrong and not something else. What do you think.

 

[jeremy806]

That is my first guess. Try a different PS, also check for any metal stuff in the case or crappy grounds at the motherboard.

Jeremy

 

[Quickfingerz]

You might be running a hot processor. When you have a bad powersupply, you often get a system that restarts out of nowhere. Did you hold the front power button for more than 5 seconds? It's hard to say whether it is your ps. give us more symptoms.

 

[jeremy806]

It won't turn on at all.

or, the fans come on but no POST beep.

The former could be bad PS, the latter sounds like a hot CPU.

Jeremy

 

[Mears]

No, jeremy. I solved that problem. It always posts now when it turns on, but sometimes the computer won't turn on at all. Then later I'll try it and it will go. Sometimes it takes a few minutes and other times not long at all. It doesn't restart. It just locks up. The ground thing may be an issue. You know how usually you are supposed to use that copper screw and screw it in directly to the case and set the mobo on top and then put a screw through the mobo and into the copper screw? Well my case only had raised sections that lined up with the mobo so I couldn't place it underneath. I was forced to screw the copper one through the board AND the case instead of having it below the board. Otherwise I have all screws through all holes. It should be grounded right. I don't know how much of a difference it makes to have the copper looking one underneath the board and having a screw go with it. Like I said it just locks up doing ANYTHING. Even if it is idle. I am more concerned with that than anything else I guess. The power thing is only a minor incovenvience compared to not being able to keep the system running. The cpu is at 29 degrees celcius and is not OC'd.

 

[Mears]

^

 

[medic]

Detailed Specs?

 

[Mears]

Well what do you want to know. All I have tried installing this time were the Leadtek Rev. B Geforce DDR and Asus P3V4X, intel 650e with alpha PEPP66 and Iwill Slocket 2, my plextor cdrw, and my Viking Pci 56k modem. All the drivers were the ones that came with the retail set. Do you have any idea about the copper screw I was talking about? Could that be the culprit?

 

[Midnight Rambler]

The "raised sections" aka extruded holes, should be adequate.

 

[Mears]

So if the grounds are adequate, would the PS "freeze" the screens?

 

[Vinny N]

Can you try different RAM?

Bad ram would give lots of page faults and crashes in any application, and on certain motherboards, I've seen one piece of bad RAM, allow a system to power on(hd spins up, fans move) but not POST at all, it remains dead silent, and doesn't give any beeps. Remove the bad piece of memory and it posts fine.

 

[Mears]

I'm stuck with my 2 sticks of Mushkin Mosel Vitelic.

 

[Prodigy^]

enter the BIOS settings on startup and check that the CPU gets 1.65 volts.....I once had mine running at 2.7V and it was *quite* unstable.....had some of the same symptons as you

 

[Mears]

yeah, it is set at 1.65v with 100mhz bus

 

[okydoky]

Be sure there is no contact point between the board and the case beyond the small "rings" provided around the screw (mounting) holes. Any other contact of the board to the case beyond those "rings" could be a cause.