My Antec True Power Trio 650W starting to go crazy on me

[Fadardo]

My system is a stock clocked e6600, 2gb ram, msi platinum p965 mobo, 8800gtx and 1hdd. About 1 month ago when the power was off it would sometimes start to power on for about 1 second twice every minute until I unplugged the power cord. You'd see the power light on and the fans start to spin. Also 1 month ago the hdd access light started constantly blinking whenever the pc was on. I've used various hdd monitors and they show that the blinking happens without any hdd reads or writes happening. I even reformatted the hdd and reinstalled windows but the blinking hdd access light remained. Reading some stuff on how shitty antec is a few days prior to my psu going completely crazy I heard I should see if my voltages are correct in bios. I went and checked and my 5v connectors were running at 4.1v. Just yesterday my computer when I turned it on emitted a continuous beeping and won't go past post. I can't even get into bios. All I see is my MSI mobo splash screen and its stuck at that. I've misplaced my mobo manual but I figure the beep code means my psu or mobo have failed.
I have a 5yr warranty and can get my antec replaced free, or should I go with another brand?

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: Fadardo
Just yesterday my computer when I turned it on emitted a continuous beeping and won't go past post.

That usually means bad RAM. Take out one stick and see if it get's passed POST. If it doesn't and the same problem happens then swap the sticks. If it goes away you have your culprit. if ti doesn't both sticks could be bad.

If you have another system you could always test the RAM their too be sure its nothing else.

 

[Fadardo]

Thanks but what about my psu symptoms?

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: Fadardo
My system is a stock clocked e6600, 2gb ram, msi platinum p965 mobo, 8800gtx and 1hdd. About 1 month ago when the power was off it would sometimes start to power on for about 1 second twice every minute until I unplugged the power cord. You'd see the power light on and the fans start to spin. Also 1 month ago the hdd access light started constantly blinking whenever the pc was on. I've used various hdd monitors and they show that the blinking happens without any hdd reads or writes happening. I even reformatted the hdd and reinstalled windows but the blinking hdd access light remained. Reading some stuff on how shitty antec is a few days prior to my psu going completely crazy I heard I should see if my voltages are correct in bios. I went and checked and my 5v connectors were running at 4.1v. Just yesterday my computer when I turned it on emitted a continuous beeping and won't go past post. I can't even get into bios. All I see is my MSI mobo splash screen and its stuck at that. I've misplaced my mobo manual but I figure the beep code means my psu or mobo have failed.
I have a 5yr warranty and can get my antec replaced free, or should I go with another brand?

sound like a bad stick of ram.....I would check that before jumping on the bad PSU bandwagon!!

 

[Yellowbeard]

I'm just curious as I try to learn something every day I am online. How is 4.1v on the 5v rail a symptom of bad RAM? I have never seen that one.

I heard I should see if my voltages are correct in bios. I went and checked and my 5v connectors were running at 4.1v.

Granted, I would suggest verifying this with a meter if possible but, I have never seen bad memory cause the 5v rail to dip.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: Yellowbeard
I'm just curious as I try to learn something every day I am online. How is 4.1v on the 5v rail a symptom of bad RAM? I have never seen that one.

I heard I should see if my voltages are correct in bios. I went and checked and my 5v connectors were running at 4.1v.

Granted, I would suggest verifying this with a meter if possible but, I have never seen bad memory cause the 5v rail to dip.

well i am just curious as well....
had you read his entire post you would have picked up on other symptoms other than the 5v rail being low.....or did I miss something?

You did read his while thread correct? assuning reading and comprehension or the order of the day....

My system is a stock clocked e6600, 2gb ram, msi platinum p965 mobo, 8800gtx and 1hdd. About 1 month ago when the power was off it would sometimes start to power on for about 1 second twice every minute until I unplugged the power cord. You'd see the power light on and the fans start to spin. Also 1 month ago the hdd access light started constantly blinking whenever the pc was on. I've used various hdd monitors and they show that the blinking happens without any hdd reads or writes happening. I even reformatted the hdd and reinstalled windows but the blinking hdd access light remained. Reading some stuff on how shitty antec is a few days prior to my psu going completely crazy I heard I should see if my voltages are correct in bios. I went and checked and my 5v connectors were running at 4.1v. Just yesterday my computer when I turned it on emitted a continuous beeping and won't go past post. I can't even get into bios. All I see is my MSI mobo splash screen and its stuck at that. I've misplaced my mobo manual but I figure the beep code means my psu or mobo have failed.

here is a thread from another forum that might help....

http://www.tomshardware.com/fo...atinum-fails-boot-post

Good Luck in your trouble shooting and please do not jump to any conclusions!!

So just because you are a Corsair rep I guess your also a PSU tech??doesn`t mean the OP should jump to conclusions that is HAS to be the Antec PSU that is al fault......

 

[Yellowbeard]

Keep in mind that the controller portion on a HD pulls power from the 5v rail and the HD motor uses the 12v. So, the 5v rail drop can be responsible for LOTs of symptoms including those you so kindly highlighted above. The degradation over a 1 month period also sounds as if it could possibly be power related.

So, no, I am not being a smart*** and I am geniunely curious. If I wanted to insult someone I am much better at it than what I posted above so I don't know where you came up with that. And yes, I did read the entire post. Look back, I did not say anything disparaging about the brand name used and even suggested verifying with a meter if possible as it could be the board VR.

So, I guess my next question is, did you read and comprehend my post? I was polite and explained why I was curious. It actually sounds like you presumed a lot and read things into it that are not there. I simply asked if anyone can explain why they think bad memory will make the 5v rail dip to 4.1v.

Many thanks, YB.

 

[SparkyJJO]

On the 5V rail dipping to 4.1V, he said that was checked in the BIOS, which isn't all that accurate. My mobo reports all my voltages lower than they really are, enough that got me worried at first until I used a DMM and found the BIOS was lying to me.

OP, test the voltages with a DMM, that will give you a more accurate reading. Some of those symptoms can also be caused by a mobo going weird on you. If you need to, I would just RMA the PSU and use the replacement, most of Antec's problem units were the smartpower line and the older truepower and truepower 2 lines.

 

[Fadardo]

Thanks for the advice guys.
Well I tried each stick of ram seperately and each seems to work fine, so I put them both back in and WA-LA computer is working again.
I am still having these symptoms though:

1.When my computer is off it sometimes start to flicker on for a spit second continuously until I unplugged the power cord. You'd see the power light on and the fans start to spin.
2. The hdd light always flickers withough any hdd access going on.
3. Some times some of the keys on my keyborad stop functioning regardlsess of the keyboard(tried ps2 and usb)

 

[Yellowbeard]

Have you resolved this issue yet? I'm still curious.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Fadardo
Thanks but what about my psu symptoms?

Just a couple of interesting anecdotes, no real help...

One system I built for my wife used to turn itself on. This was when she was temporarily living in an old duplex for 3 months by herself. The problem never appeared before or after that time. We like to joke that the place was haunted. Though neither of us believe in that kind of stuff, the place definately was... odd. Incidentally I did witness it happening a few times while I was visiting one weekend.

My current (to be replaced within the week) gaming rig often shuts itself off (randomly, can be within minutes) when I'm using it in my garage, but never exhibits this behavior in other rooms or at the various LAN parties I attend every week. I got a power line conditioner and the problem mostly went away, but still happened once. When it did, I noticed a cracle like static near the PSU. The power cable I leave in my garage had never seated properly, so as a "just in case" I replaced it with one that seats properly. Haven't had that problem since (knock on wood, only been a week).

 

[tomoyo]

Good reminder that power cables can go bad too...I've had a couple friends who ran into bad cables that were extremely hard to diagnose. There's definitely something suspicious about either the power cable/psu/switches that control on and off/power itself around the area. Hard to figure which.

 

[magreen]

Jedi, your post was way out of line IMO. It was insulting, condescending and generally offensive, and nothing yellowbeard said warranted that kind of treatment.

 

[Yellowbeard]

Originally posted by: magreen
Jedi, your post was way out of line IMO. It was insulting, condescending and generally offensive, and nothing yellowbeard said warranted that kind of treatment.

Thanks for speaking up Magreen, I was actually wondering if I had offended anyone. LOL...I think you may be correct but honestly, I was more confused than insulted. I was still trying to read and comprehend his while sentence below to make sure I did not assune anything un not correctly.

You did read his while thread correct? assuning reading and comprehension or the order of the day....

 

[rogue1979]

Originally posted by: magreen
Jedi, your post was way out of line IMO. It was insulting, condescending and generally offensive, and nothing yellowbeard said warranted that kind of treatment.

Agreed!!!!

 

[Fadardo]

I still haven't resolved the issue. I'm going to take it into the computer shop but first I have to remove any programs (eg. speed fan) that might make them think I'm overclocking (I'm NOT). I also need to encrypt sections of my hdd with p2p downloads and pr0n.
I tried tomoyo's suggestion but the symptoms are still there.

 

[tomoyo]

Originally posted by: Fadardo
I still haven't resolved the issue. I'm going to take it into the computer shop but first I have to remove any programs (eg. speed fan) that might make them think I'm overclocking (I'm NOT). I also need to encrypt sections of my hdd with p2p downloads and pr0n.
I tried tomoyo's suggestion but the symptoms are still there.

Computer shops are usually a very bad idea, they will try to sell you a terrible psu as a replacement. Finding someone with an extra psu to test with would be many times better.