power supply perhaps....?

[Askani]

Got a bit of a problem. Two and a hlaf years ago I built my first computer. It was a dual 450mhz oc celeron system. For the year that I had left at college it worked fine. When I came back home the system was having problems. Sometimes when I would turn the system on it would start up then a couple of seconds later it would turn off. It got worse after a while. I thought perhaps it was my Abit BP6 that was the problem. So I built a brand new computer from scratch with a new case and power supply. I still had the old case (In-win A500) and the power supply. Now I am building a new comp for my cousin using a ECS K7S5A motherboard with the old case and power supply and am still having that problem. Could it be the power supply thats the problem or could it be the case with its "slide in drawer module" design? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ojai00]

That could definitely be one of the symptoms. If your fans are turning on, and you hear spinning, but you're not getting any signal on your monitor, try changing the power supply. It could also be the screws on your case shorting out the motherboard. Check to see that everything is connected snugly. Hope this helps...come back with your findings.

 

[Bovinicus]

From what you have told me, I can almost guarantee you that is the problem. If you want to be sure, you can always swap out that old PSU for a better one. If the problems go away, then you know what it is.

 

[VBboy]

The first thing you should do is pull out all your cards, memory and the CPU, arm yourself with a compressed-air can and blow all the dust out of your case, PCI and memory slots, etc. Blow through all the fans, and through the PSU as well. You should probably take the PSU apart (after the PC has been off for a few hours), and blow through it as well.

Put all the hardware back, and it will most likely work no problem.

 

[JohnnyPC]

Although it does sound like these symtoms could be attributed to a bad PS, personal experience and a bunch of reading have led me to suspect any K7S5A MB for this same trouble. I have assembled 5 systems with the tantalizingly well valued ECS MB and found the only way I could get 2 of them to boot was to RMA the MB. Do a search of the forums here for "K7S5A" and you'll see numerous lengthy threads about the trials, tribulations and reliability of this particular MB. Anyway I would get the new ones and with the same PS that didn't work before, they boot right up. Once you get the MB working though, they sure do scream...

 

[VBboy]

Just so you guys know, all 3 of my 4- and 5-year old PSUs are working fine.

 

[ojai00]

<< Just so you guys know, all 3 of my 4- and 5-year old PSUs are working fine. >>



I agree...I have a P100 system that I upgraded to a K6-2 300, and the power supply is still working. I guess the things built a few years ago were a lot more durable than todays...but that's just my opinion.