Weird power supply installation problem

[warbean]

I bought and tried to install a Silverstone Zeus 560 Watt power supply because I am overclocking and preferred it to the Strider version of the same psu that I had previously.

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-56zf.htm

I plugged everything in, and it didn't work! The fans spun for about half a second, and then everything died. From there, you can't press the power button anymore and to start the cycle all over again I haev to unplug the power cord and switch the power switch off and on on the psu itself.

I got extremely frustrated and switched back to the old psu. It worked fine. "ok, i thought, maybe I got a bad one." So I plugged the new one in one last time, just the mobo and cpu connectors, and it worked! I then plugged everything else in and it all seems to work now.

What the heck could it have been? I of course thought that maybe I didnt have the connector in all the way, but I had double and triple checked them. The PSU flat refused to run until I completely removed it from the case and plugged it back in. The only other thing I could think of is that maybe the cord was twisted in an odd way that kept it from working until I untwisted. Anyone else know what the problem I just described is a symptom of?

Finally, this ism the first psu I used that has am 8 pin to 4 pin adapter for the CPU. What's the deal with those? Are they recommended for all motherboards, or is it kind of sketchy, like a 20 to 24 pin?

 

[jackschmittusa]

My guess is that you connected the small 4 pin connector to a floppy, Zip, or internal usb hub incorrectly. This led to a short. The psu dropped out to protect the system, and would not restart until line power was removed as it was electronically latched.

 

[warbean]

Very possible....I must have plugged / unplugged/ powered the system half a dozen timesor mroe though with this same result...do you think there was any chance at permanent damage?

Edit: I noticed after putting everything together again, Windows now took 3 times as long to boot. hard drive integrity tests seemd to be ok though.

I formatted just in case and the problem went away. SOme weird psu related corrupted windows install perhaps??

 

[jackschmittusa]

If that was the case, usually, the only thing that might fry is the component improperly connected. It is quite possible that the Windows installation is corrupted. It is also possible that Windows is stalling on a damaged component, trying to identify it on startup.

 

[warbean]

Originally posted by: jackschmittusa
If that was the case, usually, the only thing that might fry is the component improperly connected. It is quite possible that the Windows installation is corrupted. It is also possible that Windows is stalling on a damaged component, trying to identify it on startup.

Well the floppy drive seems to be working fine. Not sure how the Windows installation got corrupted though, but everything seems to be on track now. Moral of the story is to make sure everything is properly connected, or when trying a new psu, plug in the mobo and cpu plugs first and try that, to save yourself a lot of hassle.

-w