Conputer problems

[Jerry]

I'm back on the old and slow HP laptop once again. I know we have a lot of Geeks here,so I'll toss this out to see if anyone has any ideas. Yesterday, I started my desktop machine. It booted up fine. While checking out Xmarks (where else?)about 15 minutes later, it shut down. I restarted and went into setup to see if I saw anything. It shutdown again before I could stumble through the menus to get to the processor operating temperatures and such. Now, it will not start at all. I have a lighted case, with two case fans. The processor is an AMD64 3200 running on an ASROCK MB. I am only running 256 megs of DDR ram right now, my daughter has my 1 gig stick in Salem (long story). Anyhow, now the case switch won't do anything. Turning off the new chiefmax 650 watt power supply (dual fan) and unplugging it, does this:
After leaving the supply unplugged, for a period of time, I put the plug back back in and turn on the powersupply switch. The caselights flash on and the fans spin, then stop. When I hit the power switch on the fromt of the case, the same thing happens. IE the lights flash and the fans spin and then stop. After that, the front switch doesn't work again. Both the MB and the processor are new upgrades installed two weeks ago. The processor heatsink and fan are the ones supplied with the combo, and the processor cooling fan at least attempts to run. I have unplugged everything,including the keyboard, (Of course, I left the two hard drives and my DVD RW drive connected) and tried to start the computer and tried to start it. Still a no go.any ideas. I am starting to wonder about this case. I donot see how the case could cause problems, but the Chiefmax is the third power supply I've had to install in the last couple of months and the case, drives and ram are the only things common to the problems. Anyone have any ideas?

[auld argonian]

I'm a poor person to give an opinion on this as I'm a Mac guy...but if you're on the third power supply, that would seem to point to a problem to me. I'd consider switching it out for a fresh one and the possibility of keeping a spare on hand for just such an emergency...

Best

AA

ps: ...even my tech head brother has joked about using liquid Nitrogen to cool his rompin' stompin' overheated computer.

[KiltedCodeWarrior]

JerMc, definitely sounds like a power supply problem, but I am not sure which of the common components could be causing the issue. Have you considered installing a higher wattage power supply? Perhaps it is just underpowered for all the hardware.

[Kilted KT]

it is eather power or motherboard...
then again, only 256mb of ram, I'm suprised it even works!

I suggest you use the Wookie defense.


KT

[Jerry]

JerMc, definitely sounds like a power supply problem, but I am not sure which of the common components could be causing the issue. Have you considered installing a higher wattage power supply? Perhaps it is just underpowered for all the hardware.

The last supply, the chiefmax is a 650 watt upgrade from the 450 watt I was running with my old AMD XP 2800 processor. According to the papers that I received I received with the new 64 bit processor and MB, it should have been enough capacity. The current ratings for the supply are 25 or more percent more than minimums. The first two power supplies were with the old processor and MB.

[Jerry]

it is eather power or motherboard...
then again, only 256mb of ram, I'm suprised it even works!

I suggest you use the Wookie defense.


KT

It was a bit slow with the ram, but my daughter is bringing my other stick of ram this weekend. I'm going to have her try and get the machine running again. She is just finishing a two year degree in IT and computer tech. I was just curious if anyone had any ideas.

[Southern Breeze]

This is hard to diagnose without getting hands-on. However, here's some things to try.

1.Check the power input.Make sure the cord is plugged in the wall correctly and in the power supply socket. Try a differant cord if possible.

2.Check the power connections inside the case. Make sure the motherboard and all other connections are tight.

3.Check the power supply output with a meter.

4.Check all the peripharels. Disconnect everything. If the power supply works by itself reconnect things one at a time until the problem occurs.

Hope this helps, if it doesn't, buy a universal problem solver-

[chasem]

It sounds like the power supply or motherboard, as the others have mentioned. Possibly (though much more slim) the board is grounding out.

[pbpersson]

Geeks? Do we have geeks here? :rolleyes:

Well.....here's to kilted geekdom....

Here is what I would do:

1. Strip your computer down to minimum - remove all boards and drives. What do you really NEED to get into the BIOS setup screen? Probably just a keyboard and some RAM...and a video connection. Unplug everything else from the motherboard and the power supply.

2. Now....does it boot up, can you get into the BIOS setup....and does it stay up? Well.....it won't boot up because you don't have a floppy but we are just trying to get some life out of it.

3. If you only have the motherboard and power supply and you STILL can't get it to fire up or stay up then you know it has to be one or the other that is bad. If you can get into the BIOS screen and keep things up and running, you can start adding pieces back one at a time.

Phil in Phoenix

[Jerry]

Latest update: As of now, the only thing connected to the supply is the MB.The IDE cables are, however, still connected to the drives and I still have the same problem. Since the same type of problem has happened with two different MBs and three different power supplies, is there anyway the case power switch could cause this kind of problem, if it were to be shorted,either to the case or shorted across the switch?