Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with PSU

What am I doing wrong with my PSU?

battlebison — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:36:45 -0800

PSU was missing from computer. Bought a new one, now it gives me one continuous BIOS beep when I turn it on. What have I done wrong and how do I fix this? From what I understand, one continuous beep means it isn't getting enough power. I have a 450W PSU brand new from NewEgg and this computer is fairly old, so I figured it would have been good enough! I forget the specs exactly, but I think it's a single core 3.8 GHz AMD processor and it has a GeForce 7800 GT as its graphics card. Everything else about it is very pedestrian.

There is the usual ATX power slot on the motherboard as well as what looks like a 4-pin slot near it. It looks like this:
[::]
[::::::::::]
There are two 4-pin connectors coming out of the PSU: one attached the main plug and one that just kind of hangs out on its own separate from any other cable. The computer will only get as far as turning on and beeping at me if I have either the main plug in on its own or it and the loose 4-pin plug. It doesn't do anything at all if I use the 4-pin plug attached to the main plug.

Does it matter that the plug coming from the PSU seems to be missing a pin? [:::::::.::]

Help me revive this old computer!

Thanks for reading this ridiculously long explanation of what is probably an easy problem.

Band who sung "Procrastination" at the Rathskeller PSU

elgalan207 — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:02:37 -0800

I am looking for a band that played the Rathskeller in Penn State with a song titled "Procrastination". This was between the years 1999-2002. Anyone know who this was or where I can find a digital copy of this song?

Computer woes: failure of the essential kind

tybeet — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 16:10:58 -0800

ComputerFilter: Is it my PSU or Mobo that's failed? I've been having problems ever since moving my computer to my new apartment. I kept reseating the RAM thinking it was a dead stick, and it would POST some of the time but not others. I thought it was the video card, so I bought a new one (GTS 250), and I get the same problem. This was really baffling because my computer would turn on every time, but only sometimes would I get a video signal.

After thinking it was failed RAM, I discovered a loose screw that was floating around behind the motherboard. Apparently it worked "sometimes" because these sometimes I was knocking the screw into a new position.

I finally got it working, but I had to reinstall my sound card, but when I did my computer all of a sudden stopped turning on at all. When I turned on the PSU switch one of my case fans would spin only just slightly (the rest were dead still), and I heard a clicking like something was trying to engage but failing to. I then unplugged the PSU from the Motherboard and replugged it in, and the fan spun completely but the computer would not turn on. After another unplug-replug everything was dead, no spinning and no clicking.

I'm trying to fix my computer, and I'm quite computer literate, but this escapes me. I built this system 2 years ago and it's been serving me well for a long time. 2 months ago I had a stick of memory fail, and I've been having problems ever since. I have tried every method of troubleshooting including reseating the motherboard, but no luck.

Does this failure sound like the Mobo is dying a slow and painful death, or has my PSU coincidentally just stopped dead without a fight or a spark or anything?

I have only ever built 2 systems in my life, and I haven't had many parts fail, so I'm wondering which is more likely to have failed here. Are PSUs more durable and is it less likely to have failed me here? Is there any way I can check if the PSU will output some juice?

Any suggestions would be hugely appreciated!

My PSU gonna esplode?!?!!11one

DetonatedManiac — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:06:20 -0800

My computer's PSU is rattling, is that a major problem or just an annoyance? I have a Cooler Master eXtreme 600W PSU on my computer. I bought it with the computer 2.5 years ago. The PSU is the appropriate wattage for this rig, if anything a bit more than I need. I have not done any modifications or adjustments to the CPU or peripherals, but the computer is kept running nearly all the time.

Lately the PSU (I assume it is the PSU) has been making a rattling/rapid clicking sound. The PSU is located at the bottom back of the computer case, which is where the noise is coming from.

It has been happening for a month or so on and off. It now seems to be a dull rattle all the time (can only hear if you are right next to it) but sometimes it gets loud enough you can hear it even when away from the computer, and it is a higher pitch.

It is not "loud", but annoying enough that it bugs me. I dust the computer through the case with Canned Air often, so I tried blowing the canned air directly into the PSU vent on the back, first time I did (few weeks ago) a bunch of dust came out, but did not seem to affect the noise. Subsequent canned air applications have done nothing either. I looked back there, nothing LOOKED out of place, but I never checked before this nose...

So... do I need to replace the PSU ASAP or is the fan just off kilter slightly? If it is just the fan can I fix it or do I just simply deal with the noise?

If it matters the Case is an Antec Cooler Master Praetorian Aluminum Case, standard fan setup circa Early 2007.

Any other questions, ask.

Burned motherboard power connector - what to replace?

GuyZero — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 19:27:26 -0800

The power connect for my motherboard is partially burned! Should I replace the plug, the whole PSU or the entire motherboard? So a week or so ago the computer wouldn't boot. After wiggling all the connectors I noticed the 4-pin power plug from the PSU to the mobo was a little blackened. Odd, but reseating it worked. Now it's very blackened and I'm unsure of the extent of the damage to the mobo & connector there. This is a HP desktop system with a 400W PSU and an ASUS mobo. The easiest solution is simply to pull the components and build a new system but I'd rather find a cheap, cheerful & reliable solution, emphasis on the cheap. Opinions on whether to replace just the connector, the whole PSU and whether the mobo is likely damaged as well (I probably won't find out until I replace the PSU)

Why do my computer's power supplies keep dying?

astrochimp — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 15:45:55 -0800

My desktop computer's power supplies (three thus far) keep overheating and then fail permanently -- but only when they are plugged in through a power strip (i.e., everything is perfectly fine when the computer is plugged directly into a wall outlet). I finally realized that solution, though have no idea as to why it should make a difference. That is, if not plugged directly into an outlet, any power supply (PSU) in my computer will, within a few hours, overheat to the point of failure and, from that point on, will be non-functional for the rest of eternity. This has me befuddled, and so I ask:

Is this (a) a short and/or (b) a grounding issue? Or, more to the point: (c) why would the addition of a power strip [power bar] have such a negative impact, even if it is one of these issues? Do power bars ground things differently (I know nothing about these things)? (Also: this has happened using different power bars, so I'm assuming that it was not those particular power bars per se, but that it has something to do with power bars in general, plus the electrical oddities of my desktop computer.)

Power for my PC

malpractice — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 01:26:58 -0800

Help me to understand the brain-melting world of computer power supplies, why my new PC is having issues, and what I should be looking for in a new PSU... see within for the usual technical guff. Here's the system that I have:
AMD Phenom X3 8650 cpu
Asus M3N78 motherboard
Single 9800GT 512MB graphics card
4GB RAM
A couple of SATA HDD
Optical drive

Now, I thought that this Enermax 535W PSU would be enough to handle all that, but after plugging it all in and switching it on, I didn't even make it into POST. However, this Thermaltake 480W PSU gets things up and running all the way to Windows (though there are some stability issues as soon as I try to run anything too graphically taxing).

I've pretty much ruled out that either PSU could be faulty, as they both seem to run fine in a similar but lower spec PC.

I've tried looking over all the facts about voltages/amps/watts, and this talk about rails, and I think I've gotten a rough idea of how it all fits together, but my recent experience doesn't make much sense (the electrickery confuses me...)

So, the questions:
1.) Why did the 535W, dual 12V rail PSU not work, when the 480W, single 12V rail PSU did work?
2.) What should I be looking for in a new PSU?

Thanks in advance!

Things to do at PSU.

The White Hat — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 21:25:27 -0800

So I start my post-bacc in July. I'll be in State College, PA for 15 months or so. Where are the good restaraunts/bars? Specialty grocery stores? What do folks there do for fun (on the offhand chance I manage to find time for it)? Especially interested to know about the music scene (especially roots music). Not especially interested in the traditional PSU party scene.

Pimp my HTPC?

gergtreble — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:43:02 -0800

Mobo Filter: Help me find the perfect motherboard (and possibly PSU) for my HTPC. Now Uni is done for the year I have decided that my sumer project will be to build a low power and low noise HTPC. I've already bought this case, swish eh! But I'm stuck now. I need reccomendations for a motherboard as there are so many out there and I cant find the perfect one. Here are my requirements:

HDMI? - My HDTV will take a VGA connection or a HDMI connection. Do I really
need HDMI? Onboard graphics will be cool, and probably prefered as I wont
be using this for gaming. HD resolutions are a must though.

Digital audio output - This will go straight into my AV amp. So coax or
optical are fine.

IDE/ATA - I have an old DVD-RW drive and a 320GB hard drive I want to put
in it so IDE would be nice. Of course SATA would be nice to for any future
upgrades.

The case can fit ATX and micro-ATX but I would prefer to have ATX so I can
expand in the future.

Also what wattage PSU should I go for? I'll probably have 2 hard drives
and two optical drives in it (IF I get a blueray drive). Would 350W be too
little?

So! Reccomendations? Anything else you would suggest? Any ancecdotes about your own HTPC project? Any Ideas about coooling or noise elimination?

Thanks a lot Hive-Mind.

High-end (As of 2 Years Ago) PC Help Needed!

JLobster — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 13:17:39 -0800

For about a year now, I have been having major problems with my home built PC. In the middle of 3D games (of any kind really), it will freeze for at least 10 seconds, sometimes more. Sometimes it will give me back control, sometimes it will reboot. More recently, it will blue screen (referring to nv4_disp) if it does not give me back control. During that freeze time, the sound will continue for a few seconds and then repeat like a skipping CD for a few seconds. I would like to replace the faulty part, but it is such a mess in there and a pain in the ass to replace some that I want to find out the best way to find out. It could be the mobo, PSU or GPU(s)

Also, just as important, do any of you know good, trustworthy forums for this type of troubleshooting? Or a local PC mod/gamer group in the Austin, TX area?

Here are the specs:
* Asus A8N32-SLI Mobo (nForce4 chipset)
* 2GB RAM
* AMD 4200+ CPU
* 500W Seasonic PSU
* IDE DL DVD+-RW
* 2x250GB SATA 300 drives in striped RAID via mobo
* 2xXFX 7600 GT in SLI mode
* Creative Xfi sound card
* No overclocking, all stock fans on mobo and card. Case has some quieter fan replacements.
* Logitech G15 keyboard and MX518 mouse. I know this is not in the case, but in case someone knows any issues with the power draw or something.

What I have tried, all to no avail:
* Taking the cover off: temp (both CPU and GPUs) dropped by almost 10C to about 50ish, but no change in symptoms. Previously, it NEVER got above 70C, even under the heaviest of loads.
* Turning off SLI
* Laying down new OS (XP SP2. No way is Vista getting on here!)
* Religiously updating drivers. Never used beta drivers.
* Religiously updating BIOS. Using most current one off of ASUS's site
* Taking out Xfi and using onboard audio
* Removing all USB devices aside from kb and mouse.
* Changing the 3D settings down to lowest
* Running bootable CD of memtest86 test on RAM. No problems found.
* Running 3DMark06. No problems encountered.

If I were in a better financial situation (good job, but LOTS of debt), I would buy a new computer, but I would rather save money and just buy the component(s) needed to fix it.

Advice? Places to look? Best hair replacement therapy?

Dead PC Diagnosis Filter - am I on the right track?

benzo8 — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 09:40:36 -0800

Dead PC Diagnosis Filter - am I on the right track? Today my desktop PC when "phut" and died. (Actually, I had my headphones on at the time, and so I don't know what noises it made prior to, or at the time of death.)

Anyhow, it's a self-built machine - I've been building my own machines for about 20 years now (and am normally better at diagnosing faults than I'm feeling today). Quick spec: Intel Dual Core CPU, Asus P5W DH Deluxe motherboard, ATI X1950 graphics card, mix of hard drives, etc.

Machine died unexpectedly. There was a smell of burning. The nose test indicated the smell came from the PSU, but heck, I'm not a sniffer dog, so that might be wrong.

Now I switch the machine on, no fans turn (including the fan in the PSU) (both case and CPU fan powered from motherboard), and no drives spin up. An LED on the mainboard lights, and an LED on the graphics card. If I press eject on the CD drive, its light turns on briefly, but it doesn't eject.

So, there's definitely some power around somewhere, but here's where I start to get hazy with my diagnosis. As I understand it, ATX PSUs supply 2 voltage circuits - a 12v and 5v one. Am I on the right track thinking that the 12v circuit has died in the PSU, otherwise, I can't see why there is some power to the mainboard and beyond, but no drive or boot activity. (No POST beeps either, btw...)

I have no other power supplies or PCs here to test any further, so before I go out tomorrow to buy a new PSU, can anyone tell me if I'm barking up completely the wrong tree?

PSU question

Napierzaza — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 22:34:08 -0800

Electronics filter: What can I do to make a 24v PSU turn into a 18-19v PSU? It's 0.5A power supply which as far as I can tell is important to know when using, say a resistor to lower voltage. But how resistant should the resistor be? I've found information on how to tell a resistor's value, but not how it will actually effect a line's voltage or how to calculate it. Are there any good sites with this information? Also what will happen to the amount of amps the PSU supplies when I do change it to 18/19v?? Also, what can be done to increase the amperage of a power supply? What inside the circutry is actually dictating the amperage?

Eject the core!

The Monkey — Wed, 05 Apr 2006 22:41:57 -0800

How did I manage to blow up a computer power supply when I tried to connect audio out from a VCR to the line in on the computer soundcard. The setup is like this:
Mitsubishi TV, with 3 component in, video coming from gfx card in PC (old Celeron 400, which has been a reliable media PC for... fn ages), sound coming from soundcard line-out. New video capture card in PC with a single component line to the video out on the VCR, and 2x component to 3.5mm stereo line-in of the sound card.

I borrowed a video capture card from a friend to play with decrypting pay-tv signals - and incredibly it worked! But when I went to connect the sound from the VCR to the line-in on my soundcard (sb16 or something, I'm not using onboard sound) the tip of the stereo plug grazed the metal around the socket, made a little spark noise and the computer shut down.

I tried pushing the button, as you would, and nothing happen. Unplugged the power cable, plugged it in again and pushed the button and then there was a big flash from inside the (open sided) case. I had a look at the fuse in the power supply and it had completely blown - there was actually a hole, either blown or burned, through the glass!

Today I went and got another ATX power supply, but before I plug it in, I'd like to understand why this happened, and what I can do to avoid it in future. Is it a case problem? Am I plugging too many different devices together?

Is the problem my PSU or something else on my computer?

who else — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 20:13:01 -0800

Is the problem my PSU or something else on my computer? The fuse blew one time and one of my hard drives fried, and since the power on my computer flicks out and it restarts itself once in a blue moon. It actually seems to happen more if I'm trying to do a lot on my computer at once with a bunch of windows open.
The thing Im more worried about is that one time I noticed that when I turned my computer on, one of the fans failed to start up.
Would these problems be solved by replacing a possibly damaged PSU, or is it possible that my motherboard is damaged?

Why is my PC overheating?

MrZero — Thu, 29 Dec 2005 13:36:13 -0800

My computer is making a funny noise and overheating. Can you help me fix it? My PC is occasionally making a buzzing noise. After being on for a few hours, it overheats. I hear a tone that the BIOS identifies as "CPU overheating/unseated" (or similar).

It is an older PC, about 6-7 years old, made by a company called Quantex. I've added some memory, a CD burner, a SCSI card, and a firewire card, so I've poked around inside several times. This time, I've opened it up, and the front fan and the fan mounted on the CPU heatsink both appear to be working fine. However, the power supply was pretty warm when I just opened it up, and its fan was kicking out warm air. Everything is quite dusty inside, including the fans and the power supply.

At first, I thought it was the CPU fan, but that thing looks OK. Now, I'm thinking the power supply is overheating and heating up the CPU.

Soooooo, what now? Should I blow out all the dust with compressed air? Should I replace the power supply? I'd prefer to not go to a repair service, I'm a broke student and I'm planning on replacing this PC in about a year. I'd also rather spend my Christmas money on an external hard drive. I am, however, willing to pay for a decent power supply if that's what it needs.

Upgrading a Vaio's PSU & GPU

lemonfridge — Tue, 02 Aug 2005 07:20:26 -0800

I'm looking to upgrade my desktop, but I'm having worries about the PSU. I have a Sony Vaio RS322e , with a wirless card and an extra gig or ram.

I'm looking to upgrade the graphics card to a ATI Radeon X800. But I dont know if the PSU will be enough to power everything. The PSU doesnt have any clear indication of w apart from "Output 295w"

If it isnt, where can I get a 400w PSU that will fit the case? is the current one a standard size?