What am I doing wrong with my PSU?
December 10, 2009 1:36 PM Subscribe
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.
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.
Response by poster: The power supply is a Sunbeam IC-PSU-US-2545-DW 450W (I didn't feel like breaking the bank to resurrect this computer), it's an upgraded Compaq Presario 3300NS with an Athlon XP 2600+ and a VIA ProSavageDDR KM266 mainboard. The graphics card was a late addition, as was some extra RAM. It worked before its old power supply was cannibalized for use in a new computer, but doesn't seem to want to start with the new one.
posted by battlebison at 1:55 PM on December 10, 2009
posted by battlebison at 1:55 PM on December 10, 2009
Best answer: Dumb question, but did you check your graphics card for places to plug in a connector from your power supply? My machine does the same thing if I forget to plug my graphics card back in...
posted by ayerarcturus at 1:56 PM on December 10, 2009
posted by ayerarcturus at 1:56 PM on December 10, 2009
Response by poster: ...did you check your graphics card for places to plug in a connector from your power supply?
How dare you insult me with such a question! What do you think I am? An - ... .... well maybe if I put this in... it seems to be... .... yep. I'm an idiot. Thanks for taking the time to help!
posted by battlebison at 2:03 PM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
How dare you insult me with such a question! What do you think I am? An - ... .... well maybe if I put this in... it seems to be... .... yep. I'm an idiot. Thanks for taking the time to help!
posted by battlebison at 2:03 PM on December 10, 2009 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
What's the manufacturer and model numbers for your motherboard and power supply?
Did this old computer work before its power supply was removed?
posted by reptile at 1:45 PM on December 10, 2009