911: PC

[RPM 26625]

My f'n tower won't start. I had the built in start switch replaced a year ago but it still gave me problems. Usually unplugging for a couple minutes would do the trick. Tonight the power went out and it's a no go on starting. Power supply is still good. All the peripherals power up, it just won't start. Even tried jumping the wire on the new switch and nothing. When it starts it runs perfectly.

Bit of an update. If I hold down the start button when I power cycle it will try to start, then die after about 2 seconds. I don't get any system beeps. I'm starting to doubt the ps now.

Edited March 19, 2020 by RPM

[idigTexas 2330]

Old PSUs were easy.  They tended to either work completely or not at all.  Now they can keep on ticking, but may not produce the amount of power for which they are rated. 

Best guess from here is that your PSU no longer is producing enough juice to power everything in your rig.  Whether it was only barely able to keep up before, or has degraded considerably isn't really important. 

It's easy enough to check if it is the PSU by swapping it for a spare, but most people don't have an extra on hand.  If you don't have a spare, may as well get one that can support your current rig, as well as one you might build in the future.  I always like to get one that has more capacity than I think I will ever need, though you don't need to go crazy here.

If it isn't the PSU, then something in your rig is requiring more power than it should, you replaced a faulty power switch with another dud, or something more complicated. 

 

 

 

[Bigpoppapump 535]

Modular PSU? I'd agree with test PSU first.

[RPM 26625]

It's an 800w modular. I have a new 1000w, but not sure if I can swap them out (fittings, my incompetence, ect). Guess I'll find out.

[elfenix 34749]

@rpm keep in mind that there's no standard for the PSU side of modular cables and, even if the plug fits, the pins might not correspond.  in other words, don't reuse cables or you could blow your shit up. 

[RPM 26625]

Yeah, I started looking at all the cables (5 or 6 bundles) and threw in the towel. There's no way I wouldn't fuck something up as bad as my near vision is, so I carried it to a local computer repair shop. Now just waiting them to finally get around to it sometime next week. I would just buy a new rig, but the damn thing works great (when it turns on).

[RPM 26625]

Just got my PC back. Wasn't the power supply. Somehow the moboard bios was corrupted. Tech said that is usually a death sentence, but my moboard keeps a backup bios. He restored that and back in business.

The bill: $37

[idigTexas 2330]

Glad it was a cheap fix.