Pete M Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 some of you may have seen my prior post where the stupid thing wouldn't turn on after I installed some new-to-it peripheries (2nd harddrive, wifi, USB 2.0s, replaced broken disk drive. I did all sorts of things (undid all I had done, swapped out the power supply, wiggled the wires, did a voodoo dance) but once it did kick on, it worked normal and would fire up as normal each and every time. I thought it was just a glitch... sigh. now it loves to turn itself off whenever it damn well feels like. and occasionally it won't turn back on like it should (even after sitting all night). But then it'll fire up as normal. This is just a backup 'puter. mainly used to show movies on the TV. I shouldn't care this much... but it worked JUST FINE before I touched it. grrrrrrr...... :fs1: thoughts? and before you ask, I'm all out of dynamite. I do have a sledge hammer though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyav8r Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Ain't nothing beats a good ole 8 lb. sledge to vent frustration and relieve tension. But, to paraphrase Scarlet O'Hara's maid - "i bon't know nothing 'bout fixing no computers, Mr. Pete!". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyav8r Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Apparently my iPad don't know nothing 'bout spell check, either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Ain't nothing beats a good ole 8 lb. sledge to vent frustration and relieve tension. But, to paraphrase Scarlet O'Hara's maid - "i bon't know nothing 'bout fixing no computers, Mr. Pete!". I beg to differ. I have a Beretta 9mm that doesn't require ya to break a sweat to vent said frustration and tension! :yes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Having never been so frustrated in my life that i felt the need to resort to physical violence or release of pent up frustration Therefore I don't understand it. However I have heard of a incidence in which a PO'D person was swinging a 16lb sledge at an inanimate object and a poorly aimed blow deflected the hammer sideways, striking the hammer swinger on the shin, Which did not help the situation any. Don't have a 9mm? 12 gauge is also very effective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harley Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Thanks Jim. My leg hurts now just from reading that. I concur with the 12 gauge theory. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Why'd you swap out the power supply? I'd target that as the culprit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexia Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Hardware reasons for shutting down are a faulty power supply or the thermal protection of the CPU triggering. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 originally it wouldn't turn on. all I could get out of it was a twitch in the fans. that's why I swapped the power supply. just to see it it'd make a difference. it didn't so I went back to the original. but I guess it wouldn't hurt to swap in the alternate again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Wait... so you had an issue with it not turning on, so you added more hardware, including a newer, perhaps better PS, then you took that out and put the old one back in? Pete, your logic escapes me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 nah, I'm just not explaining the timeline properly. computer ran fine. swapped in the new (used) stuff. computer wouldn't turn back on. removed all of the things I added. still wouldn't turn on. tried a different (older) power supply (PS#2). no change. put original PS#1 back in. miraculously, holding the ON button while flipping the PS switch made it turn on. was completely normal after that. 'til the next day when it shut itself off. now it seems haunted. turns itself off for no apparent-to-me reason. sometimes won't turn back on, even after hours of being off. just now I put in the other PS (PS#2). it turned on for 1 second, then turned off. went upstairs to find a 3rd PS. came downstairs and, just for the heck of it, tried again with PS#2. works fine now. never did install that 3rd PS. so I guess now I wait until it goes crazy again. the replacement PS has some fan whine. :( but I'll ignore that until I determine that it's fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 I say power supply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted March 3, 2013 Share Posted March 3, 2013 Is there any way you could test out one of these power supplies in another computer? It seems really unlikely that it would be behaving this way on two power supplies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyav8r Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Forget the power supplies. I'm thinking permanent solution, so i'm staying with the 8 lb. sledge hammer (less potential for collateral damage than with a 9mm or 12 gauge), and a new computer. Sledge hammer control is similar to gun control - use both hands, steady grip, and keep your eye on the target. And, of course, always wear appropriate personal protective equipment (for sledge hammer - gloves and safety glasses, for 9mm or 12 gauge - ear plugs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 ran all night on PS#2. :D figured I had this licked and pulled out the PS to replace the cooling fan. reassembled and now it won't stay on longer than a second or 2 unless I unplug the hard drive (then it'll stay running). the inconsistency is driving me crazy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k3rn4lkr45h Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Id check out the capacitors. if any of them look like a silo. if so then you have blown caps and should think about a new mobo or new machine. also check your ram. if you have multiple sticks take one out at a time. if you replaced the powersupply it probly is not the culprit. 5 years of IT managing :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 nothing looks horrible in it, but what do I know. :dunno: today I swapped PS#2 and the harddrive into my old desktop. fired up as normal, but wouldn't recognize the harddrive. tried both neutral and master jumper locations. then tried that old computer's original harddrive with that same result. but at least the old computer fired up and ran through it's diagnostics. the new one won't stay running for more than a second. unless I unplug the harddrive. then it fires up. and shuts back off the instant I plug the harddrive's power cable back in (data cable is unplugged). same powersupply and harddrive combo gives me two different results in two different computers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geonovast Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Pull all the memory out and put it back in, make sure it's ALL the way in. If just one pin on one stick isn't connected properly, it won't want to turn on. They really don't like stuff being plugged in while running. Take an ohmmeter to the power pins on the HD, make sure neither the hots are shorted to ground. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k3rn4lkr45h Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 Sounds like the controller card on the HDD. It can halt the machine if shorting out the PSU. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 sounds logical, I guess. does it still hold water if 3 different harddrives do it, but a 4th (really old one) doesn't? :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k3rn4lkr45h Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 hmmm maybe your chipset is going on the motherboard, if you have a usb or cd download UBCD and run diags on the HDD and Ram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 english please? we're more than a step beyond my knowledge base. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k3rn4lkr45h Posted March 4, 2013 Share Posted March 4, 2013 its a great diagnostic tool called UBCD, ultimate boot CD. it has tons of tools on it. you download it get it installed onto a USB. boot to usb and choose your Diaging choice. I would start with the Ram, under memtest 4.2 let it run for a couple passes. if nothing comes up red then your ram is good. then reboot to usb and go to HDD then Diag and select Seagate 2.0 usually finds most HDD Models then run extended test. do each drive individually plugged in. you will find you culprit. http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted March 4, 2013 Author Share Posted March 4, 2013 update: found another random PS in the basement (never throw things away!) and now it boots up as normal with a harddrive installed. too bad there's no cover on said PS so I've got no idea what it's rated for. oops. Am I doing something that's killing power supplies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k3rn4lkr45h Posted March 5, 2013 Share Posted March 5, 2013 not using battery back up? lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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