UPDATE : PC TAKES MANY ATTEMPTS TO START ??

[Andrew]

Regarding my last post on 15/8/06 where i wrote:

Please, can anyone tell me what might be going on here ??

A few months back, on the start-up process (just after the desktop
comes
on, but while the PC is still "thinking") i heard sometimes 4 or 5
clicks from the PC (especially when the red light was on, i.e. it's
thinking). Sometimes it didn't click at all. But after a minute or so
everything was fine. Never thought much of it. Even after installing a
new Hard Drive it still did it (i was beginning to think it was the HD,
but now i don't think it can be).

Anyway, lately i have been having problems switching the PC on after it
has been off for a few hours. Sometimes it comes on fine, but more
often
than not it doesn't and sounds for a split second as if it was booting
up but then would switch itself back off (only a second after pressing
the power button to start). I used to have to press the power button 5
or 6 times, but it would eventually start okay. Once it's on the PC is
fine, no problems at all.


WELL FURTHER UPDATE:

I have now found out that when i power the Hard Drive with external
power (using the power socket from an IDE to USB cable) the PC powers up
fine, every time !!!!!!!! - so now could this be a faulty power supply
???? - The original power supply powers the CDROM and DVD Writer Okay
whilst the HD is on external (non-power supply) power ????. Do you think
that it is too much for the power supply to cope with having 2 CDROMs
and a HD ??. The power supply is well under a year old ??

Cheers
Andrew

 

[thecreator]

Hi Andrew,

You mentioned the Power Supply, but you have not furnished any information on the Power Supply. How many Watts is the Power Supply? Have you made both Hard Drives, Masters?

 

[Andrew]

thecreator:

Hi Andrew,

You mentioned the Power Supply, but you have not furnished any =
information on the Power Supply. How many Watts is the Power Supply? =
Have you made both Hard Drives, Masters?


--=20
thecreator

= = =

There's only 1 hard drive ! - it is set to master. The power supply is
showing as:
Pentium IV ATX Switching Power Supply
CH0054150-2000
AC Input : 220/110VAC 50/60Hz 2.5/5A
Fuse Rating F6.3A 250VAC

DC OUTPUT: +3.3V 16A, +5V 30A, +12V 14A, -5V 0.5A, -12V 0.5A, +5VSB
2.5A
MAX 350 Watts


Hope that helps ?? (PS the Power supply unit has powered this PC for
around a year without any trouble.

PS my PC is Athlon 1800GHz (2200XP), 720RAM, 80GB HD, 2 X CDROM (1 DVD
Writer and 1 CD Writer)

Is 350Watts okay for this, the man in the PC shop said it would be ample
??, cannot understand why the power supply works everything apart from
the HD ????. Even if i unplug both CD ROMs and just have the HD plugged
in it still doesn't start up. I even tried a different HD and still the
same, so it's not the HD ??

I mean, i can live with the setup i have, where the HD is powered
seperately by an IDE to USB cable (which you can get from Maplin's), but
i'd love to nail this problem once and for all !!

Weird !


Any help much appreciated as i don't want to go out and buy a new power
supple only to find it wasn't that !!

Regards.
Andrew

 

[thecreator]

Hi Andrew,

Question: Are / were the Hard Drives plugged into the Motherboard IDE Connectors or a Hard Drive Controller Card?

On a computer of mine, I have 2 Hard Drives plugged into an Ultra ATA 100 PCI Adapter Card. Sometimes only one shows up and sometimes both show up.

I hear Clicking sounds, except when both show up. Try increasing the Watts to 400 or 500 and see what happens. If anything you have a next working Power Supply, if case one goes bad.

 

[DatabaseBen]

hmm, like my suggestions posted in the past to you,
I think its either your power supply or your power switch.


Maybe, your cpu is overheating or overheated and fried. Or
your motherboard is not ground to the chassis...

GL!

 

[Andrew]

DatabaseBen:

hmm, like my suggestions posted in the past to you,
I think its either your power supply or your power switch.


Maybe, your cpu is overheating or overheated and fried. Or
your motherboard is not ground to the chassis...

GL!

Cannot be the switch though as it works when the HD is plugged into
external power, the HD is plugged straight into the Motherboard (not
through a collector), As far as i'm aware this MUST have something to do
with the Power Supply being only 350W ??

Cheers
Andrew