This past week while I was online, my computer began hanging up while I was trying to read a page. I thought it was a communications problem while using Internet Explorer so I signed on again using Firefox. In a few seconds my computer hung up again. I got off line and tried to reboot. It wouldn’t reboot. In fact, it wouldn’t do anything. I had a dead computer.
The power supply fan was running, CPU fan was running, and the motherboard LED was on, indicating there was power to the motherboard so I knew the power supply was working. There were no front panel LEDs on, the power button had no effect, and the CD trays wouldn’t open.
I took the power supply out and connected it to my "breadboard" computer setup. Again, the fans were running but there was no other indication of life.
I tested the power supply output on the +12V and +5V lines and found the voltage had dropped to +9V and +3V respectively, not enough to operate the drives. I took a peep inside and found no visible indication of burnout.
I installed a new "el cheepo" supply in my computer and all is well.
The bad supply is a dual fan model rated at 500 watts and it’s only 20 months old. It’s not worth trying to diagnose and it’s too light to use as a boat anchor. I’ll pull the usable stuff out and trash the remains.
LOW VOLTAGE PROBLEM
Recently my wife visited some family members located several miles from here. She called to tell me that their computer was doing strange things: very slow boot up after many attempts, very slow operation after finally getting it to boot, many error messages and shutdowns, and generally a big pain to do anything on the computer.
She brought the computer home. I opened the case and immediately the trouble was very evident: about a dozen capacitors were swollen at the top and a couple were leaking.
I replaced the motherboard and the computer runs like new.
I suggest that you type "bad capacitors" into your search engine and see how many articles there are which explain why circuit boards in all kinds of electronic equipment are failing. Very interesting and sad.
BAD CAPACITORS
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Later: another Power Supply problem.
I found what I thought was a good buy on a Power Supply: a 450 Watt ATX for $11.00. I ordered two of them. I installed one in my main computer. After about three weeks I began hearing an occasional "click" which sounded like a relay closing. I placed the computer box closer so I could hear it better. At about the same time, my computer began freezing causing me to reboot; this often happened while I was on the Internet so I thought it was caused by my ‘net provider or the ‘phone company.
Gradually the malfunctions increased and my hard disk functions became erratic. I found that the occasional clicking noise came from the drive; then I knew it was the heads bouncing. The 80Gb drive was failing (the drive was only 14 months old - the warranty was good for only 12). I quickly set up to clone the drive.
After cloning was finished and my data was safe, I turned my attention to the "El Cheepo" power supply. I had a new name brand supply so I quickly installed it. My 80Gb hard drive stopped clicking and the erratic behavior ceased. My bargain power supply obviously was far from adequate.
I haven’t tested the "bargain" power supply’s voltage/amperage yet but I know it’s not as advertised and it’s not worth the postage to return it.