One of my main computers (PC) just stopped working. I left them room briefly, and it was off upon return. Won’t respond to the power button in any way. I’d like to have it fixed ASAP.
Since it is a rather complex workstation with multiple internal RAIDs, I’d like suggestions on competent repair options. Speed is important, so it the quality of the repair. I had to have the motherboard replaced last month, but the symptoms were different then. It could be something as simple as a bad power supply or something more complicated.
Do you have a voltmeter? A new power supply is easy to check and fix yourself. But don’t exclude the idea the new motherboard went bad either.
I do not have a volt meter. The power supply is a 1KW model, so finding a replacement locally might be tricky. The bad motherboard symptoms were entirely different.
I have so much urgent writing/photography/graphics work to finish by Monday and later in the coming week, that I’d rather have somebody competent look at it for me than try to do the repair myself.
If you do, just remember to touch the bare metal of the case repeatedly to prevent static build up on you so you don’t fry anything. The power supplies are pretty much standard so a google search will tell you what they are supposed to be.
It sounds like a bad power supply as stated, which the first place I would go. But, if you don’t want to do it yourself, which is understandable, I had a friend go to computer pros in the green hills area, and they were happy with the service and outcome. It just might be hard to do, given your timeline, but that could do a quick diagnosis on your power supply and that is easy to replace.
IF you were in the DFW area, I *might* know a computer repair shop that’s awesome, with great pricing. Heh. Otherwise, yeah, sounds like a power supply issue. Is anything else on that power strip working? Does the computer work if you plugged it straight into the wall (or into a different wall jack)? If your outlets/plugs seem to be good (ie, a lamp or fan turns on with no problems), check BestBuy in your area, they will have a 1Kw power supply. They’re easy to replace, round-peg-round-hole concept, and most computers these days seem to be using a standard ATX power supply. What you can do is disconnect the power supply from the inside of the computer, and take it with you, have the guy at the store open a box (they CAN do that, even if they don’t WANT to) and verify that it has all of the same connections.
You could buy a voltmeter from Home Depot for $10 or so, test the power supply, if it is shot you could order one next day air or obtain it locally and be up in one day.
Oleg,
If it’s a standard PC (not an OEM one like HP, Dell, etc), then you can disconnect the 24 pin power connection from the motherboard. While leaving everything else plugged in, including the AC power, look at the end of the 24 power connection from the power supply. On that end, you should see a green wire, among all all the black, red, yellow and orange wires. Using an unfolded paperclip, insert one end into the connector that has the green wire, and the other end to ground (case, or one of the black wires in the connector).
If the power supply turns on, fans turn on, etc. then the power supply is OK, and the problem most likely is the motherboard. If it fails to turn on, turns on only briefly, hums audibly, or emits an unpleasant/burnt odor, then the power supply is shot.
http://www.tech-pros.com/ seems to be well regarded in your area:
http://nashville.citysearch.com/profile/46243521/franklin_tn/techpros_technology_solutions.html
–Joseph
PS: If you would like to do the testing, talk to Randy Samos, and he can help and/or give you my contact info.
The paperclip method is a great first step, but even if the PSU appears to start there is no guarantee that it is fully functional.
My original AX850 had an infant failure after about 22 hours of operation; Shorting signal to ground caused the PSU to start, but that test alone didn’t reveal that there was no output on the 3.3v rail. Note, that this particular PSU would still drive fans, as there was power on the 5v and 12v rails.
Still, voltmeters can probably be found fairly easily/cheaply at places like radioshack….
It’s important to have a good power supply. My main rig is operating off of a 1.2 KW bronze rated Antec PSU- but for something more important than a stack of video cards, your workstation should have a Silver or even Gold rated PSU.
Overcapacity helps too, as PSU lifespans and efficiencies degrade if constantly run at full capacity.
Ideally, your PSU should be rated to provide roughly double the typical load, while still being large enough to supply max load.
This is because power supplies typically output with maximum efficiency at roughly 50% output.
The power supply failed. It tries to start but doesn’t run. Getting a slightly bigger (1050W vs. the original 1000W) replacement cross-shipped.
Honestly, unless you’re running several video cards and/or have things massively overclocked, you probably don’t need anywhere near that much power.
My computer may be getting a bit old at this point, but it’s still no slouch (i7 920, 680GTX, 2-4 HDD, etc.), and it’s power draw is roughly line with current hardware.
Even so, my UPS registers roughly a 230W load when my system is idle, and 100% load is still under 400W; this includes everything else that’s plugged into my UPS as well (one active monitor, an idle monitor, and an idle xbox 360). As such, it runs very comfortably on an ~850W PSU.
Really, higher wattage power supplies are largely for those who run massive overclocks along with more than two high-end video cards.
I was running quadruple ATI6890s (was best hashrate/cost) for BitCoin mining purposes, and thus, I decided to use a 1200W PSU.
Even with all 4 cards running full tilt (which generates an incredible amount of heat and noise), system diagnosis tells me power draw does not exceed 1050W.
Oleg,
make sure that the outlet/circuit you are connected to does not have any heavy or cyclic draw equipment on it, such as microwave, refrigerator, air conditioner, etc. I killed a succession of PS’s in my computer while thinking it was on a clean circuit. Turned out to be a branch from the kitchen.
A real UPS setup “should” counter this problem, but not all designs will. Has to be one that feeds a battery, that then feeds the computer.