PC Power Problems

[WITHTEETH]

OK This is the 3rd time this has happened now... something is up.

 

I built my PC myself, i used anti static wristband on a glass table while always keeping myself grounded. Well The computer is done, windows is installed and every once in awhile in the morning Ill go into my office and press power and... nothing.

 

All i have to do to fix this is unplugging the 24(or is it 20) pin power connector from my motherboard, then plug it back in and VIOLA! But i shouldn't have to be doing this in the first place... ok, so i boot the computer and I'm in windows i look at the time in the right bottom corner and the time is completely off again like the other times it was off.

 

3 times this has happened. BIOS is up to date. All cords are plugged in. What could be going on. All parts are new, everything works PERFECT except this oddball problem.

 

Any help would be nice! thanks in advance!

Edited April 25, 2007 by WITHTEETH

[Fionavar]

Do you have an extra PSU to check if that is the culprit? My experience is that a good proportion of my clients issues often come down to PSU problems.

[WITHTEETH]

Do you have an extra PSU to check if that is the culprit? My experience is that a good proportion of my clients issues often come down to PSU problems.

Its probably the 20pin connector is screwy. The thing is though, is that this only happens once in awhile. Maybe once every 3 weeks.

 

Maybe if i clean the 20pinpower connectors with Alcohol. its a fluke.

[Fionavar]

Cleaning could work - this may sound odd, but what is the humidity like where you are with your rig?

[Kaftan Barlast]

ok, so i boot the computer and I'm in windows i look at the time in the right bottom corner and the time is completely off again like the other times it was off.

 

 

Sounds to me like your motherboard is broken. I had mine do the same for months until it finally gave up and stopped working alltogether.

[mkreku]

Does your motherboard have a battery or something on it? It might be that the battery is dead..

[Fenghuang]

Does your motherboard have a battery or something on it? It might be that the battery is dead..

 

 

This. The time being wrong points to this, even without power it should keep the proper time because of the battery that keeps the CMOS chip running.

[WITHTEETH]

Does your motherboard have a battery or something on it? It might be that the battery is dead..

Thats what i thought it might be also. Yes it does have a battery, ill check it out, buy a new one and see if it works.

 

I hope its not broken like kaftan says...

[WITHTEETH]

Cleaning could work - this may sound odd, but what is the humidity like where you are with your rig?

I Live in Michigan, near the Huron River, Ann Arbor. Humidity is always higher then normal compared to different places but my house isn't really humid, nor to hot. i keep it at 75f around.

[taks]

i wouldn't recommend working on a glass table, btw. glass tends to hold static, which can cause problems. typical electrical work benches actually have a static mat that has low conductivity, and is connected to a ground point (such as a wall outlet). the wrist strap is good, however. given your probably higher than normal humidity (at least, higher than CO), static probably isn't a problem anyway. particularly for assembled boards.

 

static is a poorly understood phenomenon even with many of the seasoned engineers that i've worked with. they often wrap their boards in the bags, rather than putting the boards in the bags, which is a huge no-no. static bags are designed to hold static on the outside of the bag, so wrapping a board in the bag is worse than not using a bag at all... silly electrical engineers...

 

taks

[WITHTEETH]

static bags are designed to hold static on the outside of the bag, so wrapping a board in the bag is worse than not using a bag at all... silly electrical engineers...taks

Good to know! I learned something today.

[taks]

typical electrical work benches actually have a static mat that has low conductivity, and is connected to a ground point (such as a wall outlet).

i should point out that "low conductivity" typically means the connection to the wall outlet is on the order of 1 Mohm (i.e. 1,000,000 ohms). this allows a slow transfer of static to ground. static damage results from a fast transfer, i.e. higher current due to low resistance.

 

taks

[kalimeeri]

It occurred to me when you said 'grounding'... but is it possible that the mobo is grounding out against the case? That will stop a PC from powering on in a new build. I guess it's possible that if the board is just a fraction loose, vibration/heat could do the rest; the clearances are very small in some cases. Well, it's something to check, anyway.

[WITHTEETH]

Whatever it is that might not be grounded is beyond me. The screws are all tight, i remember double checking them as i was installing it. hmm. I'm still baffled by this. Well Ill keep looking into and also double check everything in my case again, screws, cords, organize. Maybe I should take it all out and do it again. That way i can put cords underneath my motherboard to further the cable management like Bok did.

[taks]

It occurred to me when you said 'grounding'... but is it possible that the mobo is grounding out against the case? That will stop a PC from powering on in a new build. I guess it's possible that if the board is just a fraction loose, vibration/heat could do the rest; the clearances are very small in some cases. Well, it's something to check, anyway.

doubtful, but easy to check either way. if you have an ohmmeter, check the resistance of the power lines to ground with the supply unconnected. it will be low, maybe on the order of a few hundred milliohms even, but not zero.

 

taks

Edited April 28, 2007 by taks