Hi,

i just set up a new system:

XP 1700
HD 1: Maxtor 40 GB
HD 2: Medalist 13 Gb
Radeon 9000
256 Mb SDRAM
MB: Elitegroup K7s5a
Power supply: Codegen 300W

now for the problem:
Sometimes the whole system shuts down just like that.
At first I thougt it was about overheating so i loaded the hardware monitor and it showed me that the 12V leg was actually at 5,78 V, and the 5V one at 3,99V. i already did cut of the case fan and the 13 Gb HD but there wasn`t any effect.

Is there a reasonable explanation for this?

Hi irishmm and Welcome to the PC Guide Forums.
First impression - faulty PSU.

But, it is VERY unlikely that the machine would even POST with voltages like that. Have you checked the voltages with a multimeter?

David

do you have a multimeter to hand to check all the molex/power leads on the power supply unit, or try a spare power supply unit in the system.
others will come.

thx so far!

i do not have a multimeter at hand but i will try your suggestion as
soon as possible. The readings in the Bios-Hardware Monitor seem to be alright. its only the windows - monitior that shows such weird readings.

Hi irishmm, it seems that we are both victims of a crappy PS brand...
just look at my post two lines below on this same forum. ("12v reading way below normal").
Even being far from each other as we are...
My voltage variations are not so big but enough to cause malfunctions.
Just remember to never buy Codegen again!

Hi Alejandro

Jupp, this may be the best advice after all.
An expensive "learning by doing" lesson...

I would trust your Bios readings more than the Windows ones. If the Bios readings are OK, you need to start looking for other causes of your shutdown.

Does the computer shutdown completely or reboot? What are you doing when it shuts down?

Well, if your monitoring program is running in the background it could be shutting things down with readings that low.

Try disabling it.

It reboots,
at least it tries to. It only goes as far as the Win2k starting screen, then reboots again, and again and... Until I switch it off and wait for some time then it boots normaly.
The problem seems to occur when playing UT2003, not only then, but mostly.

Are any of the wires from the PSU warm?
Just a thought, but as you demand more power (graphics eats it lke no tomorrow) then the more current you will draw. If there is a fault on the cabling, then a voltage may be dropped across them, and as it heats up, the resistance increases, and you may not have enough power to run the system.
Voltage should be the same along any circuit, but as PCs use 2 voltages, anything can happen! The fault is more likely in the PSU, and if so, it's best to bin it and get another (Switch Mode PSUs are a pain even with a circuit diagram and schematic!)

Amen, deddard.......amen.

Given the story about crashing during UT, then rebooting in an infinite loop, my first thought would be heat, but I presume you've checked temps with your bios monitor.

Next best guess is PSU - I'll go with the crowd on this one.