New PC shutting down during bootup

[essayons]

I finally got my new PC together and fired it up. Everything seemed to be working fine until, right in the middle of running the BIOS setup, it shut itself down. I at first thought it might be some kind of idle setting so I quick looked through the BIOS screens and no such setting. The PC will stay on for up to 5 minutes but usually shuts down a lot quicker (as soon as 13 seconds after powerup).

The setup is:

Lian Li case (in case that matters)
AMD 64 dual core CPU
Asus A8N-SLI Premium motherboard
Asus GeForce 6800 video card
1 GB RAM

I have no idea what to check, and frankly I'm afraid to touch anything right now. I've spent roughly a month off-and-on geting this thing together and I'm in freakout mode for now.

Any suggestions on what might be causing these shutdowns will really be appreciated!

Thanks - Don

[saphalline]

Try taking the whole system out of the case and testing it on a piece of cardboard. This sounds like a problem with a short somewhere.

[essayons]

Actually I just got back from the Asus website where I found a thread describing pretty much the same problem I'm having - only difference was this guy's shutdowns were farther apart (twice during XP install but he eventually managed to install XP and some games). Me - I hardly got the CD in the drive before it shut down.
The rep from Asus (either a rep or a knowledgable type) stated the problem was the PSU. The guy has the same PSU as I do - the Antec Neo HE 500. Here's what the person said:

The power supply is definatelly the problem do a search under Neo HE in the forum everyone that has one has had to replace it sorry to say but you are wrong.

It does not supply enough amps it is a modular power supply and always crashes this board.
You should really read some more threads and post before thinking yuou are right. you ram is fine it should run at 400. not 200 //lol

believe me do a search on the forum your power supply is a dud for this board no doubt.

Sorry to have to break the news. the other knowlageable people on the forum will tell you the same thing

you have to return it and get a higher amp model like the true power 2 550w antec it works!!

What do you think? I just got the PSU as well (Newegg) after what I thought was sufficient research. Figures, eh?

And I am officially taking suggestions as to what power supply I should get if there is a consensus that it seems to be the PSU. My main concern now is the old PC is disassembled and Christmas break is almost over; the kids will need a PC soon to do their homework. :( :mad: :confused:

[saphalline]

I hate modular PSU's. Electrically speaking, they are inherently a very bad idea. They add connections along the wire that can eat up as much as 1-2A each, so I can believe it if the output power that reaches your components isn't as much as the output power that leaves the PSU itself.

Even if it's an Antec, don't trust modular PSU's. If they were really such a good idea, then PC Power & Cooling would make them, too. Instead, they have a warning (http://www.pcpowercooling.com/technology/myths/) (myth #3) specifically about modular PSU's.

So yeah get another PSU. Check my sticky for tried-and-true high quality PSU's.

[essayons]

I'm looking for that sticky, but I can't find it yet. I need to go out and get it in a couple of hours if it is going to be today :eek: so if anyone knows its whereabouts please let me know.

Not being lazy - but I just can't seem to find it. I'm still looking, though!

THANKS!


Never mind - I found it. Search engines are our friends. :D

Thanks, saphalline!

[essayons]

Well, I just ordered a PC Power & Cooling Turb-Cool 510 from NewEgg. I shelled out the extra $2.99 for a rush order - hopefully it will do some good.
Unfortunately, I took my sweet time putting this PC together and the Antec PSU was ordered on 11/13, so the NewEgg 30-day return guarantee is quite expired. I'm not sure if I still have the box anyway (I have never used anything but Antec so I guess I was a little overconfident when I opened it up).
There's always eBay, unless someone here wants a very slightly used, discounted, Antec Neo-HE 500 PSU. :p (psst - it's modular).

Thanks again for your help, saphalline!

[essayons]

Well, my new new power supply arrived yesterday and it works just fine - so it was indeed the modular power supply that was causing trouble.

I now have other, more minor frustrations but I'll post them in the appropriate forums.

All's well as ends well!

[saphalline]

Oh good, the new non-modular PSU did work. Well, even if it wasn't cheap, that was at the very least an easy fix! :D