Power Supply issue or AN Other????

[Nick253]

Hi Guys/Gals

Hope someone can help. Ive all of a sudden started getting this problem. My PC has been working fine for months.

I use my PC for gaming so have a decent spec pc and a decent power supply (think its 600W)

My PC will boot up and sometimes get to the desktop then cut out or may cut out before its finished booting. There doesnt seem to be anything different from one boot to another except it cuts out completely!

Once its cut out i can not switch it back on again and have to disconnect the power cable and then wait until there is no residual charge in the system, leave the switch on the power supply switched on then plug it back in and re boot.

Earlier this week it did this a few times then booted and all was fine- could even play games etc etc. Now it wont stay on long enough to do anything before it cuts out again.

Environmentally (which may help to diagnose) ive recently had alot of work done in the house and this created alot of dust. Ive cleaned this out and the fans etc all seem fine theres no dust in the chassis now at all. Also the workmen cut the power off a few weeks ago whilst i was using the pc but it has worked fine since then. I also made sure i didnt affect the system with static.

If anyone could confirm this is my power supply or something else it would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks

Nick

[jlreich]

Welcome to the http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif forums. :)

Sounds typical of the power supply overheating.

Did you clean out the power supply as well?

Is the fan on the power supply working like it should?

Hold your hand by the back of the power supply, does the air coming out fell very hot? It should feel cool to warm, usually warmer than the air coming out the rear case fan, but not hot.

It's also possible that the power being cut adversely affected the power supply. This is a good reason to a have battery backup (UPS). ;)

Double check the system and CPU temps in the BIOS to make sure they are not overheating. I doubt that is it, but it's worth checking.

If the fan is not working or working correctly replace the power supply, or return it if under warranty.

If overheating doesn't seem to be the issue, you can test it with a PSU tester that you can get a your local computer store. Or you can test it manually with a multimeter.

Hope that helps. :)