I have a friends computer that i am trying to fix. It goes into a post beeping error when it starts up. Long continuos beeps. I have reset the CMOS and it actually works. I go through everything and it seems to be fine. Then I power it down. After about two hours I check it again and same problem. Could this be the CR2032 battery located on the motherboard?
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POST problem 3
- Thread starter qmann
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Fantastic.. hooked up a new power supply for a computer i was building, this was the problem. Ran with no probs with the new power supply. Thank you very much for the tips! The multimeter was definately a good investment.
Thanks again you've been terrific.
Thanks again you've been terrific.
The biggest cause of power supply overload problems has historically been filling up the expansion slots and adding more drives. Multiple hard drives, CD-ROM drives, and floppy drives can create quite a drain on the system power supply. Be sure you have enough +12v power to run all the drives you plan to install. Tower systems can be especially problematic because they have so many drive bays. Just because the case has room for the devices doesn't mean the power supply can support them. Be sure you have enough +5v power to run all your expansion cards, especially PCI cards. It pays to be conservative, but remember that most cards draw less than the maximum allowed. Today's newest processors can have very high current requirements for the +5v or +3.3v supplies. When selecting a power supply for your system, be sure to take into account any future processor upgrades.
Many people wait until an existing component fails to replace it with an upgraded version. If you are on a tight budget, this "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude might be necessary. Power supplies, however, often do not fail completely all at once; they can fail in an intermittent fashion or allow fluctuating power levels to reach the system, which results in unstable operation. You might be blaming system lockups on software bugs when the culprit is an overloaded power supply. If you have been running your original power supply for a long time and have upgraded your system in other ways, you should expect some problems."
I could go on here, and i think i even confused the standard 5 volt with the standby 5 volt in my readings, but i think its safe to say your power supply is likely failing or at least cant handle the load and has to be replaced. It might be ok in an older unit.
But, again, it would be great to have another power supply to test with, make sure the power supply is the problem here.
Course i guess you could do some more testing.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
Many people wait until an existing component fails to replace it with an upgraded version. If you are on a tight budget, this "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude might be necessary. Power supplies, however, often do not fail completely all at once; they can fail in an intermittent fashion or allow fluctuating power levels to reach the system, which results in unstable operation. You might be blaming system lockups on software bugs when the culprit is an overloaded power supply. If you have been running your original power supply for a long time and have upgraded your system in other ways, you should expect some problems."
I could go on here, and i think i even confused the standard 5 volt with the standby 5 volt in my readings, but i think its safe to say your power supply is likely failing or at least cant handle the load and has to be replaced. It might be ok in an older unit.
But, again, it would be great to have another power supply to test with, make sure the power supply is the problem here.
Course i guess you could do some more testing.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
Here i was posting and didnt even see your post, sorry.
Well, we got to the bottom of this!!
I always rant about having a multimeter but heres the proof!
I also rant about having a UPS as well. These are even more important than a multimeter.
Or maybe i just like spending your money, lol.
Seriously, how many parts might have you bought, maybe even a new cpu thinging the problem was the cpu? So the multimeter is worth what you spend on it!!
Glad its all sorted out. Just for fun, i wonder how old and what wattage the bad ps is?
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
Well, we got to the bottom of this!!
I always rant about having a multimeter but heres the proof!
I also rant about having a UPS as well. These are even more important than a multimeter.
Or maybe i just like spending your money, lol.
Seriously, how many parts might have you bought, maybe even a new cpu thinging the problem was the cpu? So the multimeter is worth what you spend on it!!
Glad its all sorted out. Just for fun, i wonder how old and what wattage the bad ps is?
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
You said it was a mastercraft multimeter. From Canadian Tire? Im Canadian too. Windsor. Where you from?
Again, sorry i didnt see your posts in between my posts.
For some reason, when i come here its not refreshed. I have a nemesis, a trojan i have been battling for over a month. Thought I had it eliminated but a few things keep happening, like re-freshing not being automatic.
Its time for a reformat and re-install but i got over 4 yrs, almost 24/7 out of this one! And i am on it a lot!
And thanks for the stars!
Dont give me any more, pap will sniff it out, lol!
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
Again, sorry i didnt see your posts in between my posts.
For some reason, when i come here its not refreshed. I have a nemesis, a trojan i have been battling for over a month. Thought I had it eliminated but a few things keep happening, like re-freshing not being automatic.
Its time for a reformat and re-install but i got over 4 yrs, almost 24/7 out of this one! And i am on it a lot!
And thanks for the stars!
Dont give me any more, pap will sniff it out, lol!
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
Actually, i just found the exact tolerance and you are right on the line. You are under for a tight tolerance and a bit over for a loose tolerance. But i would think their loose tolerances are simply that, too loose.
Bottom line is that power supply is prolly old and wont do a good job in any computer, maybe in an older P2 but i still wouldnt trust it. I just wonder how old it is, if it came from an older system to this system.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
Bottom line is that power supply is prolly old and wont do a good job in any computer, maybe in an older P2 but i still wouldnt trust it. I just wonder how old it is, if it came from an older system to this system.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
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- #46
The system is about 2 years old but was bought from a local computer store. It's possible that they used an old power supply in there, actually it's more than likely that they did that. Anyways i'm just going to buy a power supply tommorrow. By the way I'm only about 40 minutes away from you, funny what a small world. I'll probably keep a few power supplies on hand. Thanks for the help.
hey, shoot me an email so we can trade parts, where you live? kron123 (at) cogeco (ca)
By the way, i was only guessing. All new standard cheap computers have junk power supplies. That goes for Acer, HP, Compaq, Dell, all these vendors. Only vendors like Alienware and the other top of the line give you decent to good power supplies. Thats why i learned to build my own computers. I get an enermax power supply and keep it, when i;m ready to upgrade i just sell off what i need to get rid of, keep my full tower case, my power supply and monitor, keyboard, and trackball and away i go.
But you can order a good one from NCIX or Canada Computer, they often have sales and good deals on power supplies.
As good as US prices too! Enermax is one of the better names, there are others. But if you are gonna sell the whole unit later then just get a $30 unit, but dont get a cheap $15 unit, youre asking to get back here at tektips again real fast, or worse, kill your components!!
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
By the way, i was only guessing. All new standard cheap computers have junk power supplies. That goes for Acer, HP, Compaq, Dell, all these vendors. Only vendors like Alienware and the other top of the line give you decent to good power supplies. Thats why i learned to build my own computers. I get an enermax power supply and keep it, when i;m ready to upgrade i just sell off what i need to get rid of, keep my full tower case, my power supply and monitor, keyboard, and trackball and away i go.
But you can order a good one from NCIX or Canada Computer, they often have sales and good deals on power supplies.
As good as US prices too! Enermax is one of the better names, there are others. But if you are gonna sell the whole unit later then just get a $30 unit, but dont get a cheap $15 unit, youre asking to get back here at tektips again real fast, or worse, kill your components!!
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
this is a thermaltake 420 watt power supply, dual fan, temp controlled, and its only C $49.88, about $40 US.
thats not a bad price at all, the ps itself is a bit noisy, but people exxagerate sometimes, its not that noisy. And the 420 watt is likely truer than the bs 550 or 600 so-called watts that some of the cheap power supplies suggest.
Anyway, that power supply will prolly get you thru a couple of upgrades, if you want to go that way.
If not, they have a forton ps there for $30 Canadian, on sale.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
I have this huge memo written about power supplies and its an eye-opener. It says, if i read it correctly, and i think i did, that somehow computer power supply mfgrs got around some electrical rules or got them reduced, something like that. Bottom line was that most power supplies are VERY poorly built with schematics, parts, and general ways of doing things that make electrical people shudder. Even though i know better and i always have 2 or more good quality enermax power supplies on hand, i sometimes fall into the trap where i think that a power supply is a power supply. Not so, some of the cheap units that sell for $10 cost under a $1 to make. Now how can you make a decent power supply like that? I bet the enermax units at least cost $10 to $15 to make. At least there is some room for some decent parts and some decent quality control. But NOT when the whole darn unit cost under a buck to make!
rant over
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
rant over
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
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