Power supply problem or hard drive problem???
How can I tell the difference between a power supply problem and a hard
drive problem? Sometimes the computer freezes up and it has to be rebooted. Sometimes when the computer is started, it freezes when it's booted up. After trying to boot it up for 4 or 5 times, it freezes every time. Then if the computer is unplugged, left alone for an hour, it will boot up and work ok for 4 or 5 hours. I think the power supply is 300W. It's an old computer. It's a Micron. It's a Pentium 3, 733 MHz, 768 RAM, 2 hard drives - one 30G, other 20G. There's a CDrom, zip drive, floppy drive. I'm running Win 98 SE. When it has problems booting up, it seems like it lacks the energy to start. I'm guessing it's a power supply problem. |
On 26 Apr 2005 22:27:01 -0700, "chairchair"
wrote: How can I tell the difference between a power supply problem and a hard drive problem? Isolate each, and test each. If you have another system or drive, power supply, etc, swap them around temporarily. Run the HDD manufacturer's utilities to check the drive. Take voltage readings with a multimeter. Sometimes the computer freezes up and it has to be rebooted. That's not necessarily evidence of a hard drive or power problem. Drivers, viri, or a failing motherboard could cause it. Overheating could too, but I'd tend to think that type of problem would immediately persist, until system cooled down. It hurts nothing to check fans though? Check motherboard capacitors for vented/swollen/leaky-residue/etc. Any reliable way to recreate these freezes or pattern to it? Sometimes when the computer is started, it freezes when it's booted up. After trying to boot it up for 4 or 5 times, it freezes every time. Then if the computer is unplugged, left alone for an hour, it will boot up and work ok for 4 or 5 hours. That is more common with overheating, check fans. Could be power or motherboard though, maybe video but you didn't mention the video, nor the brand (make/model) of motherboard. I think the power supply is 300W. It's an old computer. It's a Micron. It's a Pentium 3, 733 MHz, 768 RAM, 2 hard drives - one 30G, other 20G. There's a CDrom, zip drive, floppy drive. I'm running Win 98 SE. When it has problems booting up, it seems like it lacks the energy to start. I'm guessing it's a power supply problem. I'm curious how you conclude "lacks energy to start"? Could be power supply though. That's not a very power hungry system, it might be worth a try to buy a power supply for it, as even if it isn't the current problem your power supply IS getting a bit older at this point. A good 250W should run that, something like a Sparkle. Most name-brand 300W would too, but all bets are off with generics unless you overspec and know what you're getting. |
I have had power supplies cause the fault you are describing. However, there
is nothing to say that there are no components in the system that have become thermo sensitive. This is what is making the time factor that you are seeing. The best test is to see if you can get a power supply to try, and then work from there. -- Jerry G. ====== "chairchair" wrote in message ups.com... How can I tell the difference between a power supply problem and a hard drive problem? Sometimes the computer freezes up and it has to be rebooted. Sometimes when the computer is started, it freezes when it's booted up. After trying to boot it up for 4 or 5 times, it freezes every time. Then if the computer is unplugged, left alone for an hour, it will boot up and work ok for 4 or 5 hours. I think the power supply is 300W. It's an old computer. It's a Micron. It's a Pentium 3, 733 MHz, 768 RAM, 2 hard drives - one 30G, other 20G. There's a CDrom, zip drive, floppy drive. I'm running Win 98 SE. When it has problems booting up, it seems like it lacks the energy to start. I'm guessing it's a power supply problem. |
It certainly sounds like a power supply problem to me too. The easiest
thing to do is replace the power supply unit with a known working one of adequate power output, and see if that fixes it. -- DaveW "chairchair" wrote in message ups.com... How can I tell the difference between a power supply problem and a hard drive problem? Sometimes the computer freezes up and it has to be rebooted. Sometimes when the computer is started, it freezes when it's booted up. After trying to boot it up for 4 or 5 times, it freezes every time. Then if the computer is unplugged, left alone for an hour, it will boot up and work ok for 4 or 5 hours. I think the power supply is 300W. It's an old computer. It's a Micron. It's a Pentium 3, 733 MHz, 768 RAM, 2 hard drives - one 30G, other 20G. There's a CDrom, zip drive, floppy drive. I'm running Win 98 SE. When it has problems booting up, it seems like it lacks the energy to start. I'm guessing it's a power supply problem. |
If this is a mid-tower chassis, the power supply is a standard garden-variety
vanilla ATX... Ben Myers On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 15:49:47 -0700, "DaveW" wrote: It certainly sounds like a power supply problem to me too. The easiest thing to do is replace the power supply unit with a known working one of adequate power output, and see if that fixes it. -- DaveW "chairchair" wrote in message oups.com... How can I tell the difference between a power supply problem and a hard drive problem? Sometimes the computer freezes up and it has to be rebooted. Sometimes when the computer is started, it freezes when it's booted up. After trying to boot it up for 4 or 5 times, it freezes every time. Then if the computer is unplugged, left alone for an hour, it will boot up and work ok for 4 or 5 hours. I think the power supply is 300W. It's an old computer. It's a Micron. It's a Pentium 3, 733 MHz, 768 RAM, 2 hard drives - one 30G, other 20G. There's a CDrom, zip drive, floppy drive. I'm running Win 98 SE. When it has problems booting up, it seems like it lacks the energy to start. I'm guessing it's a power supply problem. |
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