Replacing power supply of PIII system with one from dell?

One of my old PIII system (500 MHz if I remember correctly) suddenly
won't boot anymore. Sometimes I can get as far as the boot screen and
than stops abrupt (e.g. like when unplugging the power cable). But most
of the time it doesn't boot at all, and it remains completely dead.

I tested with the power supply unit (psu) from a similar system and
everything goes well again. So I tried to get my hands on a new psu. I
could recuperate one from a dell optiplex GX1 (also a PIII system).

But when I replace the bad psu unit with the one from the dell, remains
dead. The dell psu is certainly good, because the dell pc is working.
There is a difference in the power of the units. The bad unit is 300W
and the dell is only 200W. But with the unit from my test system (230W),
it works perfectly, so I don't think this is the problem. I always
tested with only the mainboard connected (no optical or hard drives), so
power consumption was always minimal.

Is this dell power supply not compatible with a standard ATX unit? And
is there anything I can do about it?

Bad system:

* Mainboard: ASUS P2-99
* Processor: PIII (slot 1)
* PSU: 300W ATX

Dell Optiplex GX1

* Processor: PIII (slot 1)
* PSU: Dell PS-5201-7D

"Jef Driesen" wrote in message
...
One of my old PIII system (500 MHz if I remember correctly) suddenly won't
boot anymore. Sometimes I can get as far as the boot screen and than stops
abrupt (e.g. like when unplugging the power cable). But most of the time
it doesn't boot at all, and it remains completely dead.

I tested with the power supply unit (psu) from a similar system and
everything goes well again. So I tried to get my hands on a new psu. I
could recuperate one from a dell optiplex GX1 (also a PIII system).

But when I replace the bad psu unit with the one from the dell, remains
dead.

And most likely is damaged at this point.

Many Dell PSU's do NOT follow the ATX wiring standard. Check the wires on
the old PSU against the ones on the DELL PSU. They don't have to be the same
colour wires, but the number of each colour wire and their positioning must
match.

Noozer wrote:
"Jef Driesen" wrote in message
...
One of my old PIII system (500 MHz if I remember correctly) suddenly won't
boot anymore. Sometimes I can get as far as the boot screen and than stops
abrupt (e.g. like when unplugging the power cable). But most of the time
it doesn't boot at all, and it remains completely dead.

I tested with the power supply unit (psu) from a similar system and
everything goes well again. So I tried to get my hands on a new psu. I
could recuperate one from a dell optiplex GX1 (also a PIII system).

But when I replace the bad psu unit with the one from the dell, remains
dead.

And most likely is damaged at this point.

Is it the motherboard that will be damaged or the dell psu? The
motherboard would be bad news. But I'm not worried about the dell psu,
because I have more than one.

I didn't see any smoke (or anything like that) coming from the
motherboard, so there is some hope left...

Many Dell PSU's do NOT follow the ATX wiring standard. Check the wires on
the old PSU against the ones on the DELL PSU. They don't have to be the same
colour wires, but the number of each colour wire and their positioning must
match.

I found an article about the issue [1]. And it seems possible to change
the wires to obtain a true ATX connector.

[1] http://www.quepublishing.com/article...?p=339053&rl=1

Jef Driesen wrote:
Noozer wrote:
"Jef Driesen" wrote in message
...
One of my old PIII system (500 MHz if I remember correctly) suddenly won't
boot anymore. Sometimes I can get as far as the boot screen and than stops
abrupt (e.g. like when unplugging the power cable). But most of the time
it doesn't boot at all, and it remains completely dead.

I tested with the power supply unit (psu) from a similar system and
everything goes well again. So I tried to get my hands on a new psu. I
could recuperate one from a dell optiplex GX1 (also a PIII system).

But when I replace the bad psu unit with the one from the dell, remains
dead.

And most likely is damaged at this point.

Is it the motherboard that will be damaged or the dell psu? The
motherboard would be bad news. But I'm not worried about the dell psu,
because I have more than one.


BOTH. Stop screwing with the dell power supplies. Get a real ATX.

I didn't see any smoke (or anything like that) coming from the
motherboard, so there is some hope left...

Many Dell PSU's do NOT follow the ATX wiring standard. Check the wires on
the old PSU against the ones on the DELL PSU. They don't have to be the same
colour wires, but the number of each colour wire and their positioning must
match.

I found an article about the issue [1]. And it seems possible to change
the wires to obtain a true ATX connector.

[1] http://www.quepublishing.com/article...?p=339053&rl=1

it is, and you can buy one pre-done, too. But just find a real atx
power supply.

wrote:
Jef Driesen wrote:
Noozer wrote:
"Jef Driesen" wrote in message
...
One of my old PIII system (500 MHz if I remember correctly) suddenly won't
boot anymore. Sometimes I can get as far as the boot screen and than stops
abrupt (e.g. like when unplugging the power cable). But most of the time
it doesn't boot at all, and it remains completely dead.

I tested with the power supply unit (psu) from a similar system and
everything goes well again. So I tried to get my hands on a new psu. I
could recuperate one from a dell optiplex GX1 (also a PIII system).

But when I replace the bad psu unit with the one from the dell, remains
dead.
And most likely is damaged at this point.
Is it the motherboard that will be damaged or the dell psu? The
motherboard would be bad news. But I'm not worried about the dell psu,
because I have more than one.


BOTH. Stop screwing with the dell power supplies. Get a real ATX.

I just tested the motherboard and it survived my mistake. If I had a
real ATX, I would use it, but that's not the case. And I don't want to
spend much money on old hardware.

I didn't see any smoke (or anything like that) coming from the
motherboard, so there is some hope left...

Many Dell PSU's do NOT follow the ATX wiring standard. Check the wires on
the old PSU against the ones on the DELL PSU. They don't have to be the same
colour wires, but the number of each colour wire and their positioning must
match.
I found an article about the issue [1]. And it seems possible to change
the wires to obtain a true ATX connector.

[1] http://www.quepublishing.com/article...?p=339053&rl=1

it is, and you can buy one pre-done, too. But just find a real atx
power supply.

The pre-built converters I found on the net are for using an ATX psu
with a dell mainboard and not the other way around.

On Thu, 07 Dec 2006 21:09:10 GMT, Jef Driesen
wrote:


I just tested the motherboard and it survived my mistake. If I had a
real ATX, I would use it, but that's not the case. And I don't want to
spend much money on old hardware.


You should be able to find a decent brand old ATX PSU of
about 250W for cheap, check some closeout/surplus
websites... Pricewatch used to sell Sparkle 250W for $15
delivered, they might've sold out of those at this point but
other deals about. Mainly what you should avoid is buying
one of the newer generics... an old 250-300W for $15 is
better than a new so-called 500W for $15 in most situations
(save for a rare sale/rebate/etc).

The Dell PSU is too underopowered AND it is a PROPRIETARY PSU that only
works with Dell's PROPRIETARY motherboards due to odd connectors.

--
DaveW

----------------
"Jef Driesen" wrote in message
...
One of my old PIII system (500 MHz if I remember correctly) suddenly won't
boot anymore. Sometimes I can get as far as the boot screen and than stops
abrupt (e.g. like when unplugging the power cable). But most of the time
it doesn't boot at all, and it remains completely dead.

I tested with the power supply unit (psu) from a similar system and
everything goes well again. So I tried to get my hands on a new psu. I
could recuperate one from a dell optiplex GX1 (also a PIII system).

But when I replace the bad psu unit with the one from the dell, remains
dead. The dell psu is certainly good, because the dell pc is working.
There is a difference in the power of the units. The bad unit is 300W and
the dell is only 200W. But with the unit from my test system (230W), it
works perfectly, so I don't think this is the problem. I always tested
with only the mainboard connected (no optical or hard drives), so power
consumption was always minimal.

Is this dell power supply not compatible with a standard ATX unit? And is
there anything I can do about it?

Bad system:

* Mainboard: ASUS P2-99
* Processor: PIII (slot 1)
* PSU: 300W ATX

Dell Optiplex GX1

* Processor: PIII (slot 1)
* PSU: Dell PS-5201-7D

"Jef Driesen" wrote in message
...
One of my old PIII system (500 MHz if I remember correctly) suddenly
won't boot anymore. Sometimes I can get as far as the boot screen and
than stops abrupt (e.g. like when unplugging the power cable). But most
of the time it doesn't boot at all, and it remains completely dead.

I tested with the power supply unit (psu) from a similar system and
everything goes well again. So I tried to get my hands on a new psu. I
could recuperate one from a dell optiplex GX1 (also a PIII system).



If you want a free one (for the price of postage only) and are in the USA

I have a few spares in my basement 200 & 235 watt Dell

my gmail address is philo565



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Thu, 7 Dec 2006 15:45:26 -0800, "DaveW"
wrote:

The Dell PSU is too underopowered AND it is a PROPRIETARY PSU that only
works with Dell's PROPRIETARY motherboards due to odd connectors.


Those Dell PSU were pretty well made, a 200W should run a
typical early P3 system fine.

philo wrote:
"Jef Driesen" wrote in message
...
One of my old PIII system (500 MHz if I remember correctly) suddenly
won't boot anymore. Sometimes I can get as far as the boot screen and
than stops abrupt (e.g. like when unplugging the power cable). But most
of the time it doesn't boot at all, and it remains completely dead.

I tested with the power supply unit (psu) from a similar system and
everything goes well again. So I tried to get my hands on a new psu. I
could recuperate one from a dell optiplex GX1 (also a PIII system).

If you want a free one (for the price of postage only) and are in the USA

I have a few spares in my basement 200 & 235 watt Dell

Thanks for the offer, but I already have a Dell psu (I need a real ATX
one). And I live in Europe :-(