Help with newly built PC, first time boot problems...

[damienb]

Hi all,

Ive just finished building a new PC. This is the first PC Ive ever built from scratch myself and this evening is the first time Ive tried booting it up.

I connected everything up according to the manual. I switched it on and it booted up, I put the Vista disc in and it started to copy files across nicely. All of a sudden the power just totally dropped out completley. Then about 2 seconds later the PC started back up again but the lights were flickering. I switched it off at the back and unplugged it for a few seconds then tried again. This time once again it booted up fine, straight to the disc and copied the files across then a new style (Vista) progress bar appeared and started to move. Then again the power dropped out for a second or two then it tried to boot up again. At this point I decided to stop.

Seems like a PSU issue to me or something that Im overlooking???? The PSU was brand new (X-Power 700W).

Does anyone know of anything off the top of their heads that may cause this???

My motherboard is Giga-Byte GA-965P-DS4, processor C2D E6700.

Please help.....
Damien

 

[kitty500cat]

What brand and model number are your power supply? If it's a PowMax or an X-power, it's probably the power supply that's the problem.

 

[damienb]

Yeah its an X-Power 700W, not sure of the exact model number. I thought X-Power was a reputable brand though???

 

[kitty500cat]

I don't think I've ever heard of them. It seems that, whatever the brand though, the power supply is causing the problems. I'd get a brand mentioned in this post.

 

[foozy]

Dont suspect the power supply just yet - first go into the BIOS and see if the "Power ON after power fail" option is enabled. It SHOULD be disabled by default, which means a power supply failure should simply shut down your system - not restart it.

However, installing an operating system takes lots of RAM, and i'm betting that the RAM is corrupting your data as it cycles through. If you have multiple RAM sticks, try swapping them out or taking each out one at a time - perhaps even switching seats. There is still a chance it could be a power supply, but i'd bet a good chunk of change its the RAM.

What brand is the RAM, and have you overclocked at all?

 

[damienb]

The RAM is brand new, its Crucial Ballistix DDR2 800 (PC2-6400) and there is 2GB of it (2x1GB).

This is the first time I have booted the machine so I have not overclocked yet at all.

At the moment I running the RAM in dual channel mode. I have 4 channels and two run the RAM in dual channel mode I have to use either channel 1 & 3 or 2 & 4. At this time Im using channels 1 & 3.

Crucial is a reputable make and it came as a kit brand new in sealed anti-static bags.

Sorry but I cant see an option in the BIOS for the "Power on after power fail" like you say. Im looking in the manual and cant see the option at all.

Ive just been told now that it cant be the RAM. Apparently if it were the RAM the system would either blue screen on not start at all??? I was told its either the power supply or the mobo. The motherboard is brand spanking new, came in a sealed box and sealed anti-static bag with all accessories. The power supply is the only thing that is kind of second hand...

 

[kitty500cat]

It still seems like a power supply to me, but I don't know, anybody else know?

 

[mailpup]

I think X-Power is a Powmax brand and ,therefore, suspect. I don't know about their other products but Powmax power supplies don't enjoy a top reputation.

 

[damienb]

OK, here is an update. Just tried booting it again, this time instead of letting it run onto disc I went into the BIOS. The machine was running perfectley fine, no problems. CPU temp: 35 degrees, was seeing all 2GB of RAM and basically telling me all was well. Then there was a funny fast ticking sound coming from somewhere. I powered down and disconnected all the case fans and even the CPU fan, then powered up for a brief moment to check the ticking wasn't a dodgy fan. The ticking was still there and definately coming from the PSU. It seems that the ticking sound only starts after a while, when it gets a hot a guess? But it was still running OK while in the BIOS. I closed the BIOS and tried booting to the disk. Instantly the power dropped out and then came back but then dropped out again. I switched off and tried again but it would not boot for more than a few seconds. If I left it for a while (in this case about 20 minutes) and tried to power up, it booted fine again into the BIOS. After the little the ticking sound came back.

Does anyone else think the PSU is definately the suspect here now??

It seems that the PSU doesn't like get too warm for some reason, but will run OK when not under load like in the BIOS. But as soon as you put any more load on it like the trying to spin up the disk drive it just cuts out completely and will not start again properly until it has cooled down a bit.

I feel pretty convinced its the PSU now. Would anyone else agree.

Damien

 

[kitty500cat]

Yes, I'd say 95% chance PSU problem.

This is a good solid PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817341002

 

[foozy]

Thanks for the updates, I'd also agree that it's the power supply - I didn't want to jump to conclusions at first without more insight

Ive just been told now that it cant be the RAM. Apparently if it were the RAM the system would either blue screen on not start at all???

I'm pretty sure thats not true. In Win95/98 memory dumps caused a blue screen, but the blue screen was done away with in XP/Vista - instead your computer just restarts and you get a minidump. Unless, of course, you don't even get through the bootup process. If the RAM was bad enough that the computer didn't boot then you'd get a CMOS beep code, I think, not 100% certain on that one though.