I was working on my computer when suddenly it restarts and goes into a continuous loop of turning on for 5 seconds, then off and back on again. If I disconnect my SATA hard drive (WD Caviar Blue 500GB 7200RPM) it doesn't do this. If I connect an EIDE hard drive (WD2500 Caviar 7200RPM) it boots fine. PSU is 450W, rather old (6+ years) and heavily used.
I replaced the PSU with a 400W, similar age but much less used, and then computer boots fine with SATA drive.
I think it's safe to say the PSU is broken, but what I would like to know is why can it boot with a similar drive on a different interface? According to the label the EIDE drive even draws more current. Also, is it completely broken or is this something that can be analyzed further?
I did some measurements on the computer while it was running:
SATA power connector (broken PSU): 2.7V / 4.3V / 11V
SATA power (conv. from MOLEX) (working PSU): 4.3V / 10.8V (there is no 3.3V connector)
I replaced the PSU with a 400W, similar age but much less used, and then computer boots fine with SATA drive.
I think it's safe to say the PSU is broken, but what I would like to know is why can it boot with a similar drive on a different interface? According to the label the EIDE drive even draws more current. Also, is it completely broken or is this something that can be analyzed further?
I did some measurements on the computer while it was running:
SATA power connector (broken PSU): 2.7V / 4.3V / 11V
SATA power (conv. from MOLEX) (working PSU): 4.3V / 10.8V (there is no 3.3V connector)
