On Mar 12, 5:30 pm, Dwarf <Dw...@xxxxxx> wrote:
Quote:
> Hi Tyrenta,
>
> This does indeed sound like an inadequate power supply (PSU). From point 1)
> of your post, I infer that you have at least 6 hard drives (min of 3 for RAID
> 5, min of 2 for RAID 1 and 1 for your OS). To confirm this, restart your
> machine and enter your BIOS (refer to the motherboard manual). Select the tab
> that shows system health (voltage levels, temperatures, fan speeds). Leave it
> on that page for a while. What voltage readings are you getting? Try opening
> and closing your optical drive(s). What happens to the voltages then? What I
> am looking for here is any voltages which fall below the ATX specification.
> If any of these voltages are low, then it could explain your problems, and
> you will need to obtain and install a higher capacity supply. I include some
> figures for your convenience. Note that I haven't included negative supply
> voltages. These were only used in older systems.
> Dwarf
>
> ATX specification voltage ranges (all tolerances +/- 5%)
>
> Voltage Rail Minimum Maximum
> 3.3VDC 3.14V 3.47V
> 5.0VDC 4.75V 5.25V
> 12.0VDC 11.40V 12.60V
> 5.0VSB 4.75V 5.25V (Stand By)
>
> "Tyrenta" wrote: Quote:
> > Hi all -- I hope this is the correct place to post. I've had multiple
> > issues and trying to narrow it down:
> Quote:
> > 1) I have a homebuilt PC with Vista 32 Ultimate, and was trying to
> > install a second RAID 5 for data storage (my OS is *not* on a RAID
> > drive, and I do have an operational RAID 1 set-up). The Asus mb uses
> > the nVidia nForce 570 chipset for this.
> Quote:
> > 2) Initial symptoms: I was having difficulties getting the system to
> > recognize the new drives when RAID was enabled on the SATA ports. This
> > may have been drive specific. Hardware manager showed them, but the
> > nVidia control panel dw would not launch and the Windows Disk
> > Management it would hang on "Connecting to Virtual Disks...' [can't
> > remember the exact phrase]. Also a similar random issues with
> > launching IE when trying to diagnose -- the processes for both nVidia
> > and IE showed active, but the windows would not show up (I would get a
> > brief hourglass).
> Quote:
> > I the process of trying to narrow the problem, I had a BSOD, with some
> > mention of Power on the screen. I realize now I may have overloaded
> > the PS (400W) by having too many drives on it (I know, I know...)
> Quote:
> > 3) Current Symptoms: After this occurred the above symptoms got much
> > worse. Can't launch IE at all (shows connecting with blank screen --
> > though other programs such as Skype do still get an internet
> > connection). Can't power down. Disk Manager does not work at all (even
> > now with RAID disabled which fixed it prior). File manager does work,
> > as does control panel. Furthermore, the system reboots every 15-20 min
> > (I have yet to see the screen when it does this so no more info than
> > that). Basically I can boot, but am severley crippled.
> Quote:
> > 4) I have tried to repair from install CD (no errors reported). I have
> > also tried system restore from a week prior. No effect.
> Quote:
> > My question: Could these symptoms (besides the obvious rebooting) be
> > caused by a bad power supply that I overloaded, or does it look like a
> > full clean install (which I *really* don't want to do until I rule out
> > everything else). Any ideas? Thanks for anything you can offer.....
Thank you -- I'm at work now and will check as soon as I get home. I
did unplug all the new drives to see if unloading the PS would fix the
problems, but it did not. So two questions:
1) is it possible to 'blow' a PS by overloading it (I assume it is --
the currrent supply is a 400w Antec smartpower 2 I think).
2) even if I correct the PS -- it still seems my Windows install has
corrupted somehow, or could that all be explained by the PS?
thanks much for your assistance