Power Supply or Vista Bug?

I'm a n0ob when it comes to computer hardware. I also don't remember exactly when this issue started - but I've been back and forth between XP and Vista a lot; so it's hard to keep track sometimes.

My current issue is this - when my PC is on, life is good. Everything works. No problems. Vista is set to shut down the power after 30 minutes and put the PC into sleep mode. At that point, the PC seems 'Off' until I hit a key/move the mouse; and it 'wakes up'.

It seems like, sometimes, the PC will not wake up.

Today, when I came home for lunch, my PC wouldn't turn on. I hit the keyboard, moved the mouse - nothing. I hit the power button (held it in for 5+ seconds), hit the reset button...and still nothing. I tried unplugging it and plugging it back in. NOTHING.

So, I opened my case and gave my PSU a fairly gentle tap and I noticed some tiny LEDs on the MB light up. At that point, I hit the power button - and the PC came to life.

Vista said it was 'resuming windows' but everything was crawling about about 10% of the speed it should be. I had to reboot, after rebooting, everything was fine.

It does wake up sometimes though, sometimes it doesn't. When it doesn't, the only way I can seem to get it to turn back on is to 'bang' a bit on the PSU; but the power has never gone 'out' while I was playing on the computer (which is a lot of time).

If the PSU was bad and there is a short or something and when I bang on it, it reconnects....I can't explain why it never 'shorts out' or comes loose while I'm using the PC.

If it were a bug with Vista, I could see how or why it might work sometimes and not other times, and why the power never dies while I'm using the PC....but I can't understand how my 'tap' on the PSU could get it to turn back on.

Basically - I have no idea WTF is going on. A new PSU would be ~$100 dollars and I'd hate to replace it if there is nothing wrong.

I'm also very confident that my tap on the PSU is not affecting the connection between the PSU and Motherboard. The PSU is at the bottom of my case and my tap is really not very hard at all.

Does anyone have any advice/suggestions for me?

Go into your BIOS, and check if you computer is set to "Wake On Lan".

tweakvista said:

Go into your BIOS, and check if you computer is set to "Wake On Lan".

Click to expand...

Thank you for the post; I'm back at work now so I won't be able to check until tonight.

Should 'Wake On Lan' be disabled or enabled?

Well if it's enabled whenever your wireless or wired internet is on your computer will boot up.

This may not be the problem though.

Hi Robdude, welcome to the board.

If your desktop is built buy any major manufacturer, the PSU are often problematic for cuting cost. If you post the necessary specs of your PC, some one may make suggestion on a good one less then $100.

Hope this helps.

Bruce

bruce2 said:

Hi Robdude, welcome to the board.

If your desktop is built buy any major manufacturer, the PSU are often problematic for cuting cost. If you post the necessary specs of your PC, some one may make suggestion on a good one less then $100.

Hope this helps.

Bruce

Click to expand...

Thank you for your post.

I put the PC together myself about two years ago. I have the order invoice for everything from TigerDirect *except* the PSU (I picked that up at the TigerDirect outlet store directly).

I don't recall the make/model or anything about the PSU except that it was a god-awful 'glow in the dark' super shiny blue color .

But it was a fairly expensive 600W 'Gamers' PSU.

Still, that doesn't mean it's not breaking

The rest of my PC is currently:
BFG GeForce 7950 GT 512MB PCIe w/Dual DVI/HDTV
EVGA nForce 590 SLI Am2 940Pin Motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Socket AM2 BOX CPU - Windsor
Ultra 1024MB PC6400 DDR2 XL 800Mhz Dual Channel x 2
Seagate 320GB Serial ATA HD 7200/16MB/SATA-3G

But, I'm looking to upgrade - so I'll probably have like a Athlon 64 X2 6000+ / 4 gigs of RAM / another HD / and possibly another identical video card with SLI (if I can find one).

I truthfully don't know much about PSUs - so if anyone has a recommendation for me, I'd appreciate it.

RobDude, if you have confident with the PSU, I would check by switching around the cables or replace some important ones if it is modular. However, most flashing in color once are not likely emphasize on quality by the manufacturer. I would, before you upgrade, leave the case open and keep a little hammer around for emergency.

As for upgrade, I would suggest a 9800 instead of SLi what you had.

Hello Rob.

Judging by what you described, I would bet that your PSU is not failing, but has either some loose connections or broken wiring. When you said that you tapped it and the mobo lit up, I can tell that the mobo did not get power until you bumped it. (duh) However, that is a very important observation. This happens with headphones to me. Basically, the wire has been moved around or bent or is just old that is breaks. It has to be in a certain position to work. Now, I don't think that is the problem, I think it is either a bad connector or bad wires. I would suggest purchasing a new PSU, and the problem should be solved.

~Lordbob