Problem with new PSU (Seasonic S12 330w)

PSUs: The source of DC power for all components in the PC & often a big noise source.

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee, Devonavar

Post Reply
midiman
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2004 3:39 am

Problem with new PSU (Seasonic S12 330w)

Post by midiman » Mon Jun 06, 2005 4:36 am

I've been running my system nice and smooth for a while now. Upgraded a few parts last night and now I'm having a boot up issue.

Previous system:
Abit IC7-max3, Zalman 300w, 1gb Kingston HyperX, Nvidia ti9600, NEC 3500a, Seagate 7200.7 160gb and 200gb

Upgrades:
Seasonic S12 330w, ATI 9600, added SATA Seagate 7200.8 250gb.


The computer runs OK, but never boots the first time I try. Everything spins up in the computer, but I get no beep, no BIOS screen, etc. If I hold the power button 10 seconds, it turns off, but generally, when I try again and again using that method, I get the same results. However, if I flip the power switch on the PSU to OFF, flip it back on and try again, it usually boots OK.

Any clue what this might be? How can I troubleshoot this?

yeha
Posts: 292
Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:54 pm

Post by yeha » Mon Jun 06, 2005 7:04 am

all i can think of is that adding the third hard drive caused too large a draw when spinning up. try disconnecting one drive and see if you still have power-up issues.

if that's the case, you may want to look at an external enclosure that you can keep unplugged when not needed.

midiman
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2004 3:39 am

Post by midiman » Mon Jun 06, 2005 7:11 am

Will try this evening. If that is the problem, would a higher wattage PSU fix it rather than an external enclosure?

There are some other external items hooked up. Would these be drawing power as well?

USB 1.1 Evolution UC-33e fader controller
Canopus ADVC-110 DV converter

yeha
Posts: 292
Joined: Thu Jan 13, 2005 7:54 pm

Post by yeha » Mon Jun 06, 2005 7:57 am

those external devices won't be drawing as much power as the hard drives spinning up, but unplugging them might give enough headroom to get the computer up and running.

a higher-wattage psu may fix the problem if that's what it ends up being, the best way to find out would be to monitor your voltage levels with a multimeter. it might turn out that it's just the individual unit acting up, another 330w s12 may power the computer fine.

midiman
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jun 25, 2004 3:39 am

Post by midiman » Tue Jun 07, 2005 7:10 am

Sure enough - if I unplug all the external devices and a single HD (not necessarily the new SATA - tried one of the PATAs as well), the computer boots just fine every time.

Sounds to me like I need to get the 430w?

Post Reply