Crazy computer problem.

[HannahP 119]

Okay, so this is the second power supply that we've gone through. The computer restarts itself at ten minute intervals. At first I thought it was the outlet, and switching outlets actually worked (for a few weeks anyway) the first few times. Finally, we had to replace the power supply. This worked for a few months but now the computer is back to restarting itself & switching outlets didn't work.

What could cause two power supplies to fail? Anything? Anyone?

[웃 910]

Okay, so this is the second power supply that we've gone through. The computer restarts itself at ten minute intervals. At first I thought it was the outlet, and switching outlets actually worked (for a few weeks anyway) the first few times. Finally, we had to replace the power supply. This worked for a few months but now the computer is back to restarting itself & switching outlets didn't work.

What could cause two power supplies to fail? Anything? Anyone?

IDK but I'll give you my 2 cents. Computers should be replaced every 5 years. Mine is from 2000 so I am past due. Anyways, here is my point: Computers are pretty cheap nowadays so if you have to put $150 into whatever one you currently have, it is better to just buy one brand new. You can get a decent computer nowadays for $500. I got my wife a pink Sony Vaio laptop for $800 and she loves it. Best Buy does interest free financing over 12 months (we are paying about $75 a month, or $20 a week, however you want to look at it). But we try to overpay so we can pay $100 a month or more so we can pay it off completely in 6 or 7 months.

Edited April 14, 2009 by Confucian

[Niels Bohr 72]

Okay, so this is the second power supply that we've gone through. The computer restarts itself at ten minute intervals. At first I thought it was the outlet, and switching outlets actually worked (for a few weeks anyway) the first few times. Finally, we had to replace the power supply. This worked for a few months but now the computer is back to restarting itself & switching outlets didn't work.

What could cause two power supplies to fail? Anything? Anyone?

Do you have the PS unit connected directly to the AC Outlet versus using a surge suppressor or power condition such as a battery backup?

If you have your computer connected directly to the AC, the problem lies there. Your wall socket may have caused the PS to malfunction. If you have it connected to a surge suppressor, the surge suppressor needs replacement. Normally, you need to replace the surge suppressor every 2 years. The surge suppressor will continue to provide current after two years, but, the ability to suppress the surge will be diminished.

If you connected to a battery backup, you won't have any PS problems related to surges or spikes. However, if the demand on the load increased alot you need a larger wattage PS or you will get PS reset every time you're running massive load on your computer such a gaming, video editing, etc...

[GaryC 7]

Okay, so this is the second power supply that we've gone through. The computer restarts itself at ten minute intervals. At first I thought it was the outlet, and switching outlets actually worked (for a few weeks anyway) the first few times. Finally, we had to replace the power supply. This worked for a few months but now the computer is back to restarting itself & switching outlets didn't work.

What could cause two power supplies to fail? Anything? Anyone?

I have had this trouble twice. The first time it was the mother (main) board. The second time it was my video card. If your able take a good look at the capacitors on the main board and video card.

They look like this:

On the top of them they have a scored "X". This should be flat. If any of them are bulging then that is your problem. They dry out after a while and go bad.

This is what a bad one looks like:

Good luck!

[Niels Bohr 72]

The caps MTBF is long. Although, I will not rule that out. Could possibly be that too.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

Okay, so this is the second power supply that we've gone through. The computer restarts itself at ten minute intervals. At first I thought it was the outlet, and switching outlets actually worked (for a few weeks anyway) the first few times. Finally, we had to replace the power supply. This worked for a few months but now the computer is back to restarting itself & switching outlets didn't work.

What could cause two power supplies to fail? Anything? Anyone?

i always do two things for a computer. an ups and a polarity tester.

Edited April 14, 2009 by charles!

[HannahP 119]

my geeky guys.

First - the computer is new. Within the year new. This is why it pisses me off that this is happening.

I also thought it might be the surge suppressor. We've always had it connected to one and I've replaced them as the PS keeps failing. We've gone through, like, five. ^_-

Which narrows it down to what I was wondering -- if some other part of the hardware was causing the PS to fail? I will relay this info to my more technologically inclined hubby.

We actually sent it back when it was still under warranty and they just gave us a new PS...blegh.

[NickD 202]

my geeky guys.

First - the computer is new. Within the year new. This is why it pisses me off that this is happening.

I also thought it might be the surge suppressor. We've always had it connected to one and I've replaced them as the PS keeps failing. We've gone through, like, five. ^_-

Which narrows it down to what I was wondering -- if some other part of the hardware was causing the PS to fail? I will relay this info to my more technologically inclined hubby.

We actually sent it back when it was still under warranty and they just gave us a new PS...blegh.

The workable DPST real power switch is history, today's computers are always hot or turned on, power switch is a very low voltage command that triggers a microprocessor command that switches on the rest of the power supply. Only safe method to protect your computer during a thunderstorm is to unplug it, but if you did have a surge, your power supply would be smoke and blowing it's fuse. Can be an intermittent connection causing erratic turn on, or even a software glitch, these circuits are always running waiting for someone to push that momentary power switch for a pulse, but not the only means to get a pulse is what I am trying to say.

You don't mention the name nor model number of your computer, but whatever is the problem, you should contact tech service for your computer and request a free extended warranty, doing a google search on your computer may reveal that thousands more like you are having the same problem. But you certainly are in no position to fix it yourself. Call your computer company, and explain to them, it's their problem.

[Sylvia_n_Joseph 3]

You may have a software issue. Not sure exactly what but it sounds like the comuter is trying to restart and doing so poorly. Like when you do an install that wants to reboot and it asks every x minutes if it is ok to reboot. Have you installed anything non standard , do you wander the internet much or open files from anyone you get on the internet ? What do you use for anti virus , spy ware detector and firewall

[GaryC 7]

my geeky guys.

First - the computer is new. Within the year new. This is why it pisses me off that this is happening.

I also thought it might be the surge suppressor. We've always had it connected to one and I've replaced them as the PS keeps failing. We've gone through, like, five. ^_-

Which narrows it down to what I was wondering -- if some other part of the hardware was causing the PS to fail? I will relay this info to my more technologically inclined hubby.

We actually sent it back when it was still under warranty and they just gave us a new PS...blegh.

In my case I thought I had a bad P/S at first. In fact I replaced it and the computer seemed to run OK for a few weeks. But it went right back to its old tricks of restarting on its own and finally not booting at all. If I unplugged it then it and let it cool it would boot but as soon as it got warm it would reboot. When I got a flashlight and really looked close I could see several capacitors had bulging tops. I replaced the mother board and the problem was solved. About a year later my computer started doing the same thing again. But this time it would reboot anytime I opened a web page, played a video or tried to play a game. I took my video card out and saw the caps on it was bulging out. Replacing the video card fixed that. I don't know if this is your problem but it does sound like it is a possibility.

Edited April 14, 2009 by GaryC

[NickD 202]

On the other hand you may be having a short power interruption and your BIOS is set to power up rather than to power down after a power interruption. Use to be a requirement that the power supply filters be large enough to hand up to a 3 second power interruption without getting so much as a glitch. These new cheap power supplies will glitch after a half a second.

Could be your house wiring, seen some very poor wiring in my day with something as simple as loose terminal screws everywhere, used the term, wired by Joe Weakhand. Or if you live in a large metropolitan area, can also be the switching of the power grid.

Electrical power is very poor in Venezuela, got my fiancée a UPS for her computer so we could at least have our webcam meetings, but couldn't do anything about either her phone line or internet crapping out constantly, was frustrating going to bed without being able to talk to her before going to bed when all three were out, and that happened quite frequently. But sometimes could just call her on her cell phone to say goodnight. No long talks with that, was extremely expensive.

Check your BIOS settings.