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Power Supply Replaced and Problems Resulted (Resolved).


Best Answer Jackpine , 02 January 2017 - 02:11 PM

Hi phillpower2.  OK, problems 1 and 2 are solved!  See details below. 1.  I closely examined all the system panel connections.  The PWRSW connector was plugged in to where... Go to the full post »


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#1
Jackpine

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First of all Happy New Year to the staff at Geeks to Go!

 

A few weeks ago my desktop machine would not start.  No fans spinning, no power light, totally dead.  I checked the cords and main switch, etc., and they were fine.  I took it to a shop and they confirmed that the power supply had failed.  I agreed for them to replace it.  To make a long story short, the PS they put in was not the one we agreed on, so I asked for the replacement to be taken out and to return the machine to me.  They did this and I purchased a new PS and installed it myself.  (I built the computer about 10 years ago, and so have some experience.)

 

When I turned it on, it powered up, but I noticed a few things that were not the same as before the PS failed.  I have a boot drive and a data internal drive.  The data drive was not being recognized.   Upon reopening the unit, I discovered that the SATA connector to my data hard drive was not connected.  After reconnecting it, the drive was recognized.

 

Nevertheless, it's not the same machine as before.  Some items may be more serious than others, but I don't know.  Here is a list of things that concern me:

 

1.  The blue power LED does not come on when the computer is running.  It always did before.  I checked the connector for the light and it's plugged in.  I didn't disconnect it to see if the pins were maybe broken off when the shop did their work.

 

2.  In addition to the PS and CPU fans, I have 3 other case fans.  Two of the case fans are plugged into the motherboard (ASUS P5LD2 Deluxe).  The third fan is plugged into a connector that is part of one of the PS cables.  (It has a connector that accepts the fan connector.)

On the motherboard, there is also a connector called PWR_FAN.  Nothing is plugged into this.  (I don't recall if anything was ever plugged into this before.)  Should there be something connected here?  One reason that I'm asking about this is that the ASUS motherboard comes with a utility that displays cpu and motherboard temperatures and fan speed.  It now shows 0rpm for the Power Fan in orange warning colour, whereas before I distinctly remember it used to display a speed in green colour, meaning it was OK.

 

3.  Some of my desktop icons are shortcuts to web sites.  Regardless of which one I click, it doesn't go to the website, but instead a window for my printer appears.  How can the web shortcuts be fixed to go to the related website?

 

4.  I have Windows XP running on the desktop.  To the immediate right of the Start button, in the taskbar, there are now a number of icons for various programs.  These never used to be there before.  How do I hide these icons?

 

5.  I notice that when I have a window open and then when I close it, the window doesn't disappear immediately.  It's a bit difficult to describe, but it almost looks like the window collapses in distinct segments from top to bottom until the whole thing is gone.  Mind you, this still occurs at a fairly high speed, but it's slowI enough that I can see what is happening.  This "collapse" was not visible before.  As I said, a window that was closed disappeared practically instantaneously.  Can the slow closing of windows be corrected?

 

I realize that this may be very difficult to diagnose through a forum, and may be best served by having the machine directly in front of a technician.  Nevertheless, I am hopeful that at least some of these issues may be solved by the good folks at Geeks to Go.

 

Thank you for your help,


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#2
phillpower2

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Happy New Year Jackpine,

 

A lot to address in one go so will break my reply down, numbers 3,4 and 5 are not hardware issues and would have been better post on the XP forum but we will see what we can do here after sorting out 1 and 2.

 

1: Do you mean the case power on button LED, if yes, the connectors that you checked are they on the MB. 

 

2: The PWR_FAN header on the MB is for the PSU, does your new PSU not have the appropriate connection, if not, can you post the brand and model name or number of the new PSU.


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#3
Jackpine

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Hi phillpower2, thanks for looking at this.

 

  1. Yes, I mean the case power LED.  When the computer is turned on, this light should normally be on. I will have to disconnect the wires and see if the pins on the MB are there.
  2. The new power supply is a Corsair CS650M 650W 80Plus Gold Certified unit.

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#4
phillpower2

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No problem Jackpine  :)

 

The case switch should be on a light green and a Ground pin, see my attachment below.

 

Your PSU does not have the cable required to connect to the PWR_FAN header on the MB, don`t worry though the PSU itself has over temperature protection etc. 


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#5
Jackpine

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✓  Best Answer

Hi phillpower2.  OK, problems 1 and 2 are solved!  See details below.

 

1.  I closely examined all the system panel connections.  The PWRSW connector was plugged in to where you outlined it, but, it was actually moved one pin to the right as you view the diagram in your previous post.  I also found that PLED connector is not a 3 pin connector, but 2 individual connectors.  They were plugged in side by side with the + pin where it should be, but the - pin right beside the + pin, whereas the diagram shows the - pin should be connected 2 pins to the right.  I made this change and the System power LED now comes on!  (The HDD light flashes as required.)

 

[I'm actually quite disappointed with the computer repair shop for returning the machine to me with these kinds of errors.  I realize that putting these connectors in the correct location can be somewhat difficult and time consuming because of the tight space, but this is something they should have checked by turning on the computer.  Lesson learned: never go back to them again.]

 

2.  I looked at the manual for my previous Enermax power supply, and it indeed did come with a fan speed connector that plugged into the motherboard at the PWR_FAN header.  That's why I vaguely remembered having made a connection there when I built this thing in 2005.  And as you point out, my new Corsair power supply doesn't require this connection since it already has internal temperature protection, etc.

 

Great!  2 problems solved.  Thank you for this.

 

What do you suggest for the other 3 items?


Edited by Jackpine, 02 January 2017 - 02:12 PM.

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#6
phillpower2

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Hello Jackpine,

 

Numbers 1 and 2 info acknowledged  :thumbsup:

 

I'm actually quite disappointed with the computer repair shop for returning the machine to me with these kinds of errors. 

 

 

I have no idea why the store went anywhere near the front panel header when replacing the PSU, it was totally unnecessary. 

 

 

What do you suggest for the other 3 items?

 

 

Try the easiest option first, a system restore, if you are not sure how see info here

 

You are welcome btw  :)


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#7
Jackpine

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OK, I will try a system restore this evening when I'm home from work, and then report back.
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#8
phillpower2

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Different time zones mean that I may not be around but good luck  :thumbsup:


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#9
Jackpine

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Hi phillpower2,

 

I didn't need to do a system restore after all.

 

When I previously corrected the front panel header connections on the motherboard, I then hooked up the power cable to the computer and nothing else.  I just wanted to test if the system power LED comes on.  As mentioned in post #5, it did come on.  In preparing to follow your suggestion to do a system restore, I  reconnected everything else.  When I turned the machine on, all desktop web shortcuts worked properly, going to the appropriate website. (No more printer window!)  In addition, all open windows closed immediately, without the slow motion effect I mentioned before.  (I wonder if the incorrect front panel header connections was the cause of the previous strange behaviour?)

 

With respect to the icons appearing to the right of the Start button, that was easily solved by unchecking the Quick Launch option (which is shown by left-clicking anywhere in the bottom taskbar, then clicking Toolbars.)

 

So the bottom line is that everything is now working the way it was before my power supply failed.

 

Thank you once again for your attention to this, and your always useful advice and suggestions!  :D


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#10
phillpower2

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Apologies for the delay getting back to you Jack, been inconvenienced elsewhere I`m afraid  :(

 

I wonder if the incorrect front panel header connections was the cause of the previous strange behaviour?)

 

 

Quite possibly but cannot say for sure, computers are fickle at times after all, anyhows glad to hear that all is now well and thank you getting back to us and for your kind words  :)


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