Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

[starfury1]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

Humm well if your OST are the same as OST posted on around here they do fall into the badcap post of baddies

It is possible for caps to fail with out showing physical signs
as to if the OST,s fall into this catacory I dont know

For that matter can the Sanyo's fail and show no outward signs of failure?

If I got the above here right
they are prime candidates to replace but doubt it will fix your problem?

Does depend on what they are being used for on the MB
(seems not the VRM)

So if I got this right it was working ok in its configuration then progressively got worse.

The symptoms are;
its freezing (becoming more often as time goes on)
and its not re booting up.
when it cools off it will reboot

You have replaced the PSU with a new one and its still the same thing happening.

This now rules out the PSU

It does sound like caps,
but I think memory problems might cause similar symptoms like this too?...can anybody please expand on that

The sanyos as above are good caps but its not to say they aren't faulty either.

I am assuming from a look at this MB here
Yours is the same or very similar.

The Sanyos are part of the on board Voltage regulator circuit (VRM to use the term)
The symptoms point to this being the problem area if you had badcaps.

There could well be other causes.

Sometimes there can be issues with CMOS revisions (and CMOS flashes) and also some controller type chips and hardware devices (DVD roms etc)
yep could even be something as simple as a heat sensitive dry joint.

I did search BC forums on the MB type but got very few useful hits on this MB

So unless anyone has some similar experience with this MB and the hardware, then

Since you don't have the gear to check the caps, then the only thing you can do is replace them and see what happens.

I will leave it open to those that do it for a living for comment on this

but if it was me and barring other issues
(which I would be looking at but sounds like you may have already gone down that road)

Id replace the Sanyos and the OST
OST first (doubt its them but wouldn't hurt)
then if its still doing it the Sanyos
and hope that solves it

The other alternative (and maybe a saner) one replace the MB
( not an overly cheap option and a lot of work with reinstall etc
being 939 would limit whats options you have as a new MB)

Wish I could give you a definitive answer that would solve it for you ...I know how thrustrating problems like this can be.

[gastorgrab]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

Humm well if your OST are the same as OST posted on around here they do fall into the badcap post of baddies

It is possible for caps to fail with out showing physical signs
as to if the OST,s fall into this catacory I dont know

For that matter can the Sanyo's fail and show no outward signs of failure?

If I got the above here right
they are prime candidates to replace but doubt it will fix your problem?

Does depend on what they are being used for on the MB
(seems not the VRM)

So if I got this right it was working ok in its configuration then progressively got worse.

The symptoms are;
its freezing (becoming more often as time goes on)
and its not re booting up.
when it cools off it will reboot

You have replaced the PSU with a new one and its still the same thing happening.

This now rules out the PSU

It does sound like caps,
but I think memory problems might cause similar symptoms like this too?...can anybody please expand on that

The sanyos as above are good caps but its not to say they aren't faulty either.

I am assuming from a look at this MB here
Yours is the same or very similar.

That pic looks dead-on.

The Sanyos are part of the on board Voltage regulator circuit (VRM to use the term)
The symptoms point to this being the problem area if you had badcaps.

There could well be other causes.

Sometimes there can be issues with CMOS revisions (and CMOS flashes) and also some controller type chips and hardware devices (DVD roms etc)
yep could even be something as simple as a heat sensitive dry joint.

That's the reason i expressed doubt that a recap would fix the problem. I'm only a beginner at this but i can see that the MB's power requirements are going up with temperature. So i have to believe that eithe these Sanyo caps, that everyone here thinks highly of are bad, or something else on the board that would be next to impossible for a beginner like me to replace has gone bad.

Can the bad caps screw up the good caps?

I did search BC forums on the MB type but got very few useful hits on this MB

So unless anyone has some similar experience with this MB and the hardware, then

Since you don't have the gear to check the caps, then the only thing you can do is replace them and see what happens.

I will leave it open to those that do it for a living for comment on this

but if it was me and barring other issues
(which I would be looking at but sounds like you may have already gone down that road)

Id replace the Sanyos and the OST
OST first (doubt its them but wouldn't hurt)
then if its still doing it the Sanyos
and hope that solves it

The other alternative (and maybe a saner) one replace the MB
( not an overly cheap option and a lot of work with reinstall etc
being 939 would limit whats options you have as a new MB)

I actually have a socket 939 board that i bought cheap, but i don't much care for the VIA chipset.

I would also have to buy a video card as it is PCI express while the 9nda3 is AGP.

Wish I could give you a definitive answer that would solve it for you ...I know how thrustrating problems like this can be.

Thanks anyway. Every little bit helps.
.

[Sparky]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

Just because the caps are known good brand doesn't mean they can't go bad. Anything can fail. PCP&C PSUs are considered by many as being the premium PSU brand, however it wasn't too long ago that someone on another forum had one go bad and take some components with it as well.

If you just want to change the mobo ebay is a good place for finding stuff sometimes, maybe you could find an exact replacement mobo so you wouldn't have to reinstall windows and such.

[gastorgrab]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

I pulled out a stick of memory. It's a dual channel kit i bought from Mushkin;

512 x 2 PC4400 DDR SDRAM - http://www.mushkin.com/doc/products/...ail.asp?id=154
.

[gastorgrab]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

The board is now out, and out it will stay.

I'll drop in the spare socket 939 board i have until i do a formal upgrade. I'll continue to persue a fix for the nForce3 board and if i succeed it'll be the spare.

Since this PC was intended as my video encoder i'll eventually do an upgrade with Intel hardware since most encoders seem to be optimised for the Intel archetecture.
.

[gastorgrab]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

Just because the caps are known good brand doesn't mean they can't go bad. Anything can fail. PCP&C PSUs are considered by many as being the premium PSU brand, however it wasn't too long ago that someone on another forum had one go bad and take some components with it as well.

Yes, I agree.

I know it's possible, but the odds that the brand new PC Power & Cooling supply has the exact same problem as the Enermax supply i replaced must be astronomical.

.

[gastorgrab]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

Well then, it seems that there is nothing at all wrong with the Brand Spankin new power supply. It's running the Asus board so far. I'm currently running a live version of Mepis since i didn't think there was any chance the machine would start on a Windows install thats setup for a nForce3 chipset.

I just fired this thing up so i'm watching it closely.
.

[gastorgrab]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

It's having the same problems as before.

With a new motherboard and a new power supply its having the same problem as before.

---------------------------------

The last straw came when i yanked all the plugs out of the wall in the room i was in and carried everything to the basement. After a couple of hours running it hasn't locked up one time.

There wasn't a damn thing wrong with the PSU or the Motherboard! (and after i yanked a set of caps out of it......)

There is something wrong with the power in that room i was in.


---------------------------------

After you change so many parts it's really a new PC. If it's having the same problem as before the problem can't be the case or the power switch............it's just not possible for those things to cause problems like this.
.

[PedroDaGr8]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

OUCH that sucks.

[gastorgrab]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

Well that wasn't it either.

It took longer for the trouble to appear but the same problem came back. I think the fact that the basement is much cooler had something to do with it.

------------------------

So now i pulled out the Adaptec 29160N controller and put the 2940U2W back in. I guess i'll have to wait another 9 hours to see what happens.
.

[gastorgrab]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

Yup, i need a new SCSI card alright.


8 hours of trouble free operation convinces me.
.

[starfury1]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

I really hope for you it is the card
as at least you now have an end to it and a resolve of the problem

This must have been just so frustrating and infuriating.
not to mention time consuming.

Adaptec I have read of issues

enter this "Adaptec 29160N problem" and see what fall out of google.

Anyway I really hope you problem is now resolved and wish I could have been of more help

Cheers

[gastorgrab]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

I should run it a few weeks with the old card in place before considering which card will replace it.

The previous two cards have always worked without fail (2940UW, and 2940U2W), but occasionally they have conflicted with the BIOS of different boards. I personally havn't seen one do what this one seems to be doing.

I feel really dumb after this experience.
.

[starfury1]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

I wouldn't cause it happens
something puts you on the wrong track and you just follow that path.
your not the first and you wont be the last

imagine pulling something apart then realizing its the mains fuse...it happens.
I know cause I've done it

I would most definably run it for awhile in the present configuration to be sure.

judging from what fell out of google I would look to see if you can find anything that might be related to your issue before you write the card off as faulty.
or something that confirms it is.

I don't think they are that cheap to buy
anyway hope its now a done problem

Cheers

[gastorgrab]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

What replaces this card won't be a 29160N. I was disappointed when i bought it because it only has one internal 68-pin connector. LVD has to be separated from Ultra-wide so i had to shelf my Plextor 40x drive.

I still would like to see these drives run at full bandwidth. The 29160N is a 33Mhz, 32-bit, PCI card and will bottleneck at 133 mb/sec. Despite what some sites claim, these cards won't run at 66Mhz.

The new board has two PCIe 1x slots that should allow me to run with something like this;

Adaptec 29320LPE PCI Express SCSI Controller Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16816103045




.

[gastorgrab]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

OK then, five days and running strong without lockup.


It's fixed.
.

[starfury1]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

well mate sounds like thats the issue.

Yeah do a google on whatever your thinking of buying, might for warn you of any issues that might arise.

I dont use SCSI so can offer you zilch on anything with them

cheers

and hope this time around you get no grief from it

[tazwegion]

Re: Signs that your Power Supply might have bad caps.

It's running the Asus board so far. I'm currently running a live version of Mepis since i didn't think there was any chance the machine would start on a Windows install thats setup for a nForce3 chipset.

Actually, it would with a little XP install disk magic! I've swapped between socket types & processor spec'd systems with the same HDD often

FWIW it's far easier to change the HDD chipset drivers to MS generic before swapping out motherboards, this is my preferred method!