Urgent computer problem

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hi, after a power cut very late last night my main computer is not powering up this morning. Pressing the ON button gets a flash on the button but it refuses to start. Is this likely to be the power supply that's been fried? Any probs fitting a new one?
 
awp said:
hi, after a power cut very late last night my main computer is not powering up this morning. Pressing the ON button gets a flash on the button but it refuses to start. Is this likely to be the power supply that's been fried? Any probs fitting a new one?
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I'm not an expert but have fitted a new PSU (Power Supply Unit) to a PC a few years ago and it was very straight forward.
 
That's cheered me up! I'll give it 30 mins and see what happens.

I have changed one before - long time ago. I have a job I need the computer to get finsished by tomorrow.
 
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OK - done that - the power light on the back comes on - their is a power light on the board inside and the ON glows orange - but it's not powering up. Does that give more clues?? thanks.
 
this has been a bit of a regular thing for us at some of the retail outlets, sometimes if the store had a power cut the tills (XP based) would refuse to power on again.

this could sometimes be resolved by removing the power to the unit for a "period" of time. this could be 30 mins to 24 hours. sometimes they needed new PSUs, sometimes they needed new motherboards.

it can be a tricky one to diagnose the actual part that has failed without spares to swap out. what computer is it? i take it there is no beeping when you press the power button?
 
This is XP too. I'll give it till 10 and if it won't power up I'll have to do something. I need to get it going today. Thanks for all the info.
 
I'm afraid this could just as easily be a motherboard fault! If you are getting signs of life from the indicator lights then it could be a fault in the mb startup instruction to the psu
 
Once you've fixed it go and buy yourself a surge protected UPS :)

I'd probably take the case off and look for any signs of burning. If you're lucky it is a design that pops a fuse instead of killing the motherboard or the psu. Otherwise it could mean a new psu and whole new motherboard as I wouldn't be sure of any components that have been exposed to serious over voltage.

Quickest solution might be to take out the HD and connect it to another computer and get the data off and do whatever needs to be done with it before trying to resurrect the non starter.

Hope you fix it.
 
I have my NAS and pc in different parts of the house so I would need multiple ups. I have instead install quick blow surge protection fuses. Only problem I have is that one will blow every time there is a power cut. Still at least my pc is safe ish.

I have a spare psu if you are local. iPhones make it hard to see location.

Paul
 
PPalmer said:
I have my NAS and pc in different parts of the house so I would need multiple ups. I have instead install quick blow surge protection fuses. Only problem I have is that one will blow every time there is a power cut. Still at least my pc is safe ish.
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unless you have a power cut and your hard drive spindle takes a dump through the platter(s) :D
 
there's a program I'm using urgently - if the MB has gone it won't work - and the company is bust so I can't get a new key! :( fingers crossed it's something simple - nothing happening.
 
Just had a local repair guy out to me - what super service - on-site within 30 minutes of my call - new power supply and I'm up and running - everything else seems fine. UPS being priced right now! Thanks all.
 
Just going to make a large pot of strong black coffee and then on with the work in hand! What a relief. Also good to know there's a local business who care and can offer that sort of service.
 
awp said:
Just going to make a large pot of strong black coffee and then on with the work in hand! What a relief. Also good to know there's a local business who care and can offer that sort of service.
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Could I ask a couple of cheeky questions? Do you know what model PSU he supplied? How much did it all cost you?
 
I don't know the model supplied - it was a reconditioned one - as that's what they had available right now - option to replace with a brand new one if I wanted to - total cost PSU and fitting with the call out £50 - which I think in the circumstances was ok.
 
awp said:
I don't know the model supplied - it was a reconditioned one - as that's what they had available right now - option to replace with a brand new one if I wanted to - total cost PSU and fitting with the call out £50 - which I think in the circumstances was ok.
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I don't think that is too bad either! I would of expected at least half that again if not double for such a quick call out.
 
One of the benefits of living out in the sticks maybe. :)
 
neil_g said:
unless you have a power cut and your hard drive spindle takes a dump through the platter(s) :D
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True but you will normally find that you can pull the power on a pc with little or not ill effect. I do however have 4 copies of my data.

On pc
On NAS
Local USB hdd backup
Off site USB hdd backup

I feel quite safe about my data.

:-)
 
What's the difference in protection if anything between a surge protector and an UPS. I know the UPS can keep things going till you can shut down properly but are there any other benefits over the surge protection?
 
awp said:
What's the difference in protection if anything between a surge protector and an UPS. I know the UPS can keep things going till you can shut down properly but are there any other benefits over the surge protection?
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The UPS allows you to fully shut down the computer, saving all of your work etc. The surge protector will only stop the components getting fried, it won't stop data corruption because of a sudden shut down.
 
also a UPS protects against brownouts which can cause data corruptions etc.

My UPS covers my PC, NAS, Printer & broadband. When we get an outage I can shutdown the PC/Printer and keep working on my Laptop :thumbs:
 
I'm a staunch believer in using UPS - I've been a salesman for both Chloride Power and Invensys Powerware in the past - in the home but beware that they are not all made equal.

The lower cost units are (generally) referred to as "off-line" because in normal useage they allow the mains electricity straight through to your equipment. They only intercede and protect when brownouts and complete power outages occur but do not necessarily protect against power surges (unless they happen as a consequence of a power failure).

Check the specifications carefully :)
 
Ok - 2 computers - 1 monitor - 1 Drobo with 5 Tb storage - what sort of UPS spec should I be looking at?
 
I'd also be very wary of a cheap recon psu. That's one part of a pc you really shouldn't skimp on. I had a cheap one in and old pc a few years ago that blew and took the motherboard, graphics and HD with it. Even if you have a ups, a cheap Psu can still decide it's had enough and commit electronic suicide. Of course even a high end one can blow, but it's much less likely and they usually have better inbuilt failsafes.
 
And watch out for UPS manufacturers that lie. The one I bought recently was calculated to last at least 30 minutes and said it would last 'up to 40 mins on half load'. Switches itself off, even when the mac is asleep, after about 7 or 8. If I leave the mac awake it does the same. The Belkin one I had before did the same after a few years. The first Belkin I have which is 10 years old lasts 30 to 40 mins with the same load!! I have a feeling that they're all designed to switch off quickly now so they're all useless to me as I want one that will let me leave the computer asleep for an hour or two as generally powercuts are either a couple of mins or a couple of hours.

General idea with a UPS is to go for one which is for twice the wattage than you have plugged in as they last much, much longer on half load.
 
ideally they should be configurable to shutdown machine(s) after a set period or when the power in the battery becomes low..

also regarding the NAS, i know synology have a list of compatible UPS that can shutdown the NAS. it would be worth checking if drobo has such a list.
 
srichards said:
And watch out for UPS manufacturers that lie. The one I bought recently was calculated to last at least 30 minutes and said it would last 'up to 40 mins on half load'. Switches itself off, even when the mac is asleep, after about 7 or 8. If I leave the mac awake it does the same. The Belkin one I had before did the same after a few years. The first Belkin I have which is 10 years old lasts 30 to 40 mins with the same load!! I have a feeling that they're all designed to switch off quickly now so they're all useless to me as I want one that will let me leave the computer asleep for an hour or two as generally powercuts are either a couple of mins or a couple of hours.

General idea with a UPS is to go for one which is for twice the wattage than you have plugged in as they last much, much longer on half load.
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There are many reasons why a UPS doesn't last as long as advertised but it is common practice to advertise times based on purely resistive loads. Of course, in the real world the loads are generally capacitive and you need to take the power factor into consideration when sizing the unit.

You also need to consider that the UPS isn't designed to keep your system running but to give it time to shut down properly. A decent UPS will have an automated shut down system for the computer but NAS and USB hard drives are a different kettle of fish :)
 
srichards said:
General idea with a UPS is to go for one which is for twice the wattage than you have plugged in as they last much, much longer on half load.
Click to expand...

I wish you'd been working for HSBC when we sold them their Canary Wharf system ... it takes up 3 floors as it is :D
 
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