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Author Topic: After power outage, desktop computer will lock up after ~5-10 minutes of usage  (Read 8045 times)

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tgp1994

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Greetings everyone,

My community experienced a power outage the other day while I was using my desktop computer. When the power came back on, that computer will dependably freeze within about 5 to 10 minutes of usage. Usage can range from playing games to simply letting it idle at the desktop.

This computer is running Windows Vista Ultimate x64 SP2. I have an MSI P6NGM-FD motherboard, which holds an Intel Core 2 Duo prcoessor, and two one-GB sticks of memory. Two hard drives are attached, the first a SATA 250GB hard drive with the system, and the second a SATA data hard drive with 1TB of storage space.

The computer is able to boot into safe mode without any issues, as I was able to complete an sfc /scannow command, which found and replaced one file. No luck after that, though.

Running a check disk found issues, and (I'm assuming at this, no log was made) they're fixed.

Does anyone know what I can do to further diagnose the issue? I'd like to save reinstalling the OS/shelling out money for hardware for last.

soybean



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When it freezes, what do you do?  Can you immediately restart or do you have to shutdown and wait for some time before starting again?  When it is running (before it freezes), does it seem to run normal?

Were you using a surge protector on the computer when the power outage occurred? 

tgp1994

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When it freezes, what do you do?  Can you immediately restart or do you have to shutdown and wait for some time before starting again?  When it is running (before it freezes), does it seem to run normal?

Were you using a surge protector on the computer when the power outage occurred?

When it freezes, I try to see if I can get some kind of response by moving the mouse or pressing keys on the keyboard. Doesn't seem to work. I can immediately restart it. It seems to run perfectly normal right up until it freezes.

I was not using a surge protector when the power went off, although my computer seems to be the only plugged in electronic that was remotely affected by the power outtage. I did unplug the power strip that it was using before the power came back on, in case there was some sort of electrical surge when it came on.

rthompson80819



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You should always use a surge protector (not a cheap one), preferably a UPS battery backup unit.  Besides the battery back up features all of the name brands have excellent surge protection built in to them.

tgp1994

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From what I can find out about my power supply, it seems like I bought one of the worst quality power supplies out there. People all over the internet are reporting failures with this power supply. Maybe it was just coincidence that it happened to go when the power outage occurred.

On the subject of UPSes, it is probably necessary that I get one with greater wattage than my power supply, correct?

rthompson80819



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Correct.  UPSs last a long time and among other things that will make sure you have enough power for future upgrades or new machines with bigger power supplies.

My UPS has outlived a couple of computers.

tgp1994

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Correct.  UPSs last a long time and among other things that will make sure you have enough power for future upgrades or new machines with bigger power supplies.

My UPS has outlived a couple of computers.

Oh, I thought the batteries on those things never lasted very long... have you ever needed to replace your battery? If so, how many times?

Computer_Commando



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The UPS lasts, but the batteries don't.  Try & get one with a 12V battery.


I've substituted AGM car batteries for these.  I've got 2 old Optima blue tops on this computer.

tgp1994

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Well, back on the issue at hand, it seems like a new problem has cropped up while I've been testing my computer. When the test OS (KNOPPIX) is booting up in it's usual text mode, the screen will suddenly seize, and random cells will take on different characters or colors, some will even start flashing. Then just now, it halted at my BIOS logo screen, with varios artifacts all over the place. I recently removed my dedicated graphics card in favor of the onboard graphics, in hopes that I could reduce any kind of strain on the power supply so I could atleast boot the system into a usable state.

I've been using a multimeter on each charged pin on the ATX 24-pin connector on my motherboard, and all of the voltages seem to be showing up within their own safe ranges, even while the computer is in its "seized" state.

Have I somehow made the situation worse, simply by running the computer? I didn't dare turn it back on after the heart attack at the BIOS logo, I had had enough for the night. Should I/can I continue testing? Or should I change the testing environment in some way? Would it be safe to test my components with a different, but functioning power supply?

I sent an email to the company of this supposedly malfunctioning power supply, in the hopes that I can milk every last drop out of my purchase in the form of a replacement.