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bad power supply??

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by paul681 1 view

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I have just built a new computer. p3 1ghz 256
I have gone thru 4 HD in a month. 3 brand new.
when i replaced my last HD i couldnt connect to the internet. i have a cable modem.
i went over the setup a million time and i couldnt get tcpip to configure.
the strange thing is when i networed 2 of my computers together i could share files with netboui but not with tcpip.
i have tried 3 diff nics with same result.
i even changed the mother board thinking my drives were going because of a bad board.
now everything is still the same.
the new board can monitor the voltage and temp on the board. the 12v is out of spec according to the software.
when i hook up a digital multimeter i get readings within spec.
could a bad power supply be causing this????
i am stumped.
please i need help. somebody.

11 replies

by jaboy78

go into the bios and check ur power supply voltage..whether there is any red number or alert message, that means your power supply is not stable.

unstable power supply can cause all the parts spoil..

by lwd86

A bad power supply is possible and relatively cheap to replace. Be sure to get one with enough capacity to drive all you components. It sounds like you may have a heat problem. Be sure that you have plenty of cooling. Feel of your hard drive after it has been running a while. You may need to install a hard drive fan.

by shanghai sam

HARD DRIVE
Are the hard drives ATA-7200/10000rpm?
If so it may be heat. Today?s faster drives produce allot of heat and if you have a powerful graphics card that also contributes to heat related hardware failure. Most drives will fail around extended periods 130 degrees.

How long were the drives installed before each failed?

Did you install new ide cables with each new drive?

Were these drives mastered to other drives (if yes was a virus check performed)?

Are you using a ?good?power-surge protector?

Is the power-supply new (if not is there a lot of dust inside it)?
A over heated powers supply can cause problems.

NIC CARDS
If your cards can see another computer and ping each other then the nics are good. I believe the issue lies in the internet settings. What ISP are you with (if broadband your provider may have to enter the mac address of the nic cards trying to connect to the net. Contact their tech support (that?s part of what you pay your monthly bill for). They will be able to walk you thru all the necessary settings.
Check your modem it may be bad or may need to be reset.
Try new cat5 cable from the broadband modem, if you have broadband.

That?s all I have for now. Hope I was helpful

Rudeboy

by paul681

all the info on my HD is in another question i posted here a few weeks ago.
As for contacting the ISP: I have Cox communications. There support lines are flooded. The next thing i'm going to try in a new PS since they are pretty cheap to replace.

by b.scott1

A couple of ideas:

If the motherboard supports voltage monitoring, it probably also supports internal and CPU temperature monitoring as you stated. What was the CPU and internal temps? Were they high? A simple 12V case fan can help help cool the case down significantly.

Using your meter, what is the power output at the plugs going to your IDE drives and other peripheals? Since your HD's are dying rather quickly, you could have nominal power readings going to the mother board but spiked readings at the actual plugs themselves. Speaking of spikes, is the main AC power where the box is plugged in to on its own circuit and is spike protected? Takes your meter to the wall jack and take readings from there as well. I don't know where you're located but in the winters and summers you can get some pretty nasty spikes and drops as the furnace or AC kick on and off.

As far as the networking issue goes. Go in to your networking properties and make sure your TCP/IP bindings are set to the proper NIC card. After changing 3 or 4 NIC's, the bindings may be on an inactive card. Also make sure that you are using DHCP (have the PC acquire it's IP automatically). You will need the address of the DHCP or gateway server from your ISP.

by b.scott1

A couple of ideas:

If the motherboard supports voltage monitoring, it probably also supports internal and CPU temperature monitoring as you stated. What was the CPU and internal temps? Were they high? A simple 12V case fan can help help cool the case down significantly.

Using your meter, what is the power output at the plugs going to your IDE drives and other peripheals? Since your HD's are dying rather quickly, you could have nominal power readings going to the mother board but spiked readings at the actual plugs themselves. Speaking of spikes, is the main AC power where the box is plugged in to on its own circuit and is spike protected? Takes your meter to the wall jack and take readings from there as well. I don't know where you're located but in the winters and summers you can get some pretty nasty spikes and drops as the furnace or AC kick on and off.

As far as the networking issue goes. Go in to your networking properties and make sure your TCP/IP bindings are set to the proper NIC card. After changing 3 or 4 NIC's, the bindings may be on an inactive card. Also make sure that you are using DHCP (have the PC acquire it's IP automatically). You will need the address of the DHCP or gateway server from your ISP.

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