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Mysterious power issue

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4 replies

by rbelanger

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I have a workstation running Windows 2000 and the power supply went bad and needed replacement. Since the computer trouble I have not been able to run another computer from this workstation. Three different computers work fine in my office and when put in the workstation they do not work. There is power to the unit and the cdrom can be opened but the system will not start properly only in this workstation. I ran an extention cord to other outlets away from the station and still cannot get any computer to work in the workstation. Any thoughts on what else might be wrong? Thank you

4 replies

by opatzg9

Have you tried a UPS to check the power for that circuit to make sure it's ok? Otherwise start looking for magnetic or radio interference those are about the only other possibilites and I'm not sure how you detect those.

by tnturner.com

It is caused by some sort of interference or short in the wiring- check this out soon it can possibly be a serious problem IE:short in wiring.
If it is interference then just troubleshoot starting with what is close to the machine, has anything newbeen added around the machine? IE: Fan, Lights anything electrical.

by thechas

Have you tried booting up without any external peripherals connected?

A problem with a network cable, or a connected device could be at the root of the problem.

I assume that you have tried different keyboards and mice.

I cannot make a location specific boot issue / power issue that would not show up as damage to the PC or at least the integrity of the hard drive.

Radiation fields could disrupt the RAM.

Magnetic fields could corrupt the hard drive.

You might want to check for an elevated ground voltage.
Run wires as needed, and measure the voltage between ground leads from the workstation to a known good ground.
Check both AC and DC readings.
You might even want to measure the desk or table that the PC is on.

Chas

by rcom

This question is a bit mysterious.
Any idea as to what happened to the original power supply? Are you moving the entire computer including the monitor, keys and mouse or just the CPU (tower/desktop unit).
Is there no video output to the screen and if so have you tried another monitor? If the power supply was blown perhaps the monitor is what caused the original failure.
Finally, I'd like to know what your definition of a workstation is? Are you talking about the desk, work surface or what?

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