Fix a PC Fault
.com
Your one stop portal for PC help and advice
Power Supply
Learn about Computer Power Supply
Submitted by: Tapan Bhanot
If there is any one component that is extremely vital to the operation of a computer, it is the power supply. The power supply should be the highest priority when choosing components; if working with a set budget, invest in the power supply and compromise elsewhere. The power supply is perhaps the most significant module in every computer system as it supplies stable, consistent power to every other component in the system, Power supply must not produce and dissipate too much heat or noise. Bad power supplies are almost always overrated in their peak wattage number. A thumb rule is that one should purchase as much good quality power supply as one can afford to ward off power sudden breakdowns, data corruption and possibly physical component damage. If you are building a brand new system, go for anything over 400 watts. Select the Power supply that fit into the cabinet you have chosen. Also make sure that there is enough clearance so that it does on interfere with other occupants of the cabinet. Choose a Power supply compatible with the motherboard and the other component you are planning to fit into the case and also that offers additional plugs in case of up gradation of computer later on. Almost all computer power supplies have three voltage rails (3.3V rail, the 5V rail, and the 12V rail).
Wiring coming off an industry standard circuit board will be: ORANGE : +3.3V YELLOW : +12V BLUE : -12V RED : +5V WHITE : -5V (May not be present on recently manufactured supplies) BLACK : GND GREEN : POWER-ON (Active high -- must be shorted to ground to force power up) GRAY : POWER-OK PURPLE : +5V STANDBY BROWN : +3.3V REMOTE SENSING
(please check with the specification of the manufacturer which may vary)
Ensure that the sockets fit into the components well. Go for one with 20-pin/24-pin ATX Socket (as required) and enough 12V Molex Sockets (4-Pin Molex Connector/Serial ATA Connector/PCI-Express Connector) to power different peripherals inside the computer box. Now-a-days modular power supplies are available where the cable can be plugged and unplugged to many sockets provided in the power supply. In this case one has to use only as much cables as needed. This prevents the inside of the cabinet from cluttering. It is wise to use sleeved cables. Go for the power supply with a cooling fan and lesser noise. Never trust a vender for his words. Go for superior, trusted and reliable one, even if it costs more. It will give you years of comfort.
I must repeat again that the power supply should be the highest priority when choosing components; if working with a set budget, invest in the power supply and compromise elsewhere.
About Author: JBO Solutions offers all type of computer hardware, computer software and computer servcies. You can visit our website and talk to a live person or you can purchase online at <a href="http://www.jbosolutions.co.uk/">JBO Solutions</a>
Article Source:Tapan Bhanot at Free Articles Search Engine Directory
Submitted by: Tapan Bhanot
If there is any one component that is extremely vital to the operation of a computer, it is the power supply. The power supply should be the highest priority when choosing components; if working with a set budget, invest in the power supply and compromise elsewhere. The power supply is perhaps the most significant module in every computer system as it supplies stable, consistent power to every other component in the system, Power supply must not produce and dissipate too much heat or noise. Bad power supplies are almost always overrated in their peak wattage number. A thumb rule is that one should purchase as much good quality power supply as one can afford to ward off power sudden breakdowns, data corruption and possibly physical component damage. If you are building a brand new system, go for anything over 400 watts. Select the Power supply that fit into the cabinet you have chosen. Also make sure that there is enough clearance so that it does on interfere with other occupants of the cabinet. Choose a Power supply compatible with the motherboard and the other component you are planning to fit into the case and also that offers additional plugs in case of up gradation of computer later on. Almost all computer power supplies have three voltage rails (3.3V rail, the 5V rail, and the 12V rail).
Wiring coming off an industry standard circuit board will be: ORANGE : +3.3V YELLOW : +12V BLUE : -12V RED : +5V WHITE : -5V (May not be present on recently manufactured supplies) BLACK : GND GREEN : POWER-ON (Active high -- must be shorted to ground to force power up) GRAY : POWER-OK PURPLE : +5V STANDBY BROWN : +3.3V REMOTE SENSING
(please check with the specification of the manufacturer which may vary)
Ensure that the sockets fit into the components well. Go for one with 20-pin/24-pin ATX Socket (as required) and enough 12V Molex Sockets (4-Pin Molex Connector/Serial ATA Connector/PCI-Express Connector) to power different peripherals inside the computer box. Now-a-days modular power supplies are available where the cable can be plugged and unplugged to many sockets provided in the power supply. In this case one has to use only as much cables as needed. This prevents the inside of the cabinet from cluttering. It is wise to use sleeved cables. Go for the power supply with a cooling fan and lesser noise. Never trust a vender for his words. Go for superior, trusted and reliable one, even if it costs more. It will give you years of comfort.
I must repeat again that the power supply should be the highest priority when choosing components; if working with a set budget, invest in the power supply and compromise elsewhere.
About Author: JBO Solutions offers all type of computer hardware, computer software and computer servcies. You can visit our website and talk to a live person or you can purchase online at <a href="http://www.jbosolutions.co.uk/">JBO Solutions</a>
Article Source:Tapan Bhanot at Free Articles Search Engine Directory
How To Recognize And Repair Power Supply Problems
Submitted by: Otis Cooper
The Power Supply convert’s your regular household current into low DC voltage used by the computer. When this component fails,there is simply no activity going on wih your computer.
Remember to do the easy troubleshooting first.Inspect the Power Supply for any damage.Double-Check all connections. Learning how to check your power supply and how to replace it when needed can be a life saver if you’re a computer buff or in business with the trusted PC.Don’t take for granted the simple pleasure of turning on your PC and everything works just fine. We turned on one of our computers recently and in about one hour,it just re-booted itself.And it continued doing so about 10 times a day until we found out the power supply was the culprit.
Things to look for when your power supply is going bad or just dies on you are the following.
NO POWER TO THE COMPUTER Here you must first check the wall outlet for power by connecting another device such as a radio or lamp to be sure power is present.If the computer is connected through a surge protector,check it as well. If the wall out has power,check the power cable going to the PC to see if AC voltage is making its way to the system unit.Do this with the use of a multimeter. If there is power,you will have to open the PC and check for power from the power supply to the motherboard. When using a multimeter to check voltage,be sure you have a good ground for the black lead of the multimeter.
RE-BOOTING PROBLEMS One main problem you may face with an ailing Power Supply is that it may re-boot the computer without any warning.All information is lost and it seems as though this happens at the worst possible time. Booting errors when the computer first start’s up is another indicator of this component going on the blink.
POWER DISTRIBUTION PROBLEMS When the power supply begins to fail,you may receive power at one device and not another.For example,the Hard Drive may receive power but the CDROM Drive has nothing at all. Another headache with would cause re-booting is the intermittent power going to the drives or the motherboard itself.Follow the steps below to check your power supply should you experience some of the above problems.
CHECKING THE POWER SUPPLY If the wall outlet,and the power cord are good,make sure the connection at the motherboard is secure.Then you may have to face the fact that the power supply itself is bad.If you have a Multimeter you can test the power supply output before purchasing a new one.Simply follow these steps. Turn off the PC,but do not unplug it,open the system unit.
Set the multimeter to read DC volts in the next range higher than 12 volts.Locate a power connector similair to the hard drive,or cdrom drive connector that is unused and turn on the PC. You can also unplug a drive connector and use it as well.Turn on the PC and insert the BLACK probe into the power connector on one of the BLACK wires.Touch the RED probe to the YELLOW wire on the power connector.
The multimeter reading should be 12 volts Now touch the RED probe to the RED wire and the reading should be 5 volts.If no readings or different readings occured,you’ll have to replace the power supply.If the readings were correct,you should check the P8 or P9 connectors at the motherboard. These connectors may also be named P4 and P5.To check these connectors,perform the following... Insert the BLACK probe into P8 at one of the BLACK wires. Insert the RED probe into the P8 connector at the RED wire. The reading on the multimeter should be 5 volts Check the power going to the Motherboard connections by inserting the RED probe into P8 at the YELLOW wire and you should get 12 volts.Leave the BLACK wire touching the black wire at the P8 connector.Check the BLUE wire and the reading should be a -12 volts.
Now move the BLACK probe to the BLACK wire on the P9 connector.Test the WHITE wire by inserting the RED probe and the reading should be -5 volts.Check the RED wires on the P9 connector and you should get 5 volts on each red wire.You won’t get exactly 5 or 12 volts but the readings will be very close, such as 5.02 volts. If the Power Supply is a couple of volts off,in either direction,such as when the RED wire should be reading -5 volts but it reads -8 volts,or if there are no readings,replace the power supply.
DO NOT remove the power supply from the system unit case when performing these tests.DO NOT perform these tests if you do not feel comfortable.Be sure to remove any and all electrical static build-up from your clothes and body BEFORE touching any parts inside the system unit.And NEVER open the power supply case for any reason,since high voltage may be present.
About Author: Otis F. Cooper is solely dedicated to boosting the knowledge and confidence of every computer user. Use his informative articles and videos to understand all about the PC. Read more in depth articles for pc training and repair at <a href="http://www.repairarticles.com" title="http://www.repairarticles.com" target="_blank">http://www.repairarticles.com</a>
Article Source:Otis Cooper at Free Articles Search Engine Directory
Submitted by: Otis Cooper
The Power Supply convert’s your regular household current into low DC voltage used by the computer. When this component fails,there is simply no activity going on wih your computer.
Remember to do the easy troubleshooting first.Inspect the Power Supply for any damage.Double-Check all connections. Learning how to check your power supply and how to replace it when needed can be a life saver if you’re a computer buff or in business with the trusted PC.Don’t take for granted the simple pleasure of turning on your PC and everything works just fine. We turned on one of our computers recently and in about one hour,it just re-booted itself.And it continued doing so about 10 times a day until we found out the power supply was the culprit.
Things to look for when your power supply is going bad or just dies on you are the following.
NO POWER TO THE COMPUTER Here you must first check the wall outlet for power by connecting another device such as a radio or lamp to be sure power is present.If the computer is connected through a surge protector,check it as well. If the wall out has power,check the power cable going to the PC to see if AC voltage is making its way to the system unit.Do this with the use of a multimeter. If there is power,you will have to open the PC and check for power from the power supply to the motherboard. When using a multimeter to check voltage,be sure you have a good ground for the black lead of the multimeter.
RE-BOOTING PROBLEMS One main problem you may face with an ailing Power Supply is that it may re-boot the computer without any warning.All information is lost and it seems as though this happens at the worst possible time. Booting errors when the computer first start’s up is another indicator of this component going on the blink.
POWER DISTRIBUTION PROBLEMS When the power supply begins to fail,you may receive power at one device and not another.For example,the Hard Drive may receive power but the CDROM Drive has nothing at all. Another headache with would cause re-booting is the intermittent power going to the drives or the motherboard itself.Follow the steps below to check your power supply should you experience some of the above problems.
CHECKING THE POWER SUPPLY If the wall outlet,and the power cord are good,make sure the connection at the motherboard is secure.Then you may have to face the fact that the power supply itself is bad.If you have a Multimeter you can test the power supply output before purchasing a new one.Simply follow these steps. Turn off the PC,but do not unplug it,open the system unit.
Set the multimeter to read DC volts in the next range higher than 12 volts.Locate a power connector similair to the hard drive,or cdrom drive connector that is unused and turn on the PC. You can also unplug a drive connector and use it as well.Turn on the PC and insert the BLACK probe into the power connector on one of the BLACK wires.Touch the RED probe to the YELLOW wire on the power connector.
The multimeter reading should be 12 volts Now touch the RED probe to the RED wire and the reading should be 5 volts.If no readings or different readings occured,you’ll have to replace the power supply.If the readings were correct,you should check the P8 or P9 connectors at the motherboard. These connectors may also be named P4 and P5.To check these connectors,perform the following... Insert the BLACK probe into P8 at one of the BLACK wires. Insert the RED probe into the P8 connector at the RED wire. The reading on the multimeter should be 5 volts Check the power going to the Motherboard connections by inserting the RED probe into P8 at the YELLOW wire and you should get 12 volts.Leave the BLACK wire touching the black wire at the P8 connector.Check the BLUE wire and the reading should be a -12 volts.
Now move the BLACK probe to the BLACK wire on the P9 connector.Test the WHITE wire by inserting the RED probe and the reading should be -5 volts.Check the RED wires on the P9 connector and you should get 5 volts on each red wire.You won’t get exactly 5 or 12 volts but the readings will be very close, such as 5.02 volts. If the Power Supply is a couple of volts off,in either direction,such as when the RED wire should be reading -5 volts but it reads -8 volts,or if there are no readings,replace the power supply.
DO NOT remove the power supply from the system unit case when performing these tests.DO NOT perform these tests if you do not feel comfortable.Be sure to remove any and all electrical static build-up from your clothes and body BEFORE touching any parts inside the system unit.And NEVER open the power supply case for any reason,since high voltage may be present.
About Author: Otis F. Cooper is solely dedicated to boosting the knowledge and confidence of every computer user. Use his informative articles and videos to understand all about the PC. Read more in depth articles for pc training and repair at <a href="http://www.repairarticles.com" title="http://www.repairarticles.com" target="_blank">http://www.repairarticles.com</a>
Article Source:Otis Cooper at Free Articles Search Engine Directory
© 2007 FixaPCFault.com All Rights Reserved