Could this be my PSU?

T

Thunder

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 19, 2004
Messages
103
On cold boots, I get the vocal error "System Failed CPU Test". It takes a few cycles to get the PC to start. It doesnt do it on warm reboots or boots, only after it has sat.
Its definitly realated to the 9600XT somehow. It doesnt do it ever with a generic $10 card.Ive had this problem for a while. Ive made a few post about it. I RMA'd my graphics card, and the new one, did the exact same thing. I read somewhere that during boot, the PSU is under severe load, and might not be holding, and the reason after a few reboots it finally starts is because its warmed up enough to handle the load. The PSU is a Thermaltake (I know) Silent PurePower 480Watt. The system now has 4 HDDs, P4 3.0, P4P800E, 2 CD-R/DVD-R. Anyone have any input? I really dont want to put money into it and not have it fix it. PC isnt OC'd, and I dont game. Thanks in advance,
J
 
Shut down the system.
Unplug all of the drives except the boot drive.
Boot back up.
Note the results.
Repeat several times.
Report back.
 
The thing is sometimes it boots back on the second try. I guess I can shut down let sit overnight, then try it and if I get the error (which im sure i will) repeat the next day with only the boot drive.
 
You should definitely try a repair install of windows...or maybe a full blown format/reinstall. It's easier to eliminate software issues than to track down rogue hardware.
 
Ite been reformated probably 10 times since this problem appeared. Its definitly hardware, and remove the graphics card definitly fixes it. I left it off overnight, and like clock work it took around 10 tries to boot. Im gonna do it again tomorrow following Sarvers sugguestions. Thanks!
 
Nope the video card doesnt, and the bios is the latest on everthing. Thanks,
J
Edit: Sorry, motherboard is an Asus P4P800E Deluxe. It did the exact same thing with an Asus P4S800. I originally upgrade for this very reason.
 
With early Radeon cards (around the 9800pro era) there were a few motherboard compabilitiy issues on some boards. The problem is, as you've noted, due to the sudden increased power draw on initial power up causing the PC to fail to POST.

On such systems that are/were affected the 'solution' (or at least key identifying factor of the problem) was to have the 9800pro's molex power plug not connected initially but 'hot swapped' into place just after power up. You'd do it like this:

1. PC is power off, graphics card's power plug is not connected.
2. Power on PC.
3. Wait 1-2 seconds and then plug in the power plug while PC is on.
4. PC boots fine with no problems and is perfectly fine on reboots (until PC is next powered down).


At the very least you could try this and see if it alleviates your problem. if it does then you know it's your motherboard. In which case it's upgrade time unless you're prepared to do the power cord hot swap every time you turn your PC on.
 
...though it may be due to a weak power supply if the above symptoms are true. ;)
 
I have this exact same issue with my P4. I have an Asus P4PE r/l/sata, 2 x optical, 2 x HD, 9500 Pro. It worked perfectly for about a year and a half, then started doing this intermittently. Things I tried:
- Different/more powerful PSU (has and Antec True power 430, tried Neo Power 480) and it did it with both PSU's.
- Reinstalled CPU and heatsink
- Reseated memory
- Reset BIOS
- Flashed BIOS to newer version
- Reformatted (but not because of this issue. I can't see how the POST could be related to the OS)
- Probably other things, but I can't remember now :p

It does it less often now (once every 3 months or so), but I never figured out what it was. :confused:
 
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