psu problem?

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joebeem

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Sep 27, 2009
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Hello,

I'm not sure if this is the right section to post this, but thank you in advance for any time and assistance.

I am having a nagging problem recently with one of my hard drives. I bought it when it was on sale in early August and didn't even attempt to start using it until recently, although it has been plugged in and formatted for use since the purchase. However, this weekend I finally attempted using it and I began having a "Windows Delayed Write Failure."

At first I thought it might be the drive, but I'm starting to think it might be something else because of a different problem that I just happened to notice and found odd during POST.

The other problem goes as follows. When I turn on the computer, it begins to do the memory test. However, it seems to freeze during this because it shows "Memor" with no numbers following it. After about 3 seconds, the computer restarts and then POSTs normally with no problems.

The reason I think that this is connected to the hard drive reason is because somehow yesterday, I was able to start the computer up normally (without it restarting initially) and the drive was 100% usable. I downloaded tons of stuff, extracted files, installed things, etc. Unfortunately, during the middle of the night last night, my power went out briefly and of course when I booted up this morning, it restarted before the memory test and the windows delayed failure has returned.

My system is listed below. I have read on forums that windows delayed write failure can mean a power issue. Do you think that is the case here? Can that be connected to the restart before POST issue as well?

Again, thank you for your time and help.

System:

- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4 ghz
- GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard
- Patriot Viper 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1200
- Antec earthwatts EA500 500W Continuous Power ATX12V v2.0
- 1 - Nvidia GTX 260
- 3 - 1tb Seagate barracuda SATA drives
- 1 36 Gb sata raptor
- 1 400 gb sata Western digital
- 4 (technically 6 since there are 2 drives in 2 of the enclosures) - Usb external drives
 
Well! A good start would be to swap the PSU and see if that fixes the problem. Another thing to try out would be to remove one of the memory sticks, If problem persists replace the memory stick with the one you just removed and try again. If my memory serves me right I once had a PC that if the BIOS was set to do an extended memory test upon POST the system would lock/restart , yet if I ran memtest86 along with anything else the computer would turn out completely fine.Being that you typed that this was a recent issue start by trying out 1 RAM stick at a time and alternate sticks if problem persists.

Hope I've been of some help

P.S. You have a pretty low power PSU, all your problems may be stemming from that.
 
Thanks for the quick reply! Yeah, I'm going to purchase a new PSU anyway. I think it might be that too. A couple times in the past when I've had a friend plug in his external USB drive to copy files, 3 of the other external drives would be lost until his was unplugged. That sounds like a power issue, but I don't know. Do you know if this is any good?

I'm thinking of one of these 2, preferably the first since it's cheaper but then again, maybe i shouldn't get cheap with this since it's an important component.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10009502

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006
 
If you have your mind set on one of the two power supplies you listed I'd opt for the Corsair. It's gotten a lot of good press and It seems they offer a pretty solid PSU offering. If you are willing to go with a different brand I'd recommend PC Power and Cooling (gotta love that powerful single rail :) ). Something in the 700W+ range.
 
gwarren007 said:
500 is all he needs, Truepower new 550w fits the bill nicely
Click to expand...

That leaves about no room for extras nor to any sort of future. That guy's running 5 internal HD's along with a GTX260 (plus whatever misc.) . I could never recommend a 550W for the such.
 
eric_bazile said:
That leaves about no room for extras nor to any sort of future. That guy's running 5 internal HD's along with a GTX260 (plus whatever misc.) . I could never recommend a 550W for the such.
Click to expand...

While having a larger wattage/amperage PSU doesn't hurt, not everyone needs to buy a large wattage PSU. According to Corsair's PSU finder, the Corsair 450VX was recommend for the OP's setup. Considering that 450VX < Truepower New 550 in terms of power output, it's safe to say that the Truepower New 550 has more than enough power for future expansion.

Considering that the EA500 has 34A on the +12V rail while the 450VX has 33A on the +12V rail, technically the EA500 should have more than enough power for that kind of setup. So outside of a defective PSU, I do not think it's a PSU problem. But a new PSU can't hurt to try though.
 
What is recommended to run a memory test? I don't believe that I have done that in the past.
 
Danny Bui said:
it's safe to say that the Truepower New 550 has more than enough power for future expansion.
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to start a flame war here but come on! I guess some people have different definitions for "future expansion". What if He decides he wants to go ahead and upgrade his CPU,motherboard, add hordes of RAM and throw a GTX295 in there later on?
What is with this "build lite as possible" attitude?

You know for a single GTX295 Nvidia recommends a minimum of a 680W PSU? I see the Corsair PSU finder says far less, but hell Corsair somehow knows more then Nvidia.....

You want to go off of Corsairs PSU finder? With how generic that thing is? What's your CPU/GPU/Number of HD's........What about RAM, USB devices etc? Put on top of that possible hordes of fans and some internal lighting....PSU finder? ROFL!

There's nothing wrong with him getting a 700W+ PSU (hell if not more) then a drop in efficiency (mild if any), If anything it's far greater future proofed then some 500-550W PSU.. That and he won't be left with a 550W paper weight once the time comes that he requires more power then that.
 
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eric_bazile said:
I'm not trying to start a flame war here but come on! I guess some people have different definitions for "future expansion". What if He decides he wants to go ahead and upgrade his CPU, add more RAM and throw a GTX295 or greater in there later on?
What is with this "build lite as possible" attitude?

There's nothing wrong with him getting a 700W+ PSU, If anything it's far greater future proofed then some 500-550W PSU.. That and he won't be left with a 550W paper weight once the time comes that he requires more power then that.
Click to expand...

eric_bazile said:
I]P.S. You have a pretty low power PSU, all your problems may be stemming from that.
Click to expand...

Sorry, but it's gonna start now :)

We're don't have a "build lite as possible" attitude. We have a "best bang for the buck" attitude. If you look throughout the General Hardware subforum, we have always specced out PCs on a "best bang for the buck" value. Even when we know the PSU or any part is overkill for the person's needs, we'll still recommend that PSU/other PC part because it's simply worth every penny.

If you check my post history as well as my posts in the PSU subforum, you'll see that I am a bit of a PSU nut. I usually recommend getting a better quality and/or larger PSU when the situation warrants it.

Now note that I did not say he should get the Truepower New 550. I merely corrected your statement that a 550W PSU does not have enough headroom for future expansion. In addition, your statement about the PSU being of too low power was incorrect.

As said above, the OP's system will run just fine on a 450W PSU with only 33A on the +12V rail or 396W. The Truepower New 550W has 45A on the +12V rail or 540W. Considering that a heavily OC'd Core i7 with a heavily OC'd HD 5870 uses 391W of power at full load, it's safe to say that the OP does have room for expansion should the time come.

The OP has not mentioned whatsoever that he wants a GTX295 or equivalent/greater in the future. I totally agree that a larger PSU does not hurt in terms of performance. But if the OP's system can do just fine with a 550W PSU and if he does not have heavy expansion plans in the future, he can save $30 if he wants to if he goes with the Truepower New 550. But if the OP wants to spend the extra cash for a Corsair 750TX PSU, then by all means he should get it.
 
Danny Bui said:
Sorry, but it's gonna start now :)

We're don't have a "build lite as possible" attitude. We have a "best bang for the buck" attitude. If you look throughout the General Hardware subforum, we have always specced out PCs on a "best bang for the buck" value. Even when we know the PSU or any part is overkill for the person's needs, we'll still recommend that PSU/other PC part because it's simply worth every penny.

If you check my post history as well as my posts in the PSU subforum, you'll see that I am a bit of a PSU nut. I usually recommend getting a better quality and/or larger PSU when the situation warrants it.

Now note that I did not say he should get the Truepower New 550. I merely corrected your statement that a 550W PSU does not have enough headroom for future expansion. In addition, your statement about the PSU being of too low power was incorrect.

As said above, the OP's system will run just fine on a 450W PSU with only 33A on the +12V rail or 396W. The Truepower New 550W has 45A on the +12V rail or 540W. Considering that a heavily OC'd Core i7 with a heavily OC'd HD 5870 uses 391W of power at full load, it's safe to say that the OP does have room for expansion should the time come.

The OP has not mentioned whatsoever that he wants a GTX295 or equivalent/greater in the future. I totally agree that a larger PSU does not hurt in terms of performance. But if the OP's system can do just fine with a 550W PSU and if he does not have heavy expansion plans in the future, he can save $30 if he wants to if he goes with the Truepower New 550. But if the OP wants to spend the extra cash for a Corsair 750TX PSU, then by all means he should get it.
Click to expand...


When did I type "too low power"? I typed "pretty low power". And the GTX295, we were talking about future expansion right? You're right, he never mentioned it but why write off the possibility? Your also right that he can save some money but he could also lose money in the process. I gave the guy a suggestion based on what he was looking into and that was 2 different power supplies in the 700 and 700W+ range. Correct me how? Your right a 550W does allow expansion, if your system allows. I think a higher power one would allow for much more.When did the OP state best bang for the buck anyway? :confused: never saw that. He was looking into two power supplies (not in the 550W range) and I gave advice.
 
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eric_bazile said:
You want to go off of Corsairs PSU finder? With how generic that thing is? What's your CPU/GPU/Number of HD's........What about RAM, USB devices etc? Put on top of that possible hordes of fans and some internal lighting....PSU finder? ROFL!
Click to expand...

RAM, USB devices, fans, internal lighting, sound cards, etc do not use that much power. It wouldn't make that much of a difference to factor in those devices no matter how much of those devices you have. The three main parts in a PC that uses the most amount of power just so happens to be the the parts that Corsair only lists: CPU, GPU, and number of hard drives.

eric_bazile said:
When did I type "too low power"? I typed "pretty low power".
Click to expand...
You also typed right after that "pretty low power" statement: "all your problems may be stemming from that." From that, I assumed that you meant that his PSU was of too low power to power his system effectively. While the PSU itself maybe defective, it is in no way less than enough power for his system

eric_bazile said:
Correct me how?
Click to expand...
I corrected this statement:
eric_bazile said:
That leaves about no room for extras nor to any sort of future. That guy's running 5 internal HD's along with a GTX260 (plus whatever misc.)
Click to expand...

You said there would be no room for extras. I proved otherwise. There's the correction. In fact, you agreed with me just now:
eric_bazile said:
Your right a 550W does allow expansion, if your system allows.
Click to expand...

eric_bazile said:
When did the OP state best bang for the buck anyway? :confused: never saw that.
Click to expand...
It's usually safe to assume that a majority of people out there want the best part that they need/want/can afford.
 
Yikes, didn't mean to start any arguments. I do appreciate everyone's help so far though. I did forget to mention that I have an Antec Twelve Hundred case, which comes with a ridiculous amount of fans (3 x 120mm, 2 x 120mm and 1 x 200mm top fan) and lights that are all running at the moment. I also have an xbox 360 controller and ipod plugged in, but I'm not sure if that takes much power.

I ran the memtest for a little over an hour and it passed. Does that mean its ok? Did I run it long enough?

This is my case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043
 
Danny Bui : How do you get "about no room" confused with "no room" ?

odd how that works........ :eek:

so let's just end this right now, correct this.

A quality 550W PSU will allow for as much headroom and addition to a PC as a quality 700W
PSU will?

Please! Correct it.

FLAME ON WISEMAN
 
joebeem said:
Yikes, didn't mean to start any arguments. I do appreciate everyone's help so far though. I did forget to mention that I have an Antec Twelve Hundred case, which comes with a ridiculous amount of fans (3 x 120mm, 2 x 120mm and 1 x 200mm top fan) and lights that are all running at the moment. I also have an xbox 360 controller and ipod plugged in, but I'm not sure if that takes much power.

I ran the memtest for a little over an hour and it passed. Does that mean its ok? Did I run it long enough?

This is my case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129043
Click to expand...

I'll usually give memtest86 a good 12+ hours and no less then 1 pass. If you'd like to load it somewhat, run Prime95 torture test with four threads (saturate the CPU) and run Sisoft Sandra 2009's GPGPU benchmark at the same time. See what happens.
 
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eric_bazile said:
How do you get "about no room" confused with "no room" ?

odd how that works........ :eek:
Click to expand...

about no room = no room to me. That was the intent of the statement was it not? To say that the PSU had no room left?

eric_bazile said:
so let's just end this right now, correct this.

A quality 550W PSU will allow for as much headroom and addition to a PC as a quality 700W PSU will?

Please! Correct it.

FLAME ON WISEMAN
Click to expand...
Oh jeez.

I never said a 550W PSU allows for as much headroom as a quality 700W PSU. NEVER. That is not true. Dunno where you got that from what I've said so far but I apologize if thats what you thought I was saying.

You said that a 550W PSU would leave no headroom. I proved otherwise. I never once said that a 700W+ PSU would be a bad thing NOR did I say a 550W PSU would have the same amount of headroom as a 700W+ PSU. I just said a 550W PSU does have some headroom when you said in at least two times that it wouldn't. Simple as that.


joebeem said:
I ran the memtest for a little over an hour and it passed. Does that mean its ok? Did I run it long enough?
Click to expand...
I usually run it for a full 24 hours to be absolutely sure. I've had RAM errors show up in the 23rd hour on occasion.
 
Danny Bui said:
about no room = no room to me. That was the intent of the statement was it not? To say that the PSU had no room left?


Oh jeez.

I never said a 550W PSU allows for as much headroom as a quality 700W PSU. NEVER. That is not true. Dunno where you got that from what I've said so far but I apologize if thats what you thought I was saying.

You said that a 550W PSU would leave no headroom. I proved otherwise. I never once said that a 700W+ PSU would be a bad thing NOR did I say a 550W PSU would have the same amount of headroom as a 700W+ PSU. I just said a 550W PSU does have some headroom when you said in at least two times that it wouldn't. Simple as that.






I usually run it for a full 24 hours to be absolutely sure. I've had RAM errors show up in the 23rd hour on occasion.
Click to expand...

Once again, I never stated a 550W PSU would leave "no headroom". please! quote it from my past argument. WHERE DID I STATE THAT? I typed " about no headroom" ABOUT NO HEADROOM......... I guess I have to type in caps cause you cant read the screen. Quote my statements to what you were stating yourself please.

so if, about no headroom = no headroom (to you) I guess 1 = 1.1 also ?

you: I never said a 550W PSU allows for as much headroom as a quality 700W PSU. NEVER.

you're right you never did, nor did I say state you did. I just asked you to correct the statement, did I not?

What's the deal? You want him to get a 550W and I disagree. Keep trying to prove yourself, You're not bothering me much. Let's paint ourselves into a corner while we're at it.
 
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eric_bazile said:
Once again, I never stated a 550W PSU would leave "no headroom". please! quote it from my past argument. WHERE DID I STATE THAT? I typed " about no headroom" ABOUT NO HEADROOM......... I guess I have to type in caps cause you cant read the screen.
Click to expand...

ABOUT NO HEADROOM = NO HEADROOM in my mind.

If you meant something else with that statement, I would love to hear it.
 
Danny Bui said:
ABOUT NO HEADROOM = NO HEADROOM in my mind.

If you meant something else with that statement, I would love to hear it.
Click to expand...

Other then the fact that "about no headroom" is 6 characters longer then "no headroom"
(yeah! 6 characters, a space is a character, so don't TRY and correct that also).

Hmmm! common word association... about, around, close to, roughly..... should I keep going?

Sorry! There's is nothing in the statement "about no headroom" that (in your mind) equals "no headroom".

Once again, I NEVER STATED NO HEADROOM!

Otherwise I'm at a loss for words :confused:
 
eric_bazile said:
Other then the fact that "about no headroom" is 6 characters longer then "no headroom"
(yeah! 6 characters, a space is a character, so don't TRY and correct that also).

Hmmm! common word association... about, around, close to, roughly..... should I keep going?

Sorry! There's is nothing in the statement "about no headroom" that (in your mind) equals "no headroom".

Once again, I NEVER STATED NO HEADROOM!

Otherwise I'm at a loss for words :confused:
Click to expand...

Ok, looks like there was a bit of a mis-communication. I thought you said "no headroom" when you really meant "close to no headroom". Not much difference IMO but whatever. Lets just let this argument die, ok? Now we're just splitting hairs.
 
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