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Next: How to know how much power (watts) a computer nee..
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External
Since: Oct 09, 2007
Posts: 1
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(Msg. 1) Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 8:56 am
Post subject: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboard.
Archived from groups: alt>comp>hardware>pc-homebuilt (more info?)
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Hi everyone,
I'm having a frustrating problem with my custom-built PC. Any insight
would be appreciated.
For the third time now, my system has refused to boot. Nothing turns
on or spins up at all. The only way I have been able to fix it (each
time) is to unplug it, take the side panel off, and then unplug and
reconnect the main 24-pin connector that routes power from the power
supply to the motherboard.
I should mention that before I take this step, there is a green light
on the motherboard that blinks, and then turns solid when things are
back to normal. The first two times I did this, the light returned
back to normal right away. The third time, I had to wait a few
minutes, and then as I was watching it, POOF, it suddenly turned back
on.
For the most part, my computer runs just fine, except when this
happens. Now I’m almost afraid to turn the darn thing off.
Maybe this kind of issue has already been discussed before in this
newsgroup. Of course, my instinct is telling me it's all about the
power supply, and the results I came up with after doing a search on
Google are causing me to believe that even more. How about the
motherboard? Could that be at fault? Is it a Vista hibernation issue,
or is my system going into some sort of “soft power” mode that I’m not
aware of?
Here are my main specs:
Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 case
Antec Neo HE 550W power supply
Intel Extreme Series D975XBX2 motherboard
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40 GHz CPU
2 GB Corsair DDR2 800 main memory
Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit |
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External
Since: Oct 09, 2004
Posts: 2498
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(Msg. 2) Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:06 am
Post subject: Re: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboard. [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
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Erich Kohl wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm having a frustrating problem with my custom-built PC. Any insight
> would be appreciated.
>
> For the third time now, my system has refused to boot. Nothing turns
> on or spins up at all. The only way I have been able to fix it (each
> time) is to unplug it, take the side panel off, and then unplug and
> reconnect the main 24-pin connector that routes power from the power
> supply to the motherboard.
>
> I should mention that before I take this step, there is a green light
> on the motherboard that blinks, and then turns solid when things are
> back to normal. The first two times I did this, the light returned
> back to normal right away. The third time, I had to wait a few
> minutes, and then as I was watching it, POOF, it suddenly turned back
> on.
>
> For the most part, my computer runs just fine, except when this
> happens. Now I’m almost afraid to turn the darn thing off.
>
> Maybe this kind of issue has already been discussed before in this
> newsgroup. Of course, my instinct is telling me it's all about the
> power supply, and the results I came up with after doing a search on
> Google are causing me to believe that even more. How about the
> motherboard? Could that be at fault? Is it a Vista hibernation issue,
> or is my system going into some sort of “soft power” mode that I’m not
> aware of?
>
> Here are my main specs:
>
> Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 case
> Antec Neo HE 550W power supply
> Intel Extreme Series D975XBX2 motherboard
> Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40 GHz CPU
> 2 GB Corsair DDR2 800 main memory
> Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit
There is no mention in your parts list, of how many USB devices are
connected, or whether any of them are high power devices. Note that
some motherboards now run all the USB devices from the +5VSB rail,
which is not very bright. (At one time, there was a header on the
motherboard, that selected +5V or +5VSB for that task. To save
money, the headers have been removed.) If you plug in a USB
"coffee warmer", that might be enough to overload it.
The green LED is connected to +5VSB. The light should be steady. If
the load on +5VSB is too much, the green LED could go off, until the
overload is removed.
Occasionally, there is a functional problem with the power supply
itself, and the flashing green is not a problem with the loading
at all. So it could be a bad power supply.
The green LED on the motherboard, is connected directly to +5VSB,
so monitors its every move. There should not be any logic devices
in the way. If the LED flashes, that means the power supply is
turning on and off, which is why that green LED is a very good
indicator of how well the power supply is doing. The LED should
never flash, and should be on steady and solid.
Paul |
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External
Since: Oct 09, 2007
Posts: 3
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(Msg. 3) Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:25 am
Post subject: Re: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboard. [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
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On Oct 9, 9:06 am, Paul wrote:
> Erich Kohl wrote:
> > Hi everyone,
>
> > I'm having a frustrating problem with my custom-built PC. Any insight
> > would be appreciated.
>
> There is no mention in your parts list, of how many USB devices are
> connected, or whether any of them are high power devices. Note that
> some motherboards now run all the USB devices from the +5VSB rail,
> which is not very bright. (At one time, there was a header on the
> motherboard, that selected +5V or +5VSB for that task. To save
> money, the headers have been removed.) If you plug in a USB
> "coffee warmer", that might be enough to overload it.
>
I doubt that I use many more USB devices than the average person.
Typically they consist of my printer (which I only turn on when I need
it), my keyboard, and a Logitech gamepad. Every so often I'll plug in
another device.
When I opened up my PC to reseat the main power connector, I had
everything disconnected from the computer, including all the USB
devices. As long as at least the power cable in the back was
connected to an electrical outlet and nothing else was connected, you
could see the LED blinking on the motherboard. >> Stay informed about: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboa.. |
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External
Since: Oct 09, 2004
Posts: 2498
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(Msg. 4) Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2007 11:11 pm
Post subject: Re: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboard. [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
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ekohl.TakeThisOut@sbcglobal.net wrote:
> On Oct 9, 9:06 am, Paul wrote:
>> Erich Kohl wrote:
>>> Hi everyone,
>>> I'm having a frustrating problem with my custom-built PC. Any insight
>>> would be appreciated.
>> There is no mention in your parts list, of how many USB devices are
>> connected, or whether any of them are high power devices. Note that
>> some motherboards now run all the USB devices from the +5VSB rail,
>> which is not very bright. (At one time, there was a header on the
>> motherboard, that selected +5V or +5VSB for that task. To save
>> money, the headers have been removed.) If you plug in a USB
>> "coffee warmer", that might be enough to overload it.
>>
>
> I doubt that I use many more USB devices than the average person.
> Typically they consist of my printer (which I only turn on when I need
> it), my keyboard, and a Logitech gamepad. Every so often I'll plug in
> another device.
>
> When I opened up my PC to reseat the main power connector, I had
> everything disconnected from the computer, including all the USB
> devices. As long as at least the power cable in the back was
> connected to an electrical outlet and nothing else was connected, you
> could see the LED blinking on the motherboard.
>
OK, I checked the Badaxe2 manual on the Intel site, and on page 45 at
the bottom, the LED next to the main power connector, is connected to
+5VSB. Is that what is blinking ?
http://download.intel.com/design/motherbd/bx2/D7364501US.pdf
All I can tell you, is a blinking +5VSB LED indicates a problem with
the +5VSB supply rail. Possible reasons:
1) Motherboard is overloading +5VSB on the power supply. This could be
due to a large number of USB devices, especially "dumb" USB devices
with high power consumptions.
2) Power supply is malfunctioning and is not able to supply +5VSB,
to its normal current rating.
If you swap in a different brand/model number power supply, and test
again, if the LED still flashes, then the motherboard is doing some
overloading. If the LED stops flashing, then you know the original supply
is not working properly.
I would use a clamp-on DC ammeter, to measure the power flow in the
+5VSB wire. That would make it easier to decide what was defective,
but not many people have a meter like that.
HTH,
Paul >> Stay informed about: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboa.. |
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External
Since: Jul 22, 2003
Posts: 79
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(Msg. 5) Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 12:15 pm
Post subject: Re: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboard. [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
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Erich Kohl wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> I'm having a frustrating problem with my custom-built PC. Any insight
> would be appreciated.
>
> For the third time now, my system has refused to boot. Nothing turns
> on or spins up at all. The only way I have been able to fix it (each
> time) is to unplug it, take the side panel off, and then unplug and
> reconnect the main 24-pin connector that routes power from the power
> supply to the motherboard.
>
> I should mention that before I take this step, there is a green light
> on the motherboard that blinks, and then turns solid when things are
> back to normal. The first two times I did this, the light returned
> back to normal right away. The third time, I had to wait a few
> minutes, and then as I was watching it, POOF, it suddenly turned back
> on.
>
> For the most part, my computer runs just fine, except when this
> happens. Now I’m almost afraid to turn the darn thing off.
>
> Maybe this kind of issue has already been discussed before in this
> newsgroup. Of course, my instinct is telling me it's all about the
> power supply, and the results I came up with after doing a search on
> Google are causing me to believe that even more. How about the
> motherboard? Could that be at fault? Is it a Vista hibernation issue,
> or is my system going into some sort of “soft power” mode that I’m not
> aware of?
>
> Here are my main specs:
>
> Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 case
> Antec Neo HE 550W power supply
> Intel Extreme Series D975XBX2 motherboard
> Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40 GHz CPU
> 2 GB Corsair DDR2 800 main memory
> Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit
How old is your power supply? Antec has had quite a few of the Neo
550w power supplies go back. If you contact Antec they will probably
give you an RMA and will replace it for you.
Bob >> Stay informed about: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboa.. |
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External
Since: Jun 06, 2007
Posts: 67
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(Msg. 6) Posted: Wed Oct 10, 2007 1:56 pm
Post subject: Re: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboard. [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
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On Oct 9, 11:11 pm, Paul wrote:
> I would use a clamp-on DC ammeter, to measure the power flow in the
> +5VSB wire. That would make it easier to decide what was defective,
> but not many people have a meter like that.
Paul's answers are some best recommendations available. This
because he asks for numbers that provide definitive answers AND can
result in more information when posted here.
However accomplish similar results by using a meter without that
current measuring (hall effect) device. Yes that current measuring
device would provide significantly useful information. But even with
only a meter, significant facts could be learned. Simply measure
purple wire voltage (power supply to motherboard) when no USB devices
are attached. Then continue reading (and recording) voltages as USB
devices are connected one at a time. That voltage must always remain
above 4.87 volts. And again, how that voltage changes with each
device new USB device connected could mean useful replies here. At
what point does the LED start flashing?
Bottom line: if you want an answer that gets it right the first
time, then provide numbers. Otherwise every reply can only be
speculation. I cannot recommend strongly enough the useful concepts
recommended by Paul. Even swapping a power supply (without first
taking numbers) can only result in speculation. A problem could
otherwise still remain - just be less often noticed. >> Stay informed about: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboa.. |
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External
Since: Oct 09, 2007
Posts: 3
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(Msg. 7) Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:46 am
Post subject: Re: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboard. [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
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On Oct 9, 11:11 pm, Paul wrote:
>
> OK, I checked the Badaxe2 manual on the Intel site, and on page 45 at
> the bottom, the LED next to the main power connector, is connected to
> +5VSB. Is that what is blinking ?
>
> http://download.intel.com/design/motherbd/bx2/D7364501US.pdf
>
I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I have the manual for my
motherboard, of course. I wish I would have digged a little deeper
into it in order to find the description of that LED.
> All I can tell you, is a blinking +5VSB LED indicates a problem with
> the +5VSB supply rail. Possible reasons:
>
> 1) Motherboard is overloading +5VSB on the power supply. This could be
> due to a large number of USB devices, especially "dumb" USB devices
> with high power consumptions.
> 2) Power supply is malfunctioning and is not able to supply +5VSB,
> to its normal current rating.
>
> If you swap in a different brand/model number power supply, and test
> again, if the LED still flashes, then the motherboard is doing some
> overloading. If the LED stops flashing, then you know the original supply
> is not working properly.
>
> I would use a clamp-on DC ammeter, to measure the power flow in the
> +5VSB wire. That would make it easier to decide what was defective,
> but not many people have a meter like that.
>
What you're saying makes sense. I appreciate the information and
helpful advice you've given me. >> Stay informed about: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboa.. |
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External
Since: Oct 09, 2007
Posts: 3
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(Msg. 8) Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2007 9:51 am
Post subject: Re: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboard. [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
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On Oct 10, 1:15 pm, Bob M wrote:
>
> How old is your power supply? Antec has had quite a few of the Neo
> 550w power supplies go back. If you contact Antec they will probably
> give you an RMA and will replace it for you.
>
> Bob
>
I put the system together in the middle of May, so by that measure
it's about five months old. I'm not sure of the exact date of
manufacture.
I guess I could contact Antec tech support and see what they have to
say. Either that or my local Micro Center, which is where I bought
it. >> Stay informed about: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboa.. |
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External
Since: Jan 26, 2011
Posts: 1
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(Msg. 9) Posted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 10:34 pm
Post subject: Re: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboard. [Login to view extended thread Info.]
Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
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Might be a little late on a reply, but I found this thread because I had
the same issue and this came up in a search. I had the blinking red 5vsb
LED on my motherboard and had no luck getting it to power up. I knew the
motherboard and PSU worked because I just took it out of the case from
my main computer after an upgrade and put in in my old case.
I found the problem was the front panel USB headers were not in the
correct position. I had the black wires placed on the 1 pin. If you are
having a similar issue try to disconnect all of your USB headers and see
if the LED stops blinking. The motherboard is testing the voltages in
the board and senses that the USB headers are shorting out and stops you
from powering up the CPU. Make sure the black wires are on the side of
the header with the missing pin. The orange/red should be on the 1 pin
side. Hope this helps someone else. >> Stay informed about: Dead computer (sometimes) with blinking light on motherboa.. |
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