Windows Vista Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard

[ChrisJust66]

Re: Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard


I'm assuming he does. But that dosn't mean that the power connection to
the cpu isn't bad. Of course if he tried a new psu and a new motherboard
with no sucess, it would be a bad cpu. Which would be weird if it was
caused by a standby mode.


--
ChrisJust66

 

[jakewan]

Re: Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard


Hey Everyone,

I don't have an extra ATX12V 2.0 power supply around, so rather than
buying a new one right away, I decided to buy a power supply tester,
which I thought might be useful again in the future
(http://www.coolmaxusa.com/productDe...&subcategory=powertester&category=powertester).

It might be a week or more until it arrives, but I'll be back with a
post as soon as I've had a chance to test the power supply with it.

Jacob


--
jakewan

 

[w_tom]

Re: Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard

On Dec 28, 8:18 pm, jakewan <jakewan.32b...@no-mx.forums.net> wrote:
> I don't have an extra ATX12V 2.0power supplyaround, so rather than
> buying a new one right away, I decided to buy apower supplytester,
> which I thought might be useful again in the future

The power supply tester is an almost completely useless tool. For
example, problems such as yours can be created by a failure that is
only detected by maximum loads. Power supply tester cannot provide a
maximum load, does not provide critically important numbers (GO-NOGO
testing is not informative), does not test the rest of the power
supply 'system' (did everyone forget to tell you of the other 'system'
components that are also involved?), and is a tool that has no other
purpose.

A ubiquitous tool selling for a best price even in Walmart is
necessary. That multimeter and two minutes with this procedure would
have reported the supply 'system' as 'definitively good' or
'definitively bad' which means you then move on and don't look back.
"When your computer dies without warning....." starting 6 Feb 2007 in
the newsgroup alt.windows-xp at:
http://tinyurl.com/yvf9vh

At best, a supply tester can only report a 'maybe'. Nothing
'definitive' in a 'maybe'. Only definitive' answers are useful. Two
minutes would have provided the definitive answer. Posting those
numbers means that others with better knowledge could have provided
other even more useful information. Go-Nogo testing tells you nothing
and will result in no replies from the better informed. Get the meter
now because it is so inexpensive and actually reports something
useful.

Meanwhile, sleep mode cannot damage hardware. Your test with only
motherboard and CPU says nothing if the CPU does not result in a beep
code. What is the 12 volts connector for? CPU power. If CPU has no
power, then how were CPU and motherboard were working? Did you know
about the power supply controller? Do you know what tells that
controller to shut down a power supply? You conclusions imply that
was not known. Therefore your conclusions are, at best, speculative.
Do the two minute procedure. Then post those numbers here to get
useful replies and recommendations on what to do next.

 

[the wharf rat]

Re: Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard

In article <ed55b966-3052-40f3-86a6-9ab3cd25f482@c4g2000hsg.googlegroups.com>,
w_tom <w_tom1@usa.net> wrote:
>
> The power supply tester is an almost completely useless tool. For

It's good for screening batches of used power supplies...

The best way to diagnose a bad PS is to replace it. Hey, you
should have a spare around anyway.

 

[Ashton Crusher]

Re: Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard

On Fri, 28 Dec 2007 19:18:30 -0600, jakewan
<jakewan.32bx7z@no-mx.forums.net> wrote:

>
>Hey Everyone,
>
>I don't have an extra ATX12V 2.0 power supply around, so rather than
>buying a new one right away, I decided to buy a power supply tester,
>which I thought might be useful again in the future
>(http://www.coolmaxusa.com/productDe...&subcategory=powertester&category=powertester).
>
>It might be a week or more until it arrives, but I'll be back with a
>post as soon as I've had a chance to test the power supply with it.
>
>Jacob


I had a similar thing happen. I thought I had narrowed the problem
down to the power supply and bought a new one. It was still not
fixed. So I bought another identical motherboard and that fixed it
and I took the power supply back. I doubt that sleep mode is what
broke your system. I have seen what appears to be more or less the
same problem with the computer not wanting to come out of sleep mode.
I thought I had lost my whole HD for a while but eventually with
sufficient power cycles it came back out of sleep. One time the only
way I could wake it was to power down, then unplug the power cord from
the power supply, then push the power button in to completely
discharge the power supply capacitors. That would make it restart
after plugging it back in. Somehow it seems like the computer
sometimes went into sleep mode but was so asleep that it wasn't
hearing the signal to wake up. Since all this stuff was happening
about the same time as the MB replacement it may have all been related
to the MB having problems. Luckily (or perhaps that was the cause) I
bought a cheap motherboard and it was not much money to just buy
another one (ECS brand).

 

[w_tom]

Re: Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard

On Dec 29, 11:43 am, w...@panix.com (the wharf rat) wrote:
> It's good for screening batches of used power supplies...
> The best way to diagnose a bad PS is to replace it. Hey, you
> should have a spare around anyway.

A defective power supply can be reported good by a power supply
tester. So what has the tester accomplished? A smaller pile of still
"unknowns". But this is not understood by those who know without
learning how electricity works. It's a magic box. It says GO-NOGO.
Therefore it reports a fact? Of course not. It only reports
speculation.

Swapping power supply does not diagnosis a bad supply. Because
computer boots means a power supply is good? Nonsense. Speculation
again perverted into fact. What about other components of the power
supply system? Shotgunning pretends they don't exist. The unresolved
failure simiply reappears months later. A failure directly traceable
to a human who shotguns rather than learning basic electrical
concepts.

Provided was how smarter techs routinely determine power supply
'system' integrity faster, with less labor, and 'defintively'. They
test many components (the entire 'system') simultaneously. They get
defintive answers using a meter; not a power supply tester. Less
labor. Less changes means fewer other things get 'strange'. Even the
reason for the failure is known - also necessary fix it right the
first time. Power supply tester that costs so much money cannot
perform its primary function and has no other purpose..

It's a new supply; therefore 1) it must be good, 2) it must be
sufficiently sized, and 3) if it boots a computer, then it must be
good. All three speculations are why the meter does so much more;
confirms a new supply is OK. How can a defective power supply still
boot a computer? Obvious from basic electrical knowledge. A problem
undetected by a power supply tester. A problem that does not exist
according to shotgunners.

Power supply tester is money wasted. Use that money to buy a 3.5
digit multimeter. Have a tool with other purposes, and that gets
'definitive' answers - not speculation. The power supply tester is a
completely useless tool - as accurately noted previously.

 

[w_tom]

Re: Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard

On Dec 30, 3:24 am, Ashton Crusher <d...@moore.net> wrote:
> I had a similar thing happen. I thought I had narrowed the problem
> down to the power supply and bought a new one. It was still not
> fixed. So I bought another identical motherboard and that fixed it
> and I took the power supply back. I doubt that sleep mode is what
> broke your system. I have seen what appears to be more or less the
> same problem with the computer not wanting to come out of sleep mode.
>
> Somehow it seems like the computer sometimes went into sleep
> mode but was so asleep that it wasn't hearing the signal to wake up.

Sleep is controlled by a power supply controller - another part of
the power supply 'system'. Problem would have been obvious in less
than a minute if using a meter. That power supply was not turning on
because a controller was not telling the supply to power on. Then only
the defective component get replaced. Time saved. Less gas wasted..

Software does not harm hardware. Sleep mode cannot cause hardware
damage. Collecting numbers using a 3.5 digit multimeter and that two
minute procedure, and posting those numbers here, means others could
quickly identify the defect. No numbers means only shotgunners can
speculate. Replies will only be as useful as the information
provided. Power supply tester provides no useful facts for a more
useful reply.

 

[the wharf rat]

Re: Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard

In article <81b3a3d0-20e1-4b17-ac37-802dd1f2531f@z11g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>,
w_tom <w_tom1@usa.net> wrote:
>
> Software does not harm hardware.

Well, that's not necessarily true. We used to write programs
to make disc drives walk across the floor and pull out their cables.
Or get a bios that allows you to control clock speed, then overclock it
on a stock cooling setup.

Multimeters are not cheap, knowing how to use one properly isn't
something you'll pick up from the two page pamphlet inside the box, and
it'd be a throwaway for a guy with a single home pc. It's like a bad voltage
regulator in an old car. You can get a meter, find the cables, do all
your testing, and decide whether or not to replace it. Or you can just
buy one for twenty bucks and spend 3 minutes screwing it in. if it doesn't
help you needed a spare anyway.

>No numbers means only shotgunners can speculate.

The only person who ever hunted ducks with a rifle was Annie Oakley.
Personally, I'd rather hit my target then worry about being 100% efficient.
Telling a guy with a home pc to get a multimeter to fix his power supply
is like telling him to buy visual studio and fire up the debugger to find
out why his greeting card program blue screens.

 

[w_tom]

Re: Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard

On Dec 30, 3:10 pm, w...@panix.com (the wharf rat) wrote:
> Multimeters are not cheap, knowing how to use one properly isn't
> something you'll pick up from the two page pamphlet inside the box, and
> it'd be a throwaway for a guy with a single home pc.

Multimeters are so cheap as to sell in K-mart for $20. Even less in
Walmart. Even the power supply tester would require doing things far
more dangerous. According to the wharf rat, a multimeter is so
complex as to be sold only to people with sufficient intelligence to
shop in Kmart. IOW give me a break. Even an iPod is far more
complicated and multiple times more expensive. the wharf rat also
recommends avoiding iPods as too expensive and dangerous. It is his
logic.

If a multimeter is too difficult, then don't ever try to fix a
Windows problem. Those problems are even far too complex - using the
wharf rat's reasoning. Only take a computer to the shop for all
defragging and dust ball removals. Or ignore what the wharf rat has
posted since he does not possess the qualifications to become a Kmart
shopper.

How difficult is a multimeter? Turn the dial to 20 volt DC
position. Touch leads to electrical contacts. Read numbers. This
should only be performed by 'blue light' shoppers - or 12 year olds.

Meanwhile, there is not hardware in a computer that can be destroyed
by software. None. Sleep mode cannot harm any hardware. How do we
know. A Kmart shopper said so. Therefore it must be true.

 

[jakewan]

Re: Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard


The power supply tester arrived today, so I hooked up the 24-pin and
8-pin motherboard plugs and here are the results that came up on the
screen:

+5V: 5.0
+12V1: 11.9
+3.3V: 3.3
-12V: 11.9
+12V2: 11.9
5VSB: 5.0
P.G.: 770ms


I think this means the power supply is functioning properly.

To summarize what we learned before, the problem only occurs when the
8-pin 12V plug is plugged into the motherboard. We thought that
isolated the problem to the power supply, motherboard, or CPU. If
that's all right so far, then it seems the next step would be to replace
either the motherboard or the CPU. Given that I don't really like the
motherboard I chose for running Vista, I'm not at all opposed to
replacing that next.

Jacob


--
jakewan

 

[ChrisJust66]

Re: Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard


Looks good to me. The P.G. is a little higher than what I'm used to
seeing but it probably dosn't matter since most new mobo don't use it
anyways.


--
ChrisJust66

 

[pumpkin]

Re: Sleep mode may have actually destroyed my motherboard


Hey I hope I can help as I have built 2 machines using asus m2n-sli
boards and I have noted your symptons and my solution was to use the
reset jumper anytime power was removed from this board and have used
sleep mode on my machine for a month and love them


--
pumpkin