Could it be my 10$ PSU? hopefully.

I've been by here before and you guys were awesome, so I'm back for some advice.

Every so often, when I turn on my system in the morning, all the fans start, but I get one long beep, then everything stops. The power light in the front of the tower is still on tho. I've checked what the long beep means and apparently it's either the PSU is dying or the motherboard needs to be reflashed by the company. Strange thing is, this happened about 3 weeks ago, took about 15 tries to start up, the next day it happened again, then for the next 3 weeks nothing happened. I figured I fixed it by fixing a bad connector going from the power button to the motherboard. Then it started again today.

Just so you know,

Motherboard = Soyo Dragon KT600 plus
PSU = Xcase 550W that came w/ a 50$ case. They retail for about 10$ from what I saw online. Never worried about this because it's lasted for about 10 months now w/ no problems

Guess this is where the advice comes in. Sadly I'm on a very limited budget, this being my last year of college and well, I'm kinda out of cash .

I've done some quick calculations and my computer only needs a minimum of 300W to run at 100%. Should I go ahead and buy a new PSU before this one totally dies? or is it not even the PSU. I love how they always give 2-3 solutions to one problem (it could be this or this or this!). Just wanted to get some feedback before I go spend 50$ on a PSU and that might not even be the problem.

Any advice would be lovely, you guys are the best.

Oh, and the computer can be left on for any ammount of time after and it runs just fine. It only seems to happen when I try to turn it on.

 

I found that information at Soyo. They do state that it is a continuous/non-stop beep. Is it non-stop?

If it is non-stop, since you need to save your $s, borrow someones PSU to try. Don't use a branded computers PSU to trial (like a HP, Dell, Gateway, etc) it may not be compatible. You may need to reboot continuously to see if the problem will arise, unless the person will let you use it for a week or so.

If they are long beeps with breaks, that usually means a RAM problem, although you would need to check the beep codes for the BIOS manufacturer (Award, AMI or Pheonix). The BIOS maunfacturer is stated at the top of the first BIOS settings screen.

Matt

 

Apart from the above, if you set out to get a new PSU, I would recommend one with at reasonably well known brand. Check if Coolermaster are available where you are, they are selling at low prices here since they have recently come on the market and wish to get the started by offering reduced prices.

My friend keeps getting me to purchase generic PSUs for him, I have replaced it three times. My branded PSUs have outlived all of his.

Matt

 

It is one long continuous beep. indicating (according to soyo, a motherboard problem or a PSU) I have an old 300W psu from back in the day, but the fan is broken, and i'm still not sure if it was the cause of my problems or not the first time i came here for help.

I was looking @ a thermaltake 430w psu. decent price and a good company name.

 

PM cleanup time! Thanks Pete.

The Thermaltake should ensure you have confidence in the PSU and would not be a bad investment at all. I, myself would still look into BIOS possibilities just for reassurance. Check if there is a setting in the BIOS "Quick POST" or something like that. Disable it. Check through the descriptions of the BIOS upgrades available and see if there are any that may relate to your system.

Matt

 

Well, got the new PSU, installed it. everything's running ok. just wanted to give you guys an update.

 

Thanks for the update. Let's hope it is the answer.

Matt

 

Seems like it is, the last few days before i put in the new PSU, it was every single morning it took a few times to get it going. now it's working perfectly. I'm a little hesitant to update bios the normal way. Back when i had an Asus they had a nifty program that did it for me. the whole boot disk etc thing scares me a little. seems like it could be more prone to something going wrong.

 

If the system is running ok, I would not update/patch the BIOS just for the heck of it.

 

Yes, only investigate a BIOS upgrade if you find the problems return. If the system is working well, don't do any BIOS upgrades. Unless the description relates to a problem you are having, use it as a last resort.

Matt