Power Supply Problems?

What are some of the signs a power supply is going bad?

I noticed my system shut down and rebooted on its own once last week for some reason but it hasn't happened again since. I also noticed the picture on my monitor has been "flickering" slightly. It only flickers, though, on the sides.

I have done virus scans and have updated all drivers but it still persists.

I was also thinking maybe there's something going on with the wall socket as well as I have had two video surveillance cameras have problems as both were plugged into the same outlet.

This all started about a month ago.

Anyone have any ideas here or how to go about checking things to try and narrow this down?

Thanks in advance!

 

I would check the wall socket for problems. The socket it self could be failing or the wiring could be getting brittle (old homes known for this) and causing a bad connection. Also you may what to see what other electrical items share that same curcuit, especially appliances such as AC, refrigerator, washer/dryer. microwave or etc. Call an electrician if you are not knowledgable in troubleshooting electrical problems. I would purchase an UPS device to plug the PC and monitor into.

 

Signs that your P/S is failing.
When your machine boots fails to detect drives.
When hard drive or cd drive spin up the machine shuts down.
Random BSOD (never the same error)

Check your BIOS there should be a monitor that will tell you the voltages. The two voltages you should look at are the 12v and 5v +/- 5% is a good tolerance.

Use a multi meter and check voltages in a molex connector for the same voltages.

Another thing is to check the caps on your mobo. If they are bulging then you have a much bigger problem.

Signs that your mobo is failing.
System locks up (frequently)
Random BSOD (frequently)
On board devices (NIC/Sound..etc) work intermittently.