Supporting the Power System and Troubleshooting Computers.

Steps in computer troubleshooting

1. Interview the user 2.Back Up the data as needed. 3.Use file recovery software. 4.Hire a professional file recovery service. 5.examine the system and establish a theory. 6.Fix the problem, verify the fix, and document the outcome.

What do you consider when selecting a power supply?

1. The form factor- Is it a ATX or a Micro-ATX, for placement of the screws in the case. 2.The Wattage Rating-You must make sure that you have enough power to support all your components. 3.Number and type of connectors it used so it is compatible with your motherboard. 4.Fans inside the PSU- Small or Big. 5.Dual Voltage Options- 115V(usa), 220V(other countries) 6.Extra features-warranty, support to multi video cards. 7.Need about 30% more Wattage than the recommended by manufacture.

What are some of the symptoms when a computer is overheating?

1. The system freezes or hangs at odd times. 2.Windows BSOD will occur. 3.You can not hear the fan working or the fan makes a whining noise. 4.You can not feel air pulling in or out of the case.

What things do you use to keep a system cool?

1.Heat Sink 2.Fans 3.thermal compound 4.Liquid cooling system (optional)

What are some resources that you can use when troubleshooting a computer?

1.The Web 2. Chat, Forums, Technical support 3.Manufacturers diagnostic software. 4.User Manuals 5.Technical associates in your organization.

Possible symptoms of an electrical problem

1.computer appears dead. 2.The computer locks up during boots 3.You get a burning smell. 4.The computer shuts down at odd times during the boot.Rule of thumb is to try the simple things first.

PCIe ×16 card other than a video card

100 W

SATA hard drive

15-30 W

PCIe ×16 video card

150-300 W

PCI card (network card, FireWire card, or other PCI card)

20 W

DVD/CD drive

20-30 W

Motherboard, processor, memory, keyboard, and mouse(Appx Wattage Use)

200-300 W

Fan

5 W

PCI video card

50 W

Clicking noise

A clicking noise likely indicates the hard drive is failing. Replace the drive as soon as possible.

System reports less memory than you know is installed

A memory module is not seated correctly or has failed. Begin troubleshooting memory.

How does a liquid cooling system work?

A small pump sits inside the computer case, and the small tubes move liquid around the components and then away to a place where the fans can cool the liquid.

How do you calculate the Wattage Capacity

Add up the wattage requirements for all the components and add 30%.

Fanless CPU Cooler

Also called Passive CPU Coolers. Coolers that contain heat pipes, that contain a small amount of liquid that becomes vapor when heated and the fins draw away the heat from the CPU.

What material is a cooler made of ?

Aluminum or Copper. Copper is a better heat conductor.

Error appears during boot: Intruder detection error

An intrusion detection device installed on the motherboard has detected that the computer case was opened. Suspect a security breach.

Continuous short beeps (Beeps)

Award BIOS: A memory error Intel BIOS: A loose card or short

1 long and 2 short beeps (Beeps)

Award BIOS: A video problem, no video card, bad video memory Intel BIOS: A video problem

Fans spin, but no power to other devices

Begin by checking the power supply. Are connectors securely connected? Use a power supply tester to check for correct voltage outputs.

System shuts down unexpectedly and starts back up

Begin by checking the system for overheating. Is the processor cooler fan working? Go to UEFI/BIOS setup and check the temperature of the processor. When the processor overheats and the system restarts, the problem is called a processor thermal trip error.

BSOD

Blue Screen of Death.

System attempts to boot to the wrong boot device

Go into UEFI/BIOS setup and change the boot device priority order.

Case Fan

Help draw air out of the case. It is the section on the case that has holes that allow you to install a fan.

System freezes or locks up without an error message

If the system locks up without an error screen and while still displaying the Windows Start screen or desktop, the problem is most likely caused by an application not responding. Sometimes you'll see the Windows pinwheel indicating the system is waiting for a response from a program or device. Open the Windows Task Manager utility and end any application that is not responding. If that doesn't work, restart Windows.

No power

If you see no lights on the computer case and hear no spinning fans, make sure the surge protector or wall outlet has power. Is the switch on the rear of the case on? Is the dual voltage selector switch set correctly? Are power supply connectors securely connected? Is the power supply bad?

3 long beeps

Intel BIOS: A keyboard controller problem

Continuous 3 short beeps and then a pause

Intel BIOS: A memory error

Continuous 2 short beeps and then a pause

Intel BIOS: A video card problem

1 long and 3 short beeps (Beeps)

Intel BIOS: A video problem

Continuous high and low beeps

Intel BIOS: CPU problem

1 long and 1 short beep (Beeps)

Intel BIOS: Motherboard problem

8 beeps followed by a system shutdown

Intel BIOS: The system has overheated

Heat Sink

Is made of Metal fins that draw away heat from the processor into its fins.The fan blows the heat away.

Blank screen when you first power up the computer, and no noise or indicator lights

Is power getting to the system? If power is getting to the computer, address the problem as an electrical problem with the computer. Make sure the power supply is good and power supply connectors are securely connected.

Liquid Cooling System

Is recommended to use on high end gaming computers and on cards.Recommended to use on Processors that use the LGA2011 socket. They might include a PCIe or PCI card that has a power supply, temperature sensor, and processor to control the cooler.

+12 V Rail

Is the most used and most common in power supplies.(circuit/rail)

File Recovery Software

Is third party software that can help recover deleted and corrupted files.Example of a program is GetDataBack by Runtime software.

Loud whining noise

Most likely the noise is made by the power supply or a failing hard drive. There might be a short. The power supply might be going bad or is underrated for the system.

POST code beeps

One or no beep indicates that all is well after POST. However, startup UEFI/ BIOS communicates POST errors as a series of beeps before it tests video. Search the website of the motherboard or UEFI/BIOS manufacturer to know how to interpret a series of beep codes. You might need to restart the system more than once so you can carefully count the beeps. T

Error appears during boot: Overclocking failed. Please enter setup to reconfigure your system

Overclocking should be discontinued. However, this error might not be related to overclocking; it can occur when the power supply is failing.

Cooler

Sits on top of the processor and consists of a fan and heat sink.

Shorts in the motherboard can be caused by what?

Some shorts can be caused by improper contact to the bottom of the case, or a missing standoff, or screws under the board can be touching the bottom of the motherboard.

Possible error messages: No boot device available Hard drive not found Fixed disk error Invalid boot disk Inaccessible boot device or drive Invalid drive specification

Startup BIOS did not find a device to use to load the operating system. Make sure the boot device priority order is correct in BIOS setup. Then begin troubleshooting the hard drive.

BIOS loses its time and date settings "CMOS battery low" error message appears during the boot

The CMOS battery is failing. Replace the battery.

1 short beep or no beep (Beeps)

The computer passed all POST tests

How many pins does the connector of a cooler fan have?

The cooler fan has a four pin connector that connects to the header on the motherboard.

System locks up with an error message on a blue screen, called a blue screen of death (BSOD)

These Windows errors are caused by problems with devices, device drivers, or a corrupted Windows installation. Begin troubleshooting by searching the Microsoft website for the error message and a description of the problem.

Video Cards(Wattage Use)

These cards in the system use and draw the most power. They draw Wattage from the +12V Rail/Output.

System locks up with an error message on a black screen

These error messages, are most likely caused by an error at POST. Begin by troubleshooting the device mentioned in the error message.

Video cards and graphic cards

These two are the ones that produce the most heat in a computer.

What does a burned out capacitor look like?

They are spotted brown or corroded.

Blank screen when you first power up the computer, and you can hear the fans spinning and see indicator lights

Troubleshoot the video subsystem. Is the monitor turned on? Is the monitor data cable securely connected at both ends? Is the indicator light on the front of the monitor on?

System shuts down unexpectedly

Try to find out what was happening at the time of the shutdowns to pinpoint an application or device causing the problem. Possible sources of the problem are overheating or faulty RAM, motherboard, or processor.

Rail

Used to describe each circuit provided by the power supply.

4/8-pin 12 V

Voltage can be: +12 V Auxiliary power to CPU

PCIe 6/8 pin

Voltage can be: +12 V Auxiliary power to PCIe cards

24-pin P1

Voltage can be: +3.3 V, ±5 V, ±12 V Newer main power connector to motherboard

20-pin P1

Voltage can be: +3.3 V, ±5 V, ±12 V Older main power connector to motherboard

Molex connector (Voltage)

Voltage can be: +5V, +12V Power to older IDE drives and used with some older SATA drives, 4 pin

SATA connector (Voltage)

Voltage can be:+3.3V, +5V, +12V Power to SATA drives, 5-Pin.

Dual Rail

When a PSU has a wattage more than 1000V, it has a +12V second rail. Called dual rail, it makes sure that the first +12V is not overloaded.

3-Pin fan connector

When a three pin is used the fan will run at the same speed always.

Processor Thermal Trip Error

When the processor overheats and the system restarts this problem is called Processor Thermal Trip Error.

Possible error messages: Missing operating system Error loading operating system

Windows startup programs are missing or corrupted. How to troubleshoot Windows startup is covered in the chapter, "Troubleshooting Windows Startup."

Graphic Cards Fans

You can purchase a graphics card that has a fan mounted on the side of the card to help keep it cool.

Lithium Ion

are used in the battery packs for laptops.

What performs better a small or big fan?

larger fans tend to work better and be more quieter than small fans.

Distended capacitors

Failed capacitors on the motherboard or other circuit board are sometimes distended and discolored on the top of the capacitor. Replace the motherboard.

Intermittent device failures

Failures that come and go might be caused by overheating or failing RAM, the motherboard, processor, or hard drive. Begin by checking the processor temperature for overheating. Then check RAM for errors and run diagnostics on the hard drive.

What are devices that keep the system cool?

CPU fans, case fans, coolers, heat sinks, and liquid cooling systems.

CAG

Chassis air guide-is a round air duct that helps to pull and direct fresh air from outside the case to the cooler and processor.

Smoke or burning smell

Consider this a serious electrical problem. Immediately unplug the computer.

EMI

Electromagnetic Interference.