PSU's Keep Tripping Out

[kenwaldmann]

I originally posted a problem about an Antec PSU that kept tripping out after the PC had been running anywhere from a few hours to a few weeks. I replaced the PSU and even changed to another brand, EVGA, to no avail. (The PSU's are all more than large enough to power my unit.) I even replaced the UPS to a pure sine wave unit without any improvement. I checked the CPU temps, they're well below being a problem. I've tried wiggling the cables and connections to see if there is a loose connection, none found. I'm beginning to wonder if I have a defective motherboard (GIGABYTE GA-970A-UD3P.) I've flashed the BIOS to the latest available without improvement. Can anyone suggest where I should look for the source of the problem and/or how I can test without replacing a part at a time? Thank you.

 

[kenwaldmann]

Thanks for your inputs. Just to give you an update... I looked at the event viewer and although I didn't understand everything I read, I saw HD"0" mentioned repeatedly. HD0 is the 240GB SSD boot drive. Taking a shot in the dark, I cloned the SSD to a 250GB HDD and substituted it for the SSD. I haven't had an unplanned shutdown for a few days now and plan to continue to let it run. If I don't have another shutdown for a couple of weeks, I think I can safely say that the SSD is involved in some way. I'll post how things develop.

 

[3ogdy]

As far as I know, a failing optical / flash drive shouldn't cause unexpected shutdowns. But if it's a power problem with that specific unit, well...even like that I see little reason other than probably a short circuit to cause the PSU to shutdown unexpectedly. Great to see you're fighting this issue!

 

[ko888]

Thanks for your inputs. Just to give you an update... I looked at the event viewer and although I didn't understand everything I read, I saw HD"0" mentioned repeatedly. HD0 is the 240GB SSD boot drive. Taking a shot in the dark, I cloned the SSD to a 250GB HDD and substituted it for the SSD. I haven't had an unplanned shutdown for a few days now and plan to continue to let it run. If I don't have another shutdown for a couple of weeks, I think I can safely say that the SSD is involved in some way. I'll post how things develop.

That wasn't a "shot in the dark". The Event Viewer gave you an indication of what was causing the problem. That lead you to try a different device in its place.

For SSDs in the 240-256 GB capacity, Intel SSD 530 is the most reliable followed by the Samsung 840 PRO and then the Samsung 840 EVO and then the Crucial M500.

 

[kenwaldmann]

Well, after running for four days on the cloned HDD, the PSU shut down again. Evidently the problem wasn't the original SSD, which I've now reconnected. Experimenting by removing two of the four 4GB SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) memory, as the Gigabyte motherboard compatibility page says something about not having more than two rated 1866 or higher, proved to be ineffective (the PSU still shut down.) The memory has been reinstalled. Not sure what I'll try next.

 

[ko888]

Have you tried taking everything out of the computer case and testing it (i.e. assemble the system outside of the computer case)?

 

[kenwaldmann]

Thanks. No, not yet. I'll have to think that one through - what to do in what order, etc. and I'll need some uninterrupted time and some space to lay things out.

 

[kenwaldmann]

The PC that was experiencing the PSU tripping out began experiencing another problem. The CPU cooling fan was slowed down after a period of running and the and the CPU temperature climbed. After watching this happen repeatedly I grew impatient and ordered a different motherboard. I replaced the Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3P with an ASUS M5A99X EVO R2.0. All my problems disappeared! The PSU stopped tripping out and the control of the CPU fan was normal, varying with the load. I am happy to report that after weeks of testing, my PC is running fine. (Now, since the Gigabyte motherboard has a 3-year warranty, I'll see what they can do.) Thanks to everyone at Tom's Hardware for their attention, help and guidance.