PSU malfuntioning?

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gamevirus01

New Member
My computer was working fine a few days ago until yesterday it got restarted by itself unexpectedly and ever since that restart my computer will restart by itself occasionally so i thought i got a virus on my computer so i did a virus check but my AV found nothing (my AV was bitdefender total security 2008) so i decided to reformat my whole computer after the reformat the problem still presist also the restart only happens when i have logged into window so i was able to boot all these times and sometimes when it restarts the power light on my computer just keep on flickering with this sound (normally the power light glows still)...and it got worst today when i turn on my computer it wont even boot...when i turn it on the power light just keep flickering with this sound again and i cant turn it off with just holding onto the power button i have to turn it off by turning off the power supply button on the back of my computer...also sometimes when i turn on the computer the light dont flicker but it just dont start up and few seconds later i can heard this beep beep beep sound from my computer...so i think its my PSU malfuntioning? can anyone help me please? My PSU is MIRAGE 500W Thanks
 
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You won't hear an audio alert for a bad supply but will for a board problem of some type like the cpu, memory, video card. A weak battery on the board will see sudden restarts without an audio alert as well.

Describe the sound being heard. Is that a solid constant beep or two short, one long, or another combination. You normally hear one short beep by default at post time.
 
PC eye said:
You won't hear an audio alert for a bad supply but will for a board problem of some type like the cpu, memory, video card. A weak battery on the board will see sudden restarts without an audio alert as well.

Describe the sound being heard. Is that a solid constant beep or two short, one long, or another combination. You normally hear one short beep by default at post time.
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when the light is flickering theres a sound but its not beep i cant describe it but its goes on constantly and sometimes when the light is still the sound is the beep and is solid it goes on like three solid beep then stop and three solid beep again...but isnt it a PSU problem because now i dont even get to boot...i turn on power the problem starts and yeah sometimes when it restarts my screen just black out and restarts (disabled automatic resrtart on system failure already) without souund
 
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What make and model is the board or prebuilt system there? Each bios will have a different code chart for beep codes while you could be seeing a failed cpu with the constant sound. 3 short beeps are relative to the supply or board itself. One site for reviewing beep codes depending on who made the bios for the board there, Phoenix-Award, AMI, IBM, etc. is seen at http://www.bioscentral.com/

Once you know the make and model of the board used even by manufacturer's specification on a particular model you can look up what a specific code means depending on the bios used. 3 short or 1 long and 3 short can also point at memory like would be seen with an AMI bios.
 
PC eye said:
What make and model is the board or prebuilt system there? Each bios will have a different code chart for beep codes while you could be seeing a failed cpu with the constant sound. 3 short beeps are relative to the supply or board itself. One site for reviewing beep codes depending on who made the bios for the board there, Phoenix-Award, AMI, IBM, etc. is seen at http://www.bioscentral.com/

Once you know the make and model of the board used even by manufacturer's specification on a particular model you can look up what a specific code means depending on the bios used. 3 short or 1 long and 3 short can also point at memory like would be seen with an AMI bios.
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i am not sure my computer is custom built.. i only knows that i have a P4 3.4Ghz lol and now my power light dont flickers anymore when i turn it on it just have the beep beep beep sound like 3 solid beep then stop and 3 solid beep again...My Board is ASRock Prescott 800 DDR400 FSB800 can you tell me what bios i have?
 
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You likely have an AMI bios according to information seen on one P4 model. But for verifying this you can run the free System Info for Windows(SIW) tool seen at http://www.gtopala.com/ That will provide a complete breakdown on everything including the exact model cpu as well as board.
 
PC eye said:
You likely have an AMI bios according to information seen on one P4 model. But for verifying this you can run the free System Info for Windows(SIW) tool seen at http://www.gtopala.com/ That will provide a complete breakdown on everything including the exact model cpu as well as board.
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yeah i have found out what bios i have its a AMI Version 1.00 BIOS...and on bio central it says 3 beeps for AMi bios means Base 64K memory failure.A memory failure has occurred in the first 64K of RAM. The RAM IC is probably bad =/ so what do i do now?
 
gamevirus01 said:
yeah i have found out what bios i have its a AMI Version 1.00 BIOS...and on bio central it says 3 beeps for AMi bios means Base 64K memory failure.A memory failure has occurred in the first 64K of RAM. The RAM IC is probably bad =/ so what do i do now?
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i just checked my CPU temp its 68 degrees... is that abit too high also just now my computer went so loud and the fan went spinning so fast its like its gonna blow up o_O so i turned off my comp for safety lol
 
P4s run warmer then older AMD models with just the stock hsf alone. But 68C for an idle temp is high for any cpu! This is why I had to suspect a cpu problem being added to the list there. The thermal pad if stock may be worn out and need replacing or the thermal paste used may have to reapplied. Adding a larger case fan or more would help temps as well.

A good run of a memory tester like memtest would be the thought or simply trying each dimm separately to see if one is toast would be the next step since memory is being pointed at. Bad ram will stall a system along with causing a long llist of problems while Windows is running as well as seeing high cpu temps. You maybe looking for new memory as well as a new cpu cooler and case fans.
 
oh man my comp is getting worst now...it restarts by itself every 3-5 minutes and sometimes when it is booting...and when it restarts my power light flickers a few time with this sound again ... also i can smell the "computer smell" when my computer is on now.. =/
 
You have a hot cpu and something like memory failing if not the supply. An overheated cpu will certainly see restarts at any time. I would look into the cooler for the cpu and trying each dimm separately to see there's a bad dimm along with a hot cpu.

Yet memtest reported a large number of errors with memory on an old build here while the fan for the cpu cooler quit and saw cpu temps soar. That as well as the supply and memory need to be looked at. How old is the system now?
 
PC eye said:
You have a hot cpu and something like memory failing if not the supply. An overheated cpu will certainly see restarts at any time. I would look into the cooler for the cpu and trying each dimm separately to see there's a bad dimm along with a hot cpu.

Yet memtest reported a large number of errors with memory on an old build here while the fan for the cpu cooler quit and saw cpu temps soar. That as well as the supply and memory need to be looked at. How old is the system now?
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my computer is nearly 3 years old
 
When was the last time you blew the dust out of the case? After so long the fans themselves see a buildup of dust and debris. If that's a stock hsf the fan may have gone as well for that. That would explain the high temps.

After a year on one build here the system saw restarts for no reason until the battery on the board was replaced. Apparently that same board seeing the high cpu temps when the cpu fan failed ate batteries too. Recently when getting it up running again a fresh battery reported a normal cpu speed instead of being backclocked with no restarts seen. That's a low cost item to replace before assuming hardware or supply failure.

The battery, original thermal pad for stock heat sink/fan, and a good can of air cleaner would be the first things to see dust is clogged in the dimm, AGP, and pci slots. That will cause problems. Take the battery with to match the number up. Most boards use the 2032 number. Duracell DL 2032 - Energizer CL 2032, etc.
 
The first time in 2yrs.! :eek: !!!

I just went to work on a newer 939 build a little over only 1yr. in age to "pull a blanket of dust" literally off of the board! The owner was "too lazy"! :rolleyes: in other words to even bother to buy a can of air cleaner when a drive had to be replaced there.

That's one reason right there for why the fan is probably still running slower then when new since it struggled with the buildup seeing the wear + tear on it. From that I can assume that is also a stock hsf and not one like a Zalman 9500 or Artic Cooling Freezer64 Pro, Freezer 7 Pro 3rd party cooler then.
 
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