Re: PC wont restart if shut down for more than approx 5 minutes

My guess if that if the computer was running but would not
restart after 5 minutes, it is a weak power supply or bad
wire to the hard drive. The power required to start the
drive [any electric motor] is much higher than the power to
keep it running. The monitor would not "light up" with a
bad power supply in the monitor, but a computer will start
and boot up just fine with a connected monitor that is
turned off. but after 5 minutes a hard drive would have
spun down and stopped. It could also be a combination of
low voltage and current to run the drive and heat.

Maybe your monitor is bad, but I think you have a weak main
PSU, or a bad wire. It is also possible you have a bad hard
drive. The voltage on each bus of the PSU should be
measured, some software can do this and show you "on screen"
or to be sure, a DVM and a dummy load [to trigger the
computer] can be used.

Also, how many devices are installed, each drive needs power
at startup, your power supply might just be under-sized.
Have you added any new drives or video cards?


"eli" <nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%23ossL5dCIHA.4912@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
| Malke wrote:
|
| <<<<Sounds like a hardware component is failing. Sometimes
hardware will
| work when it is warm and the metal has expanded and vice
versa. Here are
| general hardware troubleshooting steps. I'd start with the
power supply.
| [SNIP]
|

|
| ==============================
|
| Thanks Malke.
|
| I had a certified technician look into this
today.Initially he suspected the
| PSU. Then he discovered the problem to be in the monitor
[Dell E770s: CRT]
|
| He tested this by plugging in another monitor [Compaq] I
had lying around.
| The failure on restart I had described in the original
post didn't
| happen. So he concluded that the hardware at fault was the
monitor--
| possibly some failing power supply within the monitor
itself...He felt it
| wasn't worth trying to repair it.
|
| I'm continuing to use the "defective" Dell monitor because
I've grown to
| like this particular model alot. Will keep my eyes open
for a replacement
| though.
|
| Another workaround is to simply detach the monitor's from
the PC's port and
| boot up that way. When I later plug it back in , it shows
Windows XP
| successfully loading
|
| -Eli
|
|
*************************************************************
| "Malke" <notreally@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
| news:%23A7d4nBCIHA.1212@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
| > eli wrote:
| >> Hello:
| >>
| >> When I restart my Dell PC via that option at the Start
menu, it restarts
| >> flawlessly.
| >>
| >> Howver, if I choose the Turn Off option there, it will
shut down , but
| >> fail to resart if it had been off fro more than ~5
minutes.
| >>
| >> If I press the ON button within ~5 minutes, it'll turn
back on smoothly.
| >> But if I leave it turned off for longer, i'll se the
green lights and
| >> hear the whirring sound. However, the monitor won't sho
anything. No
| >> error messages either.
| >>
| >> When this happens, I can get it turned bck on if I hold
the button long
| >> enough to complete it's shutdown again. And then press
again. sometimes I
| >> need to repaet this a few times. Or I can simply unplug
the power source
| >> and replug it. Then press the ON button again. it'll
powe up as usual,
| >> and work OK.
| >>
| >> I'm puzzled as to why this only happens when I elect
"Turn Off", and not
| >> when I choose "Restart". Also, why does it restart
smoothly after
| >> shutting it down if I restrat it within a few mniutes
of the shutdown.
| >
| > Sounds like a hardware component is failing. Sometimes
hardware will work
| > when it is warm and the metal has expanded and vice
versa. Here are
| > general hardware troubleshooting steps. I'd start with
the power supply.
| >
| >
http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html#Hardware_Tshoot
| >
| > Standard caveat: Testing hardware failures often
involves swapping out
| > suspected parts with known-good parts. If you can't do
the testing
| > yourself and/or are uncomfortable opening your computer,
take the machine
| > to a professional computer repair shop (not your local
equivalent of
| > BigComputerStore/GeekSquad). Have all your data backed
up before you take
| > the machine into a shop.
| >
| >
| > Malke
| > --
| > Elephant Boy Computers
| > www.elephantboycomputers.com
| > "Don't Panic!"
| > MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
|
|


.