Pc Power Problems
Author
Discussion

NickFRP

Original Poster:

5,156 posts

265 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
Hello,

Got a PC and when i go to shut down the PC shuts down but i have to manually turn the PSU off via the back. Its ACPI compatiable and is set up like that. But i dont understand this problem

would buying a new PSU without a power switch fix the problem?

Thanks
Nick

spyke

175 posts

268 months

Tuesday 26th September 2006
quotequote all
NickFRP said:
...when i go to shut down the PC shuts down but i have to manually turn the PSU off via the back


I'm not sure I understand that bit - does the PC switch off or not? If it sticks on the "It is now safe to switch off your PC" then it's Windows not realising your BIOS supports power-off. In which case, you need to dig around the BIOS screen to see if there are any power options that aren't set to "automatic" or "enabled" or "controlled by the O/S".

NickFRP

Original Poster:

5,156 posts

265 months

Wednesday 27th September 2006
quotequote all
Sorry.

I go Shut down - Then the pc goes through the shut down and you hear a click. BUT the fans and sounds like the hard drive are still on. i can open the CD drive. and i have left it in this state for a couple of hours. to then turn the disc drive of and the fan i have to switch the PSU off.

Do you know what to look out for in the bios?

spyke

175 posts

268 months

Wednesday 27th September 2006
quotequote all
Hmmm... that doesn't sound like a BIOS problem... I can't think of any setting off-hand that would possibly produce the symptoms you've described.

To be honest, it sounds more like the 12V rail isn't getting switched off by the power supply. Which in turn would indicate a faulty supply. Have you got any means to swap in a different one temporarily? It'll take you about 10-20 minutes depending on how mad your PC's wiring is!

road2ruin

6,530 posts

246 months

Wednesday 27th September 2006
quotequote all
Ahhhh, the old PC wont turn off problem. Well it could be a few things all of which are easily sorted.

Basically there are a number of things that have to happen for your PC to turn itself off any one of them can go wrong ,and often do, causing similar or exactly the same problem you have. The most common cause is a new set of drivers or piece of software installed is not releasing its memory allocation and therefore windows wont shut down properly, but it usually sticks on the 'Windows is shutting down' screen. If you have installed any new software or updated drivers recently then I would try removing those first and then shutting down. If this fails a less common problem is that the motherboard and operating may be ACPI compaitble but the power supply isnt. This is unusual if the power supply is less than 4 years old but in order to cut costs the manufacturer may have done it. The only solution to this is to get a new power supply, depending on your usage they can be had for as little as £25 for a reasonable one. Beware of any really cheap ones. Its unlikely to be a faulty power supply as there is very little that can go wrong with them and a failure usually results in the whole thing not working.

The last potential problem is that the Bios has become corrupt or needs updating. If it has shut down properly before try reseting the BIOS (see user manual for mother board) or flash the BIOS with the any update files.

NickFRP

Original Poster:

5,156 posts

265 months

Wednesday 27th September 2006
quotequote all
Thanks very much for the replys. i think il try a new power supply. i seem to remeber that it wa sok about 1 year ago but just recently though i should try and fix it. il have to get a new PSU..

Thanks for the help