At 10:29 PM 2/5/1998 Jan Miller <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>Once in a while my computer will shut off for a second & reboot.  I don't
>think it is a power surge as the lights don't flicker in the house.  Could
>my power supply in the computer be going bad?


Jan:

It's possible that the problem is in your power supply.  The first
wire is the Power Good signal. Any interruption of this signal
will result in a cold boot. Check to confirm the P-8 and P-9
power connectors are firmly attached to the motherboard.
The BLACK-GROUND wires are kept together in the CENTER
of the socket.

If all connections are good, check the connectivity of your
UPS, surge protector, wall outlet. If you have a known good
power supply, try a swap.

I've seen minor power drops which will not flicker the lights but
is sufficient to drop the power supply.  If this is the case, you
SHOULD get a UPS. If you live in Florida or Texas, this is a
must. These mini power outages will kill your system given
time.

If you have a loaded system and the cold-boot happens when
a drive powers up, then you likely need a bigger power supply.

The next hardware culprit would be your motherboard.  If the
power-off-and-reboot is caused when the case is moved, the
motherboard may have reached a ground or have a loose connection.
So check all connections and your SIMMs for proper seating.

Greater analysis requires you give further information.

Regards,

John Chin


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