Power failure problems

[Sasquatch]

Was watching TV on the PC this morning when the leccy went off, not the first time I've had power failure while booted as it's a prepayment meter and it's outside so I don't hear the alert.

Went out and put the emergency credit on but when I hit the power switch I got nothing, not even the beginnings of a boot, no BIOS absolutely nothing, completely dead.

Tried a new power lead in case the fuse had blown somehow, got the clock battery and RAM cards out etc, even tried relocating the CMOS jumpers but nothing worked. It's a SSD which are vulnerable to power outages but there should still be the BIOS at least.

I would expect a power surge to blow something, not a power cut. Any ideas anyone?

[Blayz'd]

Try swapping the PSU. Hope you manage to fix it mate.

[Prophet]

Yep PSU would be my bet too. All bios needs is a motherboard and power. If you've not got that i would go with power supply. Got a multimeter?

[Sasquatch]

Thanks guys, i was hoping it's the PSU rather than anything more drastic and I've got a couple of spares in so no worries there.

Haven't got a multimeter but it's almost certainly the PSU anyway.

[Sasquatch]

I put the RAM cards back in then the clock battery and that did it, back on no problems no SSD damage nothing. everything was fine, I had taken the cards out and pressed the power switch a few times but not got round to putting them back when I started the thread.

Good that it was a lot less hassle than having to change the PSU over but weird that it happened at all.

[Prophet]

I've had issues with DDR3 in the past doing exactly the same. Blue screen on startup, bum twitching . . . Pull the RAM and replace and it was fine

[NiceCuppaTea4Me]

Get yerself a cheap ups, you can get a 450va for about £30 which should run a desktop machine for 10 mins and give you a chance to turn it off properly or hit the emergency credit. Either way it's cheaper than replacing components regularly. It will also protect the machine from spikes and brownouts.

[iBMe]

Yep agree it sounds like the PSU, I have had one go through power tripping off too.

eta: Ah missed you have found the source, yeah ram can do that, might be a sign one of the sticks is on the way out.

Edited July 20, 2016 by iBMe

[Sasquatch]

might be a sign one of the sticks is on the way out.

First time they have ever done it to me, and one of the cards is significantly older than the other so perhaps it's time to get a new one.

As for a UPS I've only just become aware of them while surfing for solutions, I'm not very electronically savvy, but it seems like worthwhile expenditure. The SSD was actually completely undamaged but there's always next time.

Thanks guys that's really helpful.

[Joint hogger]

if you do get a replacement psu, get a decent brand & don't skimp on the pennies if you can afford it