Power Supply/Switch problem

[AthlonJer]

I am currently working on building another PC and I ran into a configuration problem. I have an existing case and I replaced the 250W power supply with a 400W power supply. The old 250 had an additional cable which hooked up to the case power switch, and the new 400W power supply does not have the additional cable. I was told all I needed was the connections which plugged on the Front Panel connectors on the motherboard. I plugged the connections from the case onto the motherboard but I still have no power to the power supply.

Am I missing something ?

Thanks,

[Hpro]

If your old one had a Power Switch on it then it was AT Supply - the one you have now is ATX - so if your motherboard doesn't support ATX - then might have to change it again.. if it supports it then there is may a Jumper to set first before it will turn on that power from the front panel soft power switch,, do you have a soft power switch on there ?

BTW did you connect the 20 pin connector to the motherboard ?

[AthlonJer]

I did noticed in the motherboard manual two pins for Power_On, but I was not sure it it was a jumper or plug connection. I was unsure about putting a jumper on them; I did not want to toast my new motherboard and everything else on it.

[Hpro]

Originally posted by AthlonJer
I did noticed in the motherboard manual two pins for Power_On, but I was not sure it it was a jumper or plug connection. I was unsure about putting a jumper on them; I did not want to toast my new motherboard and everything else on it.

This is the connector for the cable which comes from the Front Panel and it's plug shold be labeled with PW this plug will have exactly the size that it fits the connector.. so nothing to worry - if you push a jumper over it that connector it will cause the machine NOT TO BOOT because of that connector reacts as TEMPORARY Switching point one time short = ON the next time short = OFF
BTW
If the computer doesn't turn on for whatever reason then you have to shorten that connector for more than 4 Seconds then it will shutdown..this indicates that the motherboard either has a problem or doesn't see the CPU,!!And this goes for ANY NEW ATX COPMPUTER>>!!!Never mind the make or brand of board and chipset CPU - even such '****'boards as PC-Chips have this feature on them..

[kakarott]

Hi guys, i have a ATX also. i have a question HPRO, i hope you or anybody can help me, i jus got a new hard drive and now when i soft power on in the front it wont come on. so i go to the back and switch it off and switch it back on and then i hit the power in the front and it comes on.....somtimes. the other times it does not, and i looked and everything is connected and secure, so i dont know if i should do what you said here ? but then again the comp comes on sometimes ? so wat should i do ? how do i go about ? thanks.
BTW does turning off and on in the back switch affect anything on the computer ?

[Hpro]

If this PSU was in there from beginning and you haven't changed aything in the computer since then except that hard drive - so make sure that the hard drive is connected proper - with this I mean the IDE cable that the RED colored stripe faces the RED cable from the PSU power plug whihc connects the hard drive to the PSU - there are some motherboard which will not startup when IDE is connected in reverse way..

Now did you remove any of the Cables which are connected to the front panel? If so make sure that the plug which reads something like PW-ON or likewise is connected to the RIGHT connector on the motherboard..

If you didn't change anything else than adding that hard drive - then just for testing - remove the cables from that hard drive and power up the computer a few times - if the problem persists then may you have a failing PSU .. if the problem disappeared then check connections from and to the hard drive..
hth

[kakarott]

well the red line on the IDE cable was facing the red cable, now i found out when i shut the computer down from the OS i cant turn it back on until i shut it down from the switch, fully, i have to wait like a few secs then switch it back on, then i can power up again from the front panel, and i found out when i power down FROM THE FRONT PANEL i can power back up from the front panel with no problem............:confused: i hope its not the power supply cause everything is still new, and would it be the power supply cause it powers up ???:confused:

[kakarott]

do u guys think maybe its the bios settings ? well ill call my mobo company and see wat they say about the situation, any more help would be good.

[kakarott]

well i didnt get the problem solved yet, im trying to download the driver for my video card and hope that solves the problem, if not then i guess i have to use the previous bios i had and hope that works, but until then...if i log off windows and then power off from the front panel, ( so i can power on from it ) would i risk damaging anything whether it be the OS or any of the hardware ? because i feel that i am hurting the pc turning it on and off from the back...any insights to which is better for me to do until i get the problem resolved ? and if it IS better for me to just shut off from the front panel after i log off windows, should i do it on the log on screen or should i exit out of windows fully by rebooting and then from there i shut off from the front panel ? THANKS...:)

[Alfie]

kakarott,
More than likely the hard drive(s) are not configured properly.
What type of hard drives are you using,is the ribbon a 40 wire standard ide cable or a 80 wire udma 66\100 ribbon(defined by blue end to motherboard,gray middle connector,black to master device),how are the jumpers set on the hard drive,who is the manufacturer?

[kakarott]

well the hardrive is a WD 80 GB and the mobo is Gigabyte 7dxr, and the IDE cable i dont know, but it is in correctly, the power cable only has one way in and the IDE cable is facing the right way with the red line facing the power cable, it looks like everything is position the right way and everything works fine, xcept when shut down from windows ( XP Pro ) i cant turn it on from the soft power switch, but then when i dont shut down from windows i can turn it on and off with no problem on the soft power, so the way i look at it everything is working just the signal from the soft power switch to the mobo isnt ? ( please correct me if im wrong ) so the only thing me or the guy that help me build it can think of is #1 the Video card driver and #2 the bios, because he updated it to the latest bios, he says there was no problem when he tested it ? but i dont know i wasnt there, and all i did with the comp was change the first boot option on the bios to cd and partioned the hard drive the way i like and clean installed windows pro ( he installed windows home ). i mean i dont want to bring it back to him because i just got the pc back and everything is working fine xcept this problem and i have everything set up already so im trying to avoid that and hopefully i will have this resolved.

[mike breck]

Hi kakarott,

If the BIOS has been updated then it may be running at default settings.

It may be worthwhile to grab your mobo manual, enter the BIOS and check the
Power Management menu. Have a look for headings like "PWR Button< 4secs (Soft Off)" or "Soft Off by PWR-BTTN". It may be have a different title in your BIOS.

Usually if this set to "Soft Off" or "Instant Off" and you push the ATX switch at the front of the case either once or less than 4 seconds (it varies with mobos) it will power down the system.

However, if PWR Button or Soft Off setting in the BIOS is set to "Suspend" or "Delay 4 seconds" then system may go into "Suspend mode". Alternatively, if you hold in the switch for more than 4 seconds, it should power down the system.

As I've said, the names in your BIOS may be different (but not entirely dissimilar) but the general principle is the same. So read your manual and then check the settings.

HTH

[kakarott]

Hi mike
i already checked the bios settings and everythings is the way its supposed to be and the comp has no problems shutting off, the only problem is that when i shut down from windows it wont turn on from the front panel, but if i power down from the front panel it has no problem turning on, so its wierd its not the bios settings, its not the powersupply, its not the mobo, its not the switch it self, its not the connections, its not the OS, its not the drivers, the only thing i can think of is windows shutting down does somthing to the signal from the soft power to the mobo ? or maybe its the updated bios ?:confused: still confused but everything else is working REALLY SMOOTH.