Suspecting a PSU issue after adding music hardware
 

Hi :)

sometimes I need to isolate the PC from the mains and then turn it on
again, before it can boot. After startup did work, there are no issues.

Such trouble usually is caused in case of a too weak PSU. I wonder if my
PSU really is to weak. Some new hardware is mounted and there might be
several solutions to handle this issue, but before doing this, somebody
might have an idea how to troubleshoot, to ensure that it's really
caused by the PSU.

The BIOS's monitoring
Vcore Voltage 1.21V
3.3 Voltage 3.15V
5V Voltage 4.75V
12V Voltage 11.84

The PSU
Jersey CP4-420
AC Input 230V
PFC Passive
420W

A replacement, e.g. CP4-520 V2.0, also with a 12cm fan, does cost
31.50€. Would be 520W enough for the used hardware?

Another solution might be to use an active USB hub. A 4 port USB 2.0
hub, supporting 480, 12 und 1.5Mbit data transfer, with power supply,
does cost 5.50€. Perhaps this would solve the issue. I suspect such a
hub would add jitter, but I also suspect that MIDI jitter for the KORG
nanoKONTROL would be no issue.

Power APM configurations are disabled, just HPET is enabled. JumperFree
Configuration for all voltages is set to "auto". I suspect there's no
wakeup trick to solve the startup issue.

The old hardware
Mobo Asus M2A-VM HDMI, but instead of the HDMI thingy there's a passive
GeForce 7200 GS mounted to the PCI Express x16 slot. BIOS version 2302.

CPU AMD Athlon X2 dual-core processor BE-2350 2.1GHz 45W

RAM 2* 1GB AENEON DDR2 - 800 and 2* 1GB Kingston KVR800D2N5

Keyboard KWD-205 200mA PS/2
Trekker Wheel Mouse 2.0A PS/2 5V 15mA a wired ball mouse

PCI sound cards 2* TerraTec EWX 24/96

HDDs and DVD-RAM
SATA1 Samsung HD321KJ
SATA2 LG HL-DT-STDVD-RAM
SATA3 Samsung HD502HJ
No floppy disk drive

The new hardware
I needed to change the mouse by a "PowerKing Kaufland" wired optical USB
mouse "RM320 2k199125". Optical mice should have a higher current
consumption, than ball mice. OTOH it's said, hat regarding to PSU issues
USB should be an advantage.

I added a USB MIDI Korg nanoKONTROL, 100mA or less.

I added a new sound card to the PCI Express x1 and kept the old cards.
RME HDSPe AIO

Ciao,

Ralf


--
Ubuntu-Studio-users mailing list
Ubuntu-Studio-users@lists.ubuntu.com
Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-studio-users

Suspecting a PSU issue after adding music hardware
 

On Wed, 2011-08-17 at 18:39 +0200, Ralf wrote:
> Hi :)
>
> sometimes I need to isolate the PC from the mains and then turn it on
> again, before it can boot. After startup did work, there are no issues.
>

Does your monitor have a separate PSU? I ask as this computer started
behaving erratically, to the extent that I set up a spare on to use.
Just before switching over there was a 'pop' from the monitor PSU and it
died. Using an alternative monitor stopped all the computer problems!
It's a bit bizarre, but it's possible it might not be the computer at
all at fault.

>



--
Ubuntu-Studio-users mailing list
Ubuntu-Studio-users@lists.ubuntu.com
Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-studio-users

Suspecting a PSU issue after adding music hardware
 

On Wed, 2011-08-17 at 17:55 +0100, lrspares45 wrote:
> On Wed, 2011-08-17 at 18:39 +0200, Ralf wrote:
> > Hi :)
> >
> > sometimes I need to isolate the PC from the mains and then turn it on
> > again, before it can boot. After startup did work, there are no issues.
> >
>
> Does your monitor have a separate PSU? I ask as this computer started
> behaving erratically, to the extent that I set up a spare on to use.
> Just before switching over there was a 'pop' from the monitor PSU and it
> died. Using an alternative monitor stopped all the computer problems!
> It's a bit bizarre, but it's possible it might not be the computer at
> all at fault.

The CTR has got it's own PSU, the PPPoE ADSL modem has got it's own
power supply too and they were connected before I added new hardware,
but I additionally connected my old parallel port HP DeskJet 600 with
it's own power supply and it's turned of when booting.

I still suspect that for the boot process the 450W/230V<2A PSU is to
weak. I suspect when measuring the current consumption at the mains side
of the PSU, everything would be ok. I suspect that behind the voltage
stabilisers there might be an issue sometimes.

I wonder if there's a monitoring or if there's a way to turn of power at
boot automatically for e.g. USB and to turn it on near the end of the
startup. I read something about wakeup, but without explanation, since I
guess a wakeup is doing something different.

Because it only happens sometimes, i can't just disconnect one hardware
after the other to make tests.

But you're right, I'm not sure if the PSU is simply to weak, might be
something else.

Thanks,

Ralf


--
Ubuntu-Studio-users mailing list
Ubuntu-Studio-users@lists.ubuntu.com
Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-studio-users

Suspecting a PSU issue after adding music hardware
 

On Wed, 2011-08-17 at 17:55 +0100, lrspares45 wrote:
> On Wed, 2011-08-17 at 18:39 +0200, Ralf wrote:
> > Hi :)
> >
> > sometimes I need to isolate the PC from the mains and then turn it on
> > again, before it can boot. After startup did work, there are no issues.
> >
>
> Does your monitor have a separate PSU? I ask as this computer started
> behaving erratically, to the extent that I set up a spare on to use.
> Just before switching over there was a 'pop' from the monitor PSU and it
> died. Using an alternative monitor stopped all the computer problems!
> It's a bit bizarre, but it's possible it might not be the computer at
> all at fault.

The CTR has got it's own PSU, the PPPoE ADSL modem has got it's own
power supply too and they were connected before I added new hardware,
but I additionally connected my old parallel port HP DeskJet 600 with
it's own power supply and it's turned of when booting.

I still suspect that for the boot process the 450W/230V<2A PSU is to
weak. I suspect when measuring the current consumption at the mains side
of the PSU, everything would be ok. I suspect that behind the voltage
stabilisers there might be an issue sometimes.

I wonder if there's a monitoring or if there's a way to turn of power at
boot automatically for e.g. USB and to turn it on near the end of the
startup. I read something about wakeup, but without explanation, since I
guess a wakeup is doing something different.

Because it only happens sometimes, i can't just disconnect one hardware
after the other to make tests.

But you're right, I'm not sure if the PSU is simply to weak, might be
something else.

Thanks,

Ralf


--
Ubuntu-Studio-users mailing list
Ubuntu-Studio-users@lists.ubuntu.com
Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-studio-users