Power supply problem with SB51G

Hi,

I've got a quit mysterious problem with my SB51G:

If I turn on the PC, sometimes it needs 30 seconds to power on, meaning
for about 30 seconds nothing happens (no fans, no lights, nothing) and
then it powers up, boots and runs without any problem for hours.
Sometimes it doesn't start at all.

I changed the power supply to another one (identical one bought via
ebay) with absolutely no effect. Again, sometimes powering up after
apx. 30 minutes, sometimes refuses to power up.

Both power supplies work correct when shorting the green lead to
ground. Also no problem in the power on switch, since shortening the
appropriate jumper where the "power on switch"-cable ends shows the
same effect as pushing power on.

So, problem seems to sit on the mainboard.

Add. Info: Mainboard is FB51 V1.3. There is a seperate graphics card
installed, but a simple one (Matrox G55 without separate fan). System
worked fine for years.

Any idea? Anybody else with the same problem?
Thanks and Regards
Frank

"Frank" <fmbsg-> wrote in message
news: oups.com...
> Hi,
>
> I've got a quit mysterious problem with my SB51G:
>
> If I turn on the PC, sometimes it needs 30 seconds to power on,
meaning
> for about 30 seconds nothing happens (no fans, no lights, nothing)
and
> then it powers up, boots and runs without any problem for hours.
> Sometimes it doesn't start at all.
>
> I changed the power supply to another one (identical one bought via
> ebay) with absolutely no effect. Again, sometimes powering up after
> apx. 30 minutes, sometimes refuses to power up.
>
> Both power supplies work correct when shorting the green lead to
> ground. Also no problem in the power on switch, since shortening
the
> appropriate jumper where the "power on switch"-cable ends shows the
> same effect as pushing power on.
>
> So, problem seems to sit on the mainboard.
>
> Add. Info: Mainboard is FB51 V1.3. There is a seperate graphics card
> installed, but a simple one (Matrox G55 without separate fan).
System
> worked fine for years.
>
> Any idea? Anybody else with the same problem?
> Thanks and Regards
> Frank
>

Frank

Maybe you got another duff one on ebay ?
The symptoms you describe match PSU failures.
I've now fixed 3 XPC Shuttles with those symptoms by replacing the
PSUs.
I've also fixed a PSU by replacing the bad caps. Not economically
viable in my opinion.

Eric

--
Remove the dross to contact me directly

Eric Parker schrieb:

>
> Maybe you got another duff one on ebay ?
> The symptoms you describe match PSU failures.
> I've now fixed 3 XPC Shuttles with those symptoms by replacing the
> PSUs.
> I've also fixed a PSU by replacing the bad caps. Not economically
> viable in my opinion.
>
> Eric

But why does the PSU start, when shortening the green cable to ground
immediatly. If problem might sit in the PSU, I would expect delayed
start also when shortening the green cable?

Regards
Frank

"Frank" <fmbsg-> wrote in message
news: ups.com...
> Eric Parker schrieb:
>
> >
> > Maybe you got another duff one on ebay ?
> > The symptoms you describe match PSU failures.
> > I've now fixed 3 XPC Shuttles with those symptoms by replacing the
> > PSUs.
> > I've also fixed a PSU by replacing the bad caps. Not economically
> > viable in my opinion.
> >
> > Eric
>
> But why does the PSU start, when shortening the green cable to
ground
> immediatly. If problem might sit in the PSU, I would expect delayed
> start also when shortening the green cable?
>
> Regards
> Frank
>

Frank

I wish I knew.
If you do find out, please let us know.

Eric

--
Remove the dross to contact me directly

Frank wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I've got a quit mysterious problem with my SB51G:
>
> If I turn on the PC, sometimes it needs 30 seconds to power on, meaning
> for about 30 seconds nothing happens (no fans, no lights, nothing) and
> then it powers up, boots and runs without any problem for hours.
> Sometimes it doesn't start at all.
>
....
> Add. Info: Mainboard is FB51 V1.3. There is a separate graphics card
> installed, but a simple one (Matrox G55 without separate fan). System
> worked fine for years.
>
> Any idea? Anybody else with the same problem?

Frank:

I have been living with the same mainboard and same problem for
probably a year now, in a system 3.5 years old. I run with a 9700 Pro
128MB (it's powered) the whole time. Most of the times the power-on
button goes right to work, but the other times the system takes a while
to figure out it should go on. Those are very tense times for me, one
of these days I fear it will never go on. Never had it not go on -- I
try stuff like reseating the power cord, checking connections, etc...
Sometimes I think it might be the video card causing the problem, but
haven't bothered to see if it happens when displaying from the onboard
video.

I can't figure out the cause or conditions, but sometimes it seems to
happen after I had powered down my UPS overnight. But now I am running
off the wall power and it still happens occasionally.

Richard

"Eric Parker" <> wrote in message
news:448d7882$0$954$...
>
> "Frank" <fmbsg-> wrote in message
> news: ups.com...
>> Eric Parker schrieb:
>>
>> >
>> > Maybe you got another duff one on ebay ?
>> > The symptoms you describe match PSU failures.
>> > I've now fixed 3 XPC Shuttles with those symptoms by replacing the
>> > PSUs.
>> > I've also fixed a PSU by replacing the bad caps. Not economically
>> > viable in my opinion.
>> >
>> > Eric
>>
>> But why does the PSU start, when shortening the green cable to
> ground
>> immediatly. If problem might sit in the PSU, I would expect delayed
>> start also when shortening the green cable?
>>
>> Regards
>> Frank
>>
>
> Frank
>
> I wish I knew.
> If you do find out, please let us know.
>
> Eric
>
> --
> Remove the dross to contact me directly
>



My XPC51G does that also. Most often when I get up in the morning to check
my mail. I'll press the power button and nothing happens so I jump in the
shower and when I get out It's running like normal. It's like some sort of
time delay but it's inconsistent.
--
Mark

On Mon, 12 Jun 2006 09:14:34 +0100, "Eric Parker"
<> wrote:

>
>"Frank" <fmbsg-> wrote in message
>news: roups.com...
>> Hi,
>>
>> I've got a quit mysterious problem with my SB51G:
>>
>> If I turn on the PC, sometimes it needs 30 seconds to power on,
>meaning
>> for about 30 seconds nothing happens (no fans, no lights, nothing)
>and
>> then it powers up, boots and runs without any problem for hours.
>> Sometimes it doesn't start at all.
>>
>> I changed the power supply to another one (identical one bought via
>> ebay) with absolutely no effect. Again, sometimes powering up after
>> apx. 30 minutes, sometimes refuses to power up.
>>
>> Both power supplies work correct when shorting the green lead to
>> ground. Also no problem in the power on switch, since shortening
>the
>> appropriate jumper where the "power on switch"-cable ends shows the
>> same effect as pushing power on.
>>
>> So, problem seems to sit on the mainboard.
>>
>> Add. Info: Mainboard is FB51 V1.3. There is a seperate graphics card
>> installed, but a simple one (Matrox G55 without separate fan).
>System
>> worked fine for years.
>>
>> Any idea? Anybody else with the same problem?
>> Thanks and Regards
>> Frank
>>
>
>Frank
>
>Maybe you got another duff one on ebay ?
>The symptoms you describe match PSU failures.
>I've now fixed 3 XPC Shuttles with those symptoms by replacing the
>PSUs.
>I've also fixed a PSU by replacing the bad caps. Not economically
>viable in my opinion.
>
>Eric


I agree. Sounds like a bad ps. Mine did the same thing till I got a
new one.

Joe

[Here are some more details for anyone running into this problem in the future.]

I had the same problem with my Shuttle SB51G PSU. Other Shuttles of the same era (e.g., sn41g2) have the problem too. The problem is that the original Achme 200w power supplies have some of the infamous "bad capacitors" of that period.

To verify this, you can test your SB51G with a known good P4 compatible power supply.

If your comfortable with a soldering iron, it's pretty straightforward to fix (took me an hour).

Details at:
http://www.sudhian.com/index.php?/fo...wthread/87671/

I had the same problem with my SB51G Shuttle, already more than a year. It always started up with a delay, sometimes 20 seconds but most of the times a few minutes. I have recently installed Ubuntu on my Shuttle, and started using it quite a lot again. Last weekend I decided to replace the memory chips in my SB51G. I upgraded from one DDR 512 MB chip to two DDR 1024 MB chips (the max possible) and guess what: the Shuttle starts up *directly* after pressing the power button, every time!

Really strange, but I am glad the problem is resolved for me. Just thought contributing this, maybe somebody with the same problem can give it a shot.