HP Pavilion 531w power supply shuts down

I have a HP Pavilion 531w , it will be 2 years old in July. Lately, I
have started having a strange problem and I don't know what troubleshooting
should be done to find the problem and correct it.
I can be in the middle of anything and it just shuts down. I don't have it
set to go into hibernation or anything like that. Just can't figure out what
the problem is. Wnem I try to restart my PC there's nothing. So I unplug it
from the wall and from my PC, then plug it back in and it's fine. Any
suggestions?

 

This sounds to me like a bad power supply.. (It may well be something
else, but failing power supply comes to mind)

If it is a failing power supply, I would suggest you go to your local
computer shop and purchase a universal mid tower case with power
supply (probably 30 to 40 dollars), and simply move your HP components
into the new case... Your computer will run cooler, and will no longer
be underpowered...

The HP power supplies are small, both physically and in the amount of
power they provide.. HP does this as a cost reducing measure....
Standard power supplies will not fit into the undersized HP case...

YMMV.

hth,
JM

 

Where's that computer store that sells cases with power supply at that
price?
Also, not everyone is capable of also moving the motherboard, etc. etc. you
made it sound so simple. I agree that it is, but......

 

I am in western Washington state, and I can think of any number of
retail stores that sell decent bare cases with 300-350 watt ATX
supplies in that range..

I just bought one retail for $38.00 in change... Do not think "chain
store" here... Find the local computer store, not a chain/department
store...

As for the actual swap out.... Even if the person is mechanically
disinclined, and has to pay someone to perform the work, he/she will
still be far ahead of paying for one of HP's vastly overpriced
powersupplies.. remember, if the person cannot perform the swap, they
probably cannot perform a straight power supply replacement either,
and would have to hire it done...
Let's face it, this swap is not rocket science.

JM

 

It could also be a buildup of dust in the computer.

I'd look inside first for a simple solution.

A failing fan could also be a possibility.

craigm

 

It might not be that easy if HP has designed their motherboard to not fit
the hole spacing of a standard ATX case (which would be typical). I'd bet
they also don't use a standard I/O backplate and the one in the old system
is permanently attached. I could be wrong, but a little investigation may be
a good idea before you drop the money for a new case/supply that may not
work. Good luck.

E-vil

 

The info on the HP web site gives every indication that the motherboard is a
microATX board, which ought to fit nicely into a generic microATX or full ATX
chassis.

http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/docume...dinfo&prodId=hppavilion77623&docName=bph07367

http://h20015.www2.hp.com/en/docume...dinfo&prodId=hppavilion77623&docName=bph07028

The motherboard is made by Trigem and it is their "Lomita" model. HP has tended
more toward using standard form factors for motherboards in recent years. So
has most of the industry, altho Dell is still something of a holdout with its
variations including non-stanard metal plate attachments, smallish front panel
connectors, etc on some of its systems.

Still, before investing time, money and labor replacing the entire chassis, some
additional cleanup would be in order. I would blast all the dust bunnies out of
the case using a can of compressed air, with special attention to the processor
cooling fan and the fan inside the power supply. If either of these is impeded
by dust and dirt, the system does not receive adequate ventilation and it can
shut down unexpectedly from overheating.

The other side of the coin is that the power supplies in HP systems are
underpowered usually with ratings of 90w or 145w at best. And they are cheaply
made, as is much of the rest of many Pavilions. The Trigem motherboard
indicates that the system was built by Trigem or Daewoo in South Korea. This is
the same company that assembles the eMachines computers, not exactly a paragon
of quality and reliability... Ben Myers

 

Where's that computer store that sells cases with power supply at that

Theres thousands of sites ont the web that sell cases with ps for under 50
bucks.

 

I would like to thank everyone for the ideas. I can be mechanically
inclined if I have no other choice.Kind of runs in the family, if we can
take it apart we remember how to put it back together.
I went with the last suggestion first. I was able to take the side panel
off and there are actually two fans inside. Strange they had a tiny fan at
the end of the vent duct <is that what you call it>? But above the plastic
vent duct is a bigger fan that is attached to the power supply and it seems
to be blocked by that vent duct for the little fan. Not much room for
circulation and lots and lots of dust. Do you think it's possible to place
another hole at the top of that duct so it will have better ventilation?
What do you think?

Thanks a bunch,
Donna J.

 

Donna,

Just blast out the inside of the chassis with compressed air. From your
description, it is highly likely that all the dust inside is impeding air flow.
Unplug the system from the wall first.

In theory, the major name brand manufacturers all spend some money to come up
with an optimum solution for keeping a computer running cool. But with the
cramped Pavilion case permitting less air movement, I have to wonder.

If repeated blasts of compressed air dislodges all the dust and the computer
shuts down after a couple hours anyway, you are on your way to replacing the
power supply as the most likely culprit. As noted earlier, HP power supplies
are cheaply made and provide fairly anemic power to the system.

.... Ben Myers

 

Thanks again, this only happens every couple days and I cleaned it really
good this afternoon. Will see what happens by Monday. My husband has a nice
air compressor and I have used it to clean other dirty projects with good
results. Just not alot of pressure, for a PC and blow it away from
surrounding parts. I don't plan on doing that unless it shuts down again.
Will let you all know,

thanks,
Donna J

 

I owned this pc for 3 years now. I maxed out the ram. I was havin
trouble with the power supply and it would barely open the cdwrite
rom. I do not know why you would need an atx power supply as the at
is not plugged in. I crammed a regular power supply in and installe
windows 98 and got all the drivers from a different web site I foun
from searching out the motherboard(lomita). I also installed a fan a
the end of the duct from the already existing cooler fan on th
processor and with the new power supply the fan is in the back wher
it belongs. There is a place to plug in a fan next to where the ol
fan for the power supply was plugged in. I blew out the dust yes an
well it sings a new song. I would not recommend this machine fo
gaming. I also changed the hard drive