PSU problem(I think)

Two days ago,a friend of mine gave me his comp cos the issue was power failure.He explain me that his comp will start to boot from 3 times.I connect his tower with monitor,keyboard,mouse and power cable,press the power button and doesn't work(strange-red light is non-stop on,but the green light is off).Second time -same again.third time everything is normal and comp boot perfectly.What the heck?I test everythingseparately,from memory to GPU,LAN card,modemcard,HDDx2-one 40 gb,second 80gb.Everything is normal.Afterthe third time,as I say every thing is normal.You can restart,turn off for awhile,turn on again-normal.BUT-Next morning, same problem.
Shoot some answers,let see some other ideas,maybe I missing something.Thanks for your answers in advance.

Info for the comp:
socketA mobo from ESC-K7S6A
Athlon XP-1.5 ghz
2x256 MB ram
matrox-40gb
WD-80gb
Sony-combo drive
OS-Windows XP PRO up to date.

 

I've had a similar but less severe experience with an ECS K7S5A PRO system, the computer I'm using right now. It would occasionally not start when I pressed the power button; it would, as you mentioned, show a constant red light but do nothing more. I would hold the power button in for four seconds to turn off the power, and try again. On the second try, it would start normal. This did not happen everyday, but it was becoming more frequent.

I replaced the power supply and the problem was solved. So, I'm very much inclined to think you need to replace the power supply. Here's what I bought to replace my old one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104953 I've had it since 1/5/07 and I'm pleased with it.

 

DL....install and run EVEREST when you have the system running;

http://www.majorgeeks.com/download.php?det=4181

Expand Computer>>>>>Sensor are the values you are reading similar to those defined?

 

What's the point of doing this? What do "Sensor values" have to do with this? Goran.P said nothing about any "Sensor values", as far as I can tell.

 

Frankly the point is it will give you a "base line analysis" of what is going on. It will give you you values of expected "Voltages" against actual and "empower" your next decision. THAT IS THE POINT

 

OK, I see your point now, but I still think it needed some clarification. Oddly, Everest did not put column titles in that section of their report and I'd bet many casual users of Everest are not aware of exactly what the report is showing in that section. And, frankly, I don't think your posts shed much clarity on that. But, now that you've clarified your point, I agree that that info in Everest could be helpful info to Goran.P in assessing his power supply.

If Everest would label those columns as Defined and Actual, or something similar, to indicate what they're showing, that would make the report more clear. For comparison on this point, if you go down to the section for Logical Drives or Physical Drives or ASPI or SMART, etc,. each column is labeled.

 

Uhmmm forget the report section look at actual output.....run the app and goto Computer....click on sensor and LOOK at the results if you have a dodgy PSU it will be painfully OBVIOUS.

 

Alright, so run Everest and look at the live report, not a saved report. I get ya. But, whether a "dodgy PSU it will be painfully OBVIOUS" from that is another matter. It may be obvious to you but it's not obvious unless one knows what kind of deviations between the defined and the actual values are significant. Would you care to elaborate a bit on that? Should he be looking at 12V, 3.3V, or 5V? Should he watch it for some period of time and look for some degree of fluctuation? Exactly how should he evaluate that info?

 

Tolerance on a 12V rail is +/- 1.2V, for a range of 10.8V - 13.2V
Tolerance on a 5V rail is +/- 0.5V, for a range of 4.5V - 5.5V
Tolerance on a 3.3V rail is +/- 0.2V, for a range of 3.1V - 3.5V

I test using a DMM, and the result is (practically) immediate.

 

Thanks, Mada_Milty. That's some solid info to go on.

 

I should mention that this is for an ATX power supply, which I felt was a safe assumption.

 

Thanks all of you for your answers.Sorry for not replying,but I must work,if not"no food on the table".About the problemI stick with usafveteran solution,get a new PSU,and replace the old one,and so far it's OK.I will test the comp for a week,to see what will happen.Thanks again all of you.

 

So, you've already installed a new PSU, right? How's it working so far? Does the computer start the first time you press the power button?

 

Yes,but I want to test it fully loaded,cos I don't want to return the comp,if something (beside the PSU) is wrong.

HEY USAF thanks man.You save my evening.

PS:I noted that the HDD's works very fast now.The load time is now cut in half.