It is the PSU. I looked up online how to test all the connectors where it hooks to the motherboard and what the volatages should be...I had 5 plugs that were suppose to be +5V and they were +3.74V so there is the issue. Glad I looked further into this issue because I was about to purchase a replacement motherboard off of Ebay tomorrow...shew...close one!
Thanks for reporting back. Keep us posted.
Well I tested the PSU unhooked from motherboard as instructed and got the low reading on the 5v...well I decided to test it while in PC running and all the leads that tested low test 5v when hooked up and machine is running. I guess PSU is ok and I am back to bidding on that board on Ebay tomorrow.
I dropped the second vid card in primary slot and checked Speccy and AIDA64 and both read the slot and show it as empty. Going to swap cards now and try it but I believe I have already did this!
I'll ask some of our hardware guys to take a look in here.
Hum well just cos the volts are there doesn't mean the current is edi I would take the thing out and flip on a few HDD and fans and see how it copes first.
Oh and Greg thanks for that WD ref mate - most handy:)
I did test it with a multimeter both unhooked-running and hooked-running. For some reason it puts 3.74V on the 5V rail when unhooked and it is 5.12V while hooked and PC is running and that is on all 5V terminals in the main motherboard connector.
Swapped the vid cards and same results..something I did notice is vid card fan runs like it should but card does not get physically warm/hot when it is in the assumed dead slot. I mean it is cool so there is nothing being pushed through the card...I'm going to have to say this motherboard has some dead components and that hard drive is still there and my old one must have been bad.
QUOTE=edilee012;2252332]I did test it with a multimeter both unhooked-running and hooked-running. For some reason it puts 3.74V on the 5V rail when unhooked and it is 5.12V while hooked and PC is running and that is on all 5V terminals in the main motherboard connector.
Swapped the vid cards and same results..something I did notice is vid card fan runs like it should but card does not get physically warm/hot when it is in the assumed dead slot. I mean it is cool so there is nothing being pushed through the card...I'm going to have to say this motherboard has some dead components and that hard drive is still there and my old one must have been bad.[/QUOTE]
Hum Edi seems you have some weird things going on there with the mobo like I said volts are not current I mean take for example a car battery well it might test up 12v or whatever but come to crank the engine and there is not enough amps to do that if you get my drift, and I think you would find that cranking that engine would also drop the bottom out of the available volts.
It is a pity there is no easy way to test the slot too as I am not sure of what is data and what is supply the fan of course needs very little volts and current to run it is the GPU chip and the board it is on that is the big "eater". Maybe the mobo is the real culprit have you had a look around for any signs of scorching and if you move any components do they move even the tiniest amount as it could be down to "dry joints" which on mobos can be very hard to detect and even harder to re-solder. Plus do any of the caps look suspect it only takes one to run the thing out of whack and if at all.
Just how old is the board mate as it looks more and more like it might have to go and in that case would you consider updating the CPU as well?
Look I just had a thought why not try cleaning the slot contacts all round RAM GPU and whatever it could be just dirt on the contacts a credit card with some lint free cloth drape over the edge and just tad of ethyl or methyl alcohol on it and swipe along the slots and do the sticks and card contacts the same method (not the credit card thought LOL!!)
Any overclocking?
I'm agreeing with ICit2 in first suspecting that power supply. When they start to fail it can be odd behavior as the first symptoms. Here's the thing: (as John was saying) the supply could be putting out the 12v to a device but the amperage could drop under load. That could have a global effect on the system.
When you test the supply with a multimeter you can find a spare power connection and connect the meter to it, like an unused Molex plug or SATA connector. The yellow lines are 12v, red wires are 5v, and orange is 3.3v. Then watch the voltage as you use the PC. Watch as you start up, shut down, everything. What you are looking for is fluctuation. The voltage should remain steady. If it drops or rises that is a problem. If your meter has an amperage reading check that too.
The test I performed on the PSU was on the 24 pin connector, some 4 pin molex, and the 6 pin video crd connectors. I did the test by activating the PSU disconnected from board and the hard drives and fans were pulling power while I did the unhooked test. This method resulted in a reading of 3.74V on all 5V plugs except the 5V standby which read 5.12V.
Last night before before I last posted I tested it while hooked up and pc running from the back side of the 24 pin connector and all 5V were reading 5.12V and 12V were reading 12.14V and 3.3V were reading 3.37V...this was under power with all components installed including my second video card and running. I am not sure why the 5 read 3.74 unhooked because I did test another PSU unhooked and its 5v read 5v while unhooked. Maybe this power supply does something different when it is unhooked and I am going to look into that here in a sec.
I had a few issues going on as I stated in original post and it seems the hard drive vanishing was in fact due to a failing drive because spare one is still there and has not went away yet. If money wasn't tight right now I was just go ahead and get a decent replacement board that most my current hardware would run on and then if problem was still there then I would get a new PSU...time for an upgrade anyways since this system just hit 5 years old.
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