Cathode light reseting PC

Cerial_Killer · Aug 4, 2003

I've posted this in the case and power supplies section, prolly should have posted it here. But I have'nt received any replies.
So maybe some gifted minds here can help.

This guy is having the same problem as me also.

http://www.moddin.net/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1293

Im having the same problem, I just bought a new case and decided to buy a light for it also. The light is a vastech 6"cold cathode light. My power supply is a 350 W, If I set the switch while the pc is running it will turn the monitor off and sometimes reset the pc. If I turn the light switch on before turning the pc on everything is ok, just dont try turning it on while the pc is booted. My bios was alos reset somehow, i figured my battery was low , so im gonna go get another one tomorrow Any helpfull hints are greatly appreciated.

Thanks

pummer · Aug 4, 2003

I'm not an expert, but I'm willing to bet your power supply isn't powerful enough for your setup and that's your problem.

Kino · Aug 4, 2003

maybe something in the inverter or the switch or the wiring of the light is shortened?
and btw BIOS batteries wear out VERY slowly, my old pc has bee naround for 5 1/2 years and has never given a problem, i also have an older dell that has like 7 years as a folding rig, since like 7 months ago, so i dont think theBIOS batery is your problem

rogerdugans · Aug 4, 2003

I am no expert either but the problem is DEFINITELY one of two things:

problem in the cc wiring
or
psu is not strong enough.

A good 350 watt should be able to handle the load...BUT-
overclocking, lighting, lots of fans, lots of memory and pci cards and lastly, many HDD or optical drives all add to the load.

If you have a pretty new, fast system with good cooling....the light may add just enough extra draw to overload the psu.

You have ZERO problems when the light is off, correct?
Are you monitoring your voltages using MBM5 or some other program?
Since the light does work, I am guessing that the issue is not having enough juice for the system to start the cc lighting. Turning the lights on is a bigger draw then running them- thats's why they work (at least somewhat) if they are on when you start the system.

Cerial_Killer · Aug 4, 2003

Yeah I just bought this case, with the psu. I booted into bios and watched the voltages and constantly flicked the switch and the only thing you could see was a slight twitch of the numbers, but they were all at there levels and never dipped. But like the other guy he is having the same problem.

I recently bought a Cold Cathode Vastech light and installed it. I ran the switch to the front of my computer, but when I hit the switch to turn on the light my computer dies and restarts. This does not happen everytime, but at least half the time. I was thinking it could be my power supply, but I have a 480W Thermaltake PSU. If someone has an idea as to what could be causing this please help. Thank you!

And his PSU is huge compared to mine. This thing has me all confused.

weponhead · Aug 5, 2003

Does he have alot of stuff hooked into his PC? you may be causing a power surge when you turn on the switch , It probably is because you are creating a power flux of sorts and drawing power away from other things I get problems when i hook my EL wire + ccfl +fans up to my PSU i have 2 optical drives.. and a 350 watt PSU , I wasnt getting shutdowns but i was getting a constant 350 C degree reading from my onboard temp sensor .. like i said best bet is your overloading your PSU in the instant you turn on the light..

cack01 · Aug 5, 2003

You may have too many things hooked up to one power line. Try to make sure you are using molex conectors on different lines. A few people a while back had to many things hooked onto the power line of their HDD. When the lights went on, the HDD would crash just b/c it wasn't getting the voltage it needed. Try rearanging things and see if you still have the problem.

If you had a short in the CCFL and the PSU was turning off b/c of it, usually you would have to unplug the PSU inorder to reset the breaker.

-N- · Aug 5, 2003

maybe it's the damn Vastech cathode from case-mod.com
is that where you got yours too, Cerial_Killer? mine is a 13" though.

hmmm... my comp just shuts off instead of restarting.

Cerial_Killer · Aug 5, 2003

Nah I bought mine from Frys, its huge electronic store for those who are not familer.
OK I have...
2 HD's 1 is a 40GB Maxtor the other is a 15GB Maxtor
Nic card
sound Blaster Live
Radeon 8500 with a crystal orb
2.4 GHZ CPU
Memorex 52x24x52x burner
one fan with leds in the window and one in the top of the case.
And the PSU is 350W
And the MOBO is SOYO P4X400 it has a small fan on the chipset.
and in the front of the case is back lighted temperture display.
The case is Turbo Case X-Dreamer

I dont know how to add all the amp draws for this stuff, but it might be close to the limits, but I'm starting to think its just a crappy built Light.

Thanks

Wiseass · Aug 5, 2003

sounds to me like you've got a faulty CC..

I have a bud who put some CCs into his car (hes big into the stereo competitions and all that..) and had similar issues with the car electronics, radio would loose settings, blown fuses, lights would not work (interior)...

he finally tracked it down to the wiring somewhere in the CC, replaced it and it works fine. I'd take it back to Frys and tell em you want it replaced.

i_like_penguins · Aug 5, 2003

CC tubes have a large initial draw when they power up. you might be able to remidy the problem by installing a capacitor on the power connector to the CC. When you turn on the CC, the cap will soften the power draw and keep the computer running.

-N- · Aug 5, 2003

probably the cheapo brand "vastech..".
I had to RMA my first cathode cause after like 2 days only 1/4 of it lit up. Now my new one shuts off my PC randomly. At least I know I'm not the only one now.. maybe it's worth gettin the good ones at a little more premium of a price.

1-Man-Army · Aug 5, 2003

is ur inverter near ur hdd?? i heard when ppl put the inerverter near the hdd it gets stupid like that.
btw can u post ur psu specs

star882 · Aug 5, 2003

I have tested an 11" CC on my 800MHz P3 with a 200w Dell PSU, and I haven't had any problems with the system rebooting(I even tried turning the CC on and off several times while the system is running, no reboots).

Cerial_Killer · Aug 5, 2003

My PSU specs are
Model LC-A350ATX
350 W
3.3 V = 24A
+5 V = 35A
+12V = 12A

The capaciter sounds like a good idea, I may try to find one around here that is sufficient.

Thanks

Cathode light reseting PC

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