Antec Power Button

zippyjuan · 11-03-2008, 01:37 PM

Any idea of where to pick one up (or even if you agree that this is what the problem is- other suggestions welcomed). It is an ATX system and when I tell the computer to shut itself off or if I try to do it myself via the power button- it shuts down but immediately goes back into starting again- it does not stay off. It is not the same as if you just tell it to reboot (say after updating or installing something).

I can rule out a software issue (unless it is in the BIOS somewhere- I haven't messed with them in a while). This I can be sure of since I had a game freeze as I tried to launch it and the only to get moving again was to try to power off- and then I could not get my system to boot. I tried to do a repair via the Recovery Console but no luck so I ended up doing a fresh install of everything- which was a time consuming pain (all the Windows updates [it is a six year old version] plus two service packs (#2, #3).

To save my pictures and other things like favorites I used a second hard drive so that I could copy them over. I messed that up so I ended up doing the full reinstall and updating three times!!!. I have not copied everything over yet on this latest one and have decided to only install programs as I need them- instead of all at once.

But this all could become moot in a month or so. I am thinking about updating my now old system (Athlon XP 24+ some of you helped me put together) and go for one of the new Intel i7 systems (hey- if you are going to do it- do it nice and you won't have to do it again for a while- worked on this!). I think the system is just getting old. Still debating the XP/ Vista thing. It would be cheaper if I could just transfer my copy of XP over until their new OS comes out (what- in a couple of years anyways?) I know all my programs work in XP.

A bit of rant and thinking out-loud but what do you think about the power button? Thanks as always!

GuruX · 11-03-2008, 02:30 PM

Oh my, I'm running into this exact problem at a friend's place right now. If I find something here, I'll let you know for sure.

Markel · 11-03-2008, 04:58 PM

I once had a minor problem with my Antec case (one of the bottom "foot" pads). I contacted Antec (via their web site) and they sent out some replacements (at no cost to me). It might be worth a try.

Napoleon54 · 11-03-2008, 05:07 PM

Hmm... could also be the mobo, no? If you're crafty, the button aught to be straight forward enough to take apart and see if something's obviously fishy. If it were me, I'd hack the button apart and take a look-see.

FWIW, I'd stick with XP for now. Vista seems like a wasted investment and you can always upgrade later when Windows Whats-its-name comes out.

zippyjuan · 11-03-2008, 09:50 PM

Guru- like me you have probably been digging around for info. Maybe something here will help: http://aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.php
They mention Roxio Easy CD Creator (which I have and did not have a problem before when it was installed and I have not even installed since the last XP reinstall) so that is not my issue. I have not gone into BIOS to double check my settings there. I did send of a question to Antec support but it sounds like there may be something besides the buttton going on. Should my computer be set for "hibernating" or not- it is not right now.
I think it is some sort of power management issue.

I was able to transfer all my photographs from my other hard drive (thank goodness!). My "Favorites" had somehow vanished from that one but I have another old drive with an older version I was able to hook up as a slave and copy over. Saved having to search for all those websites again!

Just Windows XP and its updates (and a few drivers I needed to be able to get the updates- I think that includes up to Media Player 11 and .net3.5)took up 10gb on my hard drive. I just checked the box and it says minimum requirements 1.5gb space.

GuruX · 11-04-2008, 07:54 AM

On the system I was working with, I've pretty much narrowed it down to the power switch. I had to upgrade the RAM in the system, and when I plugged it back in, the machine started up immediately. I went into the BIOS, and made sure that the system was set to be powered off after power was restored (it was), and all other power management settings seemed OK.

Hibernation is not a required feature by any means (most useful on laptops, rather than desktops). All it does is save contents of RAM to your hard drive before powering off the computer. Of course, with systems now having 2-4GB+ of RAM (mine has 8GB), it takes longer to resume from hibernation than it does a cold boot.

That said, on a completely off-topic note, Windows XP, Norton Antivirus, and 256MB of RAM is a surefire way to kill a system.... horrible stuff.

zippyjuan · 11-04-2008, 05:20 PM

I have two of the three- XP, Norton, but 1.25 gig memory. I got a reply from Antec today- they think it could be the power supply or mother board (I might be more inclined to think it is the motherboard but if they will replace my power supply I will not turn it down). They asked for a serial number to check the warranty on it (how long do they give on them? The computer is six years old). My Asus Probe shows power voltages as normal (I did have to remove that since it was causing some sort of conflict). I double checked my power management settings in BIOS and found nothing different from the default settings (which I have always used for that) but tried shutting off "boot from lan" in case- no change.

Still thinking about building a Intel i7 system- they are supposed to have the first chips out in about three weeks. I did not turn on the hibernation. Aren't there limits to how much memory XP can use? The new i7 boards can handle up to 24gb and up to six video cards! Crazy stuff- not to mention expensive if you put all that in. I was thinking more around three gigs (it uses triple channel memory so you need a multiple of three- Corsair says a 3gb set will run about $120 with the six gig set $210). I guess they say 4gb for XP: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system...ae/paemem.mspx Still undecided- it will depend on how much everything else costs too.

Napoleon54 · 11-04-2008, 06:39 PM

Highly unlikely that it's a power supply issue, I don't understand that at all. The PS makes no decisions for itself. It only does what the mobo tells it to do.

oh well.

11-03-2008, 01:37 PM	#1
zippyjuan Picture of the Day Guru Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sunny San Diego Posts: 8,709	Antec Power Button Any idea of where to pick one up (or even if you agree that this is what the problem is- other suggestions welcomed). It is an ATX system and when I tell the computer to shut itself off or if I try to do it myself via the power button- it shuts down but immediately goes back into starting again- it does not stay off. It is not the same as if you just tell it to reboot (say after updating or installing something). I can rule out a software issue (unless it is in the BIOS somewhere- I haven't messed with them in a while). This I can be sure of since I had a game freeze as I tried to launch it and the only to get moving again was to try to power off- and then I could not get my system to boot. I tried to do a repair via the Recovery Console but no luck so I ended up doing a fresh install of everything- which was a time consuming pain (all the Windows updates [it is a six year old version] plus two service packs (#2, #3). To save my pictures and other things like favorites I used a second hard drive so that I could copy them over. I messed that up so I ended up doing the full reinstall and updating three times!!!. I have not copied everything over yet on this latest one and have decided to only install programs as I need them- instead of all at once. But this all could become moot in a month or so. I am thinking about updating my now old system (Athlon XP 24+ some of you helped me put together) and go for one of the new Intel i7 systems (hey- if you are going to do it- do it nice and you won't have to do it again for a while- worked on this!). I think the system is just getting old. Still debating the XP/ Vista thing. It would be cheaper if I could just transfer my copy of XP over until their new OS comes out (what- in a couple of years anyways?) I know all my programs work in XP. A bit of rant and thinking out-loud but what do you think about the power button? Thanks as always! __________________ I add new pictures to my photo gallery pretty regularly. You can see them here if you are interested: http://www.pbase.com/jeffryz

11-03-2008, 05:07 PM	#4
Napoleon54 Vice Admiral Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: floating inside of a giant egg made of stars Posts: 4,346	Hmm... could also be the mobo, no? If you're crafty, the button aught to be straight forward enough to take apart and see if something's obviously fishy. If it were me, I'd hack the button apart and take a look-see. FWIW, I'd stick with XP for now. Vista seems like a wasted investment and you can always upgrade later when Windows Whats-its-name comes out. __________________ The unsustainable cannot be sustained.

11-03-2008, 09:50 PM	#5
zippyjuan Picture of the Day Guru Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sunny San Diego Posts: 8,709	Guru- like me you have probably been digging around for info. Maybe something here will help: http://aumha.org/win5/a/shtdwnxp.php They mention Roxio Easy CD Creator (which I have and did not have a problem before when it was installed and I have not even installed since the last XP reinstall) so that is not my issue. I have not gone into BIOS to double check my settings there. I did send of a question to Antec support but it sounds like there may be something besides the buttton going on. Should my computer be set for "hibernating" or not- it is not right now. I think it is some sort of power management issue. I was able to transfer all my photographs from my other hard drive (thank goodness!). My "Favorites" had somehow vanished from that one but I have another old drive with an older version I was able to hook up as a slave and copy over. Saved having to search for all those websites again! Just Windows XP and its updates (and a few drivers I needed to be able to get the updates- I think that includes up to Media Player 11 and .net3.5)took up 10gb on my hard drive. I just checked the box and it says minimum requirements 1.5gb space. Last edited by zippyjuan : 11-03-2008 at 09:56 PM.

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11-03-2008, 02:30 PM	#2
GuruX Rear Admiral Lower Half Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Calgary Alberta Canada Posts: 2,369	Oh my, I'm running into this exact problem at a friend's place right now. If I find something here, I'll let you know for sure. __________________ I reject your reality and substitute my own. - Adam Savage

11-03-2008, 04:58 PM	#3
Markel Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 11,270	I once had a minor problem with my Antec case (one of the bottom "foot" pads). I contacted Antec (via their web site) and they sent out some replacements (at no cost to me). It might be worth a try. __________________ stay low... keep moving...

11-04-2008, 07:54 AM	#6
GuruX Rear Admiral Lower Half Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Calgary Alberta Canada Posts: 2,369	On the system I was working with, I've pretty much narrowed it down to the power switch. I had to upgrade the RAM in the system, and when I plugged it back in, the machine started up immediately. I went into the BIOS, and made sure that the system was set to be powered off after power was restored (it was), and all other power management settings seemed OK. Hibernation is not a required feature by any means (most useful on laptops, rather than desktops). All it does is save contents of RAM to your hard drive before powering off the computer. Of course, with systems now having 2-4GB+ of RAM (mine has 8GB), it takes longer to resume from hibernation than it does a cold boot. That said, on a completely off-topic note, Windows XP, Norton Antivirus, and 256MB of RAM is a surefire way to kill a system.... horrible stuff.

11-04-2008, 05:20 PM	#7
zippyjuan Picture of the Day Guru Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Sunny San Diego Posts: 8,709	I have two of the three- XP, Norton, but 1.25 gig memory. I got a reply from Antec today- they think it could be the power supply or mother board (I might be more inclined to think it is the motherboard but if they will replace my power supply I will not turn it down). They asked for a serial number to check the warranty on it (how long do they give on them? The computer is six years old). My Asus Probe shows power voltages as normal (I did have to remove that since it was causing some sort of conflict). I double checked my power management settings in BIOS and found nothing different from the default settings (which I have always used for that) but tried shutting off "boot from lan" in case- no change. Still thinking about building a Intel i7 system- they are supposed to have the first chips out in about three weeks. I did not turn on the hibernation. Aren't there limits to how much memory XP can use? The new i7 boards can handle up to 24gb and up to six video cards! Crazy stuff- not to mention expensive if you put all that in. I was thinking more around three gigs (it uses triple channel memory so you need a multiple of three- Corsair says a 3gb set will run about $120 with the six gig set $210). I guess they say 4gb for XP: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system...ae/paemem.mspx Still undecided- it will depend on how much everything else costs too.

11-04-2008, 06:39 PM	#8
Napoleon54 Vice Admiral Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: floating inside of a giant egg made of stars Posts: 4,346	Highly unlikely that it's a power supply issue, I don't understand that at all. The PS makes no decisions for itself. It only does what the mobo tells it to do. oh well.

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