Possible power supply surge problems: may it end in UI problems?

I'm experiencing some strange situation and I can't figure out what's happening at all.

Recently I bought a Core i5 4670 + ASUS Z87-K + Thermaltake Lite Power 600W power supply.

Whenever I close the PC case I experience an error consisting in Windows 8.1 hanging with a random colors screen.

Sometimes just suspending with power button and resuming solves the problem and sometimes the whole computer gets freezed.

Some of the times I had to hard-reset the computer I got a message in the BIOS POST telling me that "anti-surge was activated in order to prevent more problems".

Since I experienced that message I started to think that there's some power supply surge problem (sadly I don't own a tester..........).

Computer is absolutely stable if I don't close the whole PC case.

It's a very strange behavior.

My actual question is:

Can a power supply surge end in the whole "random colors" screen error?

Note: I'm using the Core i5 integrated Intel HD 4600 GPU.

Matías Fidemraizer

Posted 2014-01-11T20:27:09.120

Reputation: 259

Answers

Power surges can cause a LOT of problems in general some stranger than others. The case part of it is a little different though, from what you are describing it sounds more like overheating. If you have access to another power supply (possibly by borrowing =P) of about 430w (fairly common) or more you can probably test it that way assuming you're not stressing the system to its max. Either way I would get a surge protector and keep your pc on a steady non-conductive surface like wood (if you are not already), a good jolt can fry a motherboard or corrupt a hard drive even without the previous warnings. Also try leaving the case off for longer period of time to make sure it is not happening anyway. Other factors can be a faulty video capacitor, improper voltage from power source to video card/onboard components, and poor cooling in general (cpu/graphics/power supply should be well ventilated and cooled). Out of curiosity does it only warn you about anti-surge after you have done a hard shutdown (holding the button down to kill power/unplugging it while it is still running)? This may be the cause of the message, and there could be another problem altogether.

jak138

Posted 2014-01-11T20:27:09.120

Reputation: 86

1While I've fixed the problem installing the Intel's stock CPU cooler instead of a big one, I really believe the problem was the whole big CPU cooler which needs to be attached in the back-side of the motherboard using a metal piece. Maybe this would be the source of the power surge.... Once I changed it, closing the case wasn't a problem anymore.... – Matías Fidemraizer – 2014-01-12T11:59:00.877

About if the surge error message was after a hard shutdown, you're right, this was after that. – Matías Fidemraizer – 2014-01-12T11:59:56.177

Finally the problem was the PSU. My other PC had the same PSU as the new one (Thermaltake Litepower 600W) and I tried it in the new one. After this change, the problem suddenly dissapeared. – Matías Fidemraizer – 2014-01-13T06:45:02.293

Check your BIOS version, is it supporting this kind of CPU? I had similar issues on my old PC, where I wanted to upgrade CPU with slightly better one. I had BIOS 1.1c version, and my PC would sometimes turn on but screen just remained black and sometimes the CPU fan would just spin for a second and PC wouldn't turn on. Then, I saw there is BIOS 1.2c version, updated BIOS, and everything was fine. (I would post this as a comment but my rep doesn't allow it :)

Vladimir

Posted 2014-01-11T20:27:09.120

Reputation: 303

I really doubt this is a BIOS version issue. – Matías Fidemraizer – 2014-01-12T12:00:15.037