Does your computer started to randomnly shutdown without prior warning ? Leaving you with a message like this upon reboot : Power supply surges detected during the previous power on. ASUS Anti-Surge was triggered to protect system from unstable power supply unit !
Here is a list of stuff to look at BEFORE actually buying a new power supply :
- Check if your computer is properly plugged in (from the wall socket, to the power supply socket, to the main power cord plugged to your mother board). Check if anything is loose. Check every wires connected to the power supply.
- Make sure your CPU cooler/fan has not come loose ! (that's part of what fixed this problem for me. It was partially detached and was not touching the CPU completely. It was also causing CPU overheat problems... which I discarded as being sensor problems at first... derp !).
- Have you plugged in new hardware recently ? You power supply may not provide enough power for everything. (It can easily be tested by removing non-essential components and seeing if it works)
- Open up the BIOS and look for a voltages monitoring page where 3.3v, 5v and 12v are listed. Check if the values displayed are way too low or way too high (should not be more or less than 4% of expected voltage). (In my case the 12v was way too low (between 10.5v and 11.5v) and was fluctuating a lot)
- If voltages seems wrong in BIOS, you could unplug the power supply and test voltages directly from it with a multimeter. (in my case the 12v line was giving good values, which ruled out the possibility of my power supply being broken, at least on idle)
- While the power supply is unpluged, check each connectors carefully in case one has melted, is broken or is dirty. (that is what finally fixed my problem so far, a 12v pin was somehow partially melted, I cleaned it up on the power supply cord AND in the motherboard pin slot, my 12v voltage was stable after that in the BIOS monitoring page)
- Check if your electricity is stable (does lights flickers, are you living in a very old house, etc), it could help to invest in a UPS (uninterruptible power supply) to stabilise your electricity input.
- Turn surge protection OFF in BIOS (BUT I STRONGLY ADVISE AGAINST THIS. It is NOT a real solution)
If none of this worked, sorry I guess you'll have to buy/borrow a new power supply ! :/
