# How can I make sure my PSU is faulty? is there a stress app for PSUs?



## Master (Apr 9, 2017)

Hello everyone. 
I hope you are all doing great. 
I need to make sure my PSU is faulty and need to gather clues about it to save myself future hassles. 
I have gotten sudden system shutdown, which when I digged into windows event viewer, I found Kernel-Power 41 (63) error , which I believe a sign for a faulty PSU. 
but this shutting downs happen at random, how can I make sure this is indeed the PSU shutting down? 
Is there any kind of stress app for PSUs? 
I'd appreciate any kind of help. 

Thank you in advance


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## P4-630 (Apr 9, 2017)

Do some gaming as Crysis and such.


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## Master (Apr 9, 2017)

P4-630 said:


> Do some gaming as Crysis and such.


unfortunately I don't have that game! (I dont have any game to be honest!)


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## P4-630 (Apr 9, 2017)

Master said:


> unfortunately I don't have that game! (I dont have any game to be honest!)



Try Prime95 then.

Furmark would be another contender but be sure your graphics card has proper cooling and watch the temps.


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## Master (Apr 9, 2017)

prime 95 runs fine, I've read that is not a good candidate to test for psu problems.


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## BiggieShady (Apr 9, 2017)

Master said:


> prime 95 runs fine, I've read that is not a good candidate to test for psu problems.


You may try to stress the graphics card at the same time ... reduce number of threads in prime95 by 1, in your case run only 3 threads of prime95 and at the same time run Heaven benchmark or Valley benchmark.


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## SnakeDoctor (Apr 9, 2017)

No way to test a psu , best to try a know working one

Can try S%M Stress test  + Aida Stress test


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## Caring1 (Apr 9, 2017)

That's a general shut down error when Windows doesn't know what the cause is.
It may be power related.
First sign of a PSU issue can be detected in the voltage readings in the BIOS for the 3.3, 5 and 12V's they should be close to the correct values.

Something like this might help: http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/20-24-Pi...382604?hash=item3d152ea18c:g:d1sAAOSwYmZXMKeR
I used one when running a mining rig to ensure correct voltage to the system.


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## CAPSLOCKSTUCK (Apr 9, 2017)

buy one of these or similar







http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ATX-Power...UK-/390550758785?_trksid=p2385738.m2548.l4275


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## silentbogo (Apr 9, 2017)

If you want to stress it under load, use OCCTP.
It has a built-in feature for PSU testing, which loads all of the hardware to utilize all voltage rails.
Run that for about 20-30 minutes and see if either 12V, 5V or 3.3V goes too low (or high).
That's about the only non-intrusive thing you can do in order to check your PSU.


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## Ahhzz (Apr 9, 2017)

SnakeDoctor said:


> No way to test a psu , best to try a know working one
> 
> Can try S%M Stress test  + Aida Stress test


The doctor has spoken. That's the best way, unless you want to splurge on the tester up there from ebay. How long have you had the P/S?


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## Caring1 (Apr 9, 2017)

CAPSLOCKSTUCK said:


> buy one of these or similar


Just like the one I linked


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## Vayra86 (Apr 9, 2017)

Smash it with a hammer.

Success guaranteed


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## HD64G (Apr 9, 2017)

silentbogo said:


> If you want to stress it under load, use OCCTP.
> It has a built-in feature for PSU testing, which loads all of the hardware to utilize all voltage rails.
> Run that for about 20-30 minutes and see if either 12V, 5V or 3.3V goes too low (or high).
> That's about the only non-intrusive thing you can do in order to check your PSU.


This! I have done that test for 2 PSUs. The one was proven to be of low quality (it had the bad noise when tested by this tool) and changed it just to be sure of not damaging my pc and for the 2nd case, it assured us that the psu tested was dying (pc was rebooting when pushed hard especially during gaming) and once a new one was installed our suspicions and OCCT's test were proven right.

http://www.ocbase.com/index.php/download


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## Jetster (Apr 9, 2017)

http://www.ocbase.com/


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## basco (Apr 9, 2017)

random reboots could be your ram too\i see you have 20gigs ram? in 4 slots?

i just say this before you buy something test all options you can which cost nothing.

http://www.memtest.org/


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## EarthDog (Apr 9, 2017)

Master said:


> prime 95 runs fine, I've read that is not a good candidate to test for psu problems.


why wouldn't it? It draws more power off your cpu than anything else you seem to do...

No idea of your brand "green" though...

I'd absolutely start looking at your mismatched ram...never a good idea...are even using that much?


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## sneekypeet (Apr 9, 2017)

Had that same error with shutdowns. Replaced the PSU, swapped out to new RAM, tried all sorts of stuff. For me it turned out that I needed to flash the BIOS.


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## silentbogo (Apr 9, 2017)

Master said:


> I found Kernel-Power 41 (63) error


Totally missed that part. It could be anything from PSU or unstable overclock, to faulty RAM/GPU or anything else that may cause an immediate shutdown.
Start with running stock clocks, disabling XMP(if any), and start stress-testing everything - one component at a time.


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## jaggerwild (Apr 9, 2017)




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## Master (Apr 9, 2017)

Thank you everyone. 
Here are what I have already done . 
1.about my RAMs, they are all Geils, two 2 GB 1333 cl9 sticks and two 8 GB 1600 cl11 sticks.they are installed next to each other meaning 2GB sticks are installed in DIMM 1 and 2 and the other 2 sticks are installed in the remaining slots.  I have run a memory test through windows 10's Memory Diagnostics, and no problems were found. (I need to say that, the basic test was over, I changed it and enabled all tests, it took more than several hours, and I had to manually restart the system since it was taking too long, I guess it froze or looked that way , though no errors were found! ) 
2.I have run prime95 and Aida more than an hour without any issues. 
3.I have not overclocked my CPU. every thing is at stock clock. xmp is also disabled 
4. I had to update my bios in order to install the new cpu. the problems have started since then , so I dont know if this is a bios issue or psu issue. 
5.At the moment I cant use the suggested hardware for checking the psu. I'll try to test the software based suggestions first and then if they all were futile! I'm going to test that! 

I'm going to run the suggestions and update this thread when the results are ready. 
Thank you again everyone.


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## JL87 (Apr 9, 2017)

Although it may be a hardware issue it could also be related to a bug in the fast startup option in the power management settings. This bug has been present since windows 8 and doesn't effect all hardware. 

Every time I've updated my OS it gets reset and causes that error with my system suddenly shutting down until I disable that option. 

Easy enough to do to see if that eliminates the problem.


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## Derek12 (Apr 9, 2017)

HDTune  + Prime95 + Furmark


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## newtekie1 (Apr 9, 2017)

Master said:


> .about my RAMs, they are all Geils, two 2 GB 1333 cl9 sticks and two 8 GB 1600 cl11 sticks.they are installed next to each other meaning 2GB sticks are installed in DIMM 1 and 2 and the other 2 sticks are installed in the remaining slots.



I'd just like to point out that I don't believe this is the proper way to install the memory on your motherboard.  It should be 2 | 8 | 2 | 8.


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## Master (Apr 9, 2017)

OK here are the OCCT results  : http://imgur.com/gallery/6q7mr
While OCCT was running, my own test (Deep learning related (training a dataset which takes 3GBs of VGAs ram and almost uses 97~98% of the gpu, has been already running for several hours.
GPU temp reached to 77C
CPU temps were at most 80C
Todays temp was 26C 

this is when the tests were finished :





@newtekie1 : Since I'd installed CoolerMasters hyper212 Fan, I couldnt place them that way.
I see if I can arrange them that way (but I doubt it , fingers crossed!)


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## Vayra86 (Apr 9, 2017)

IMO if you really want to know if a PSU drops out of ATX spec is to buy a volt meter and probe while stressing the PC. Software readings can be off, and this is the only way to really determine PSU failure before it actually does fail.

I say this because I dont see a problem with temperatures, and even if it is NOT the PSU this method will allow you to exclude the PSU and zoom in on other possible causes. Additionally having such a tool on hand doesnt break the bank and will prob prove useful to have in the future.


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## Dippyskoodlez (Apr 9, 2017)

The best overall load ive managed to find via my kill-a-watt was a loop of 3dmark extreme combined test.



Vayra86 said:


> IMO if you really want to know if a PSU drops out of ATX spec is to buy a volt meter and probe while stressing the PC. Software readings can be off, and this is the only way to really determine PSU failure before it actually does fail.



Dmm wont see ripple, only voltage spikes, and if its a multi rail psu, you wont be able to see all of them. Good for a single niche out of spec scenario only


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## Master (Apr 9, 2017)

Just finished running memtest. two passes and no errors thanks to dear God.
@newtekie1 : I swapped ram sticks as well, performance seemed to have improved! thanks
by the way is my +5v,+3v and 12+v stats OK? I see +12v has alot of fluctuations 11.6 to 11.9! and mostly staying around 11.7 11.8!


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## FordGT90Concept (Apr 9, 2017)

Did the computer restart itself or just go off?

Have you disabled "automatic restart" on system failure?

There could have been a BSOD with more details but Windows' default behavior is to restart so you can't see it.  A BSOD can log a Kernel-Power 41 event after the automatic restart basically telling you something broke but not giving any details as to what or why.  Instructions how to disable the automatic restart are at the bottom of that page.

Hell, even an interruption in power to the PSU can cause a Kernel-Power 41 event log.


Windows basically has a "proper shutdown" bit on your HDD/SSD which is set to false when you start Windows.  When you shut down Windows properly, it sets the bit to true.  If the computer shuts down for any reason that the bit doesn't get set to true, when Windows next boots, it creates the Kernel-Power 41 event log indicating Windows itself had no control over the shut down (hardware fault, power loss, or as simple as holding the power button in for 5 seconds).


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## Master (Apr 9, 2017)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Did the computer restart itself or just go off?
> 
> Have you disabled "automatic restart" on system failure?
> 
> ...


Thanks alot. 
No computer restarts itself, usually it takes several seconds for it to restart . if I restart the system it doesnt act like that, I can almost instantly see the Asus logo when the system wants to boot up. 
I just disabled it, it wasn't before. 
Usually when a BSOD happens, the moment windows is restarted, a windows usually pops up saying a crash occurred, and you know the rest. but I never faced such window when I had these kinds of restarting!


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## FordGT90Concept (Apr 9, 2017)

Next time it does it then, you should see a full BSOD and there should be a line on that with full caps and underscores that say what actual fault is occurring.


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## Vayra86 (Apr 10, 2017)

ATX spec 2.2
Voltage Rail	Tolerance	Minimum Voltage	Maximum Voltage
+3.3VDC	± 5%	+3.135 VDC	+3.465 VDC
+5VDC	± 5%	+4.750 VDC	+5.250 VDC
+5VSB	± 5%	+4.750 VDC	+5.250 VDC
-5VDC (if used)	± 10%	-4.500 VDC	-5.500 VDC
+12VDC	± 5%	+11.400 VDC	+12.600 VDC
-12VDC	± 10%	-10.800 VDC	- 13.200 VDC

A bit of riople doesn't kill a system btw, so whether or not you can see this is irrelevant unless you're overclocking. Many cheaper PSUs have ripple and they run fine. However, dropping out of spec even briefly on +12V is instant death. In addition, ripple in my experience doesn't magically fall out of the sky, its inherent to the unit and its design, while +12 V can degrade over time.


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## EarthDog (Apr 12, 2017)

All psus have ripple, not some.

Dropping out of spec isnt instant death, its instant power off or never powers on.

Ripple, like 12v voltage, can degrade over time.


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## SnakeDoctor (Apr 12, 2017)

The power supply testers you buy from ebay(got one) are only going to tell you the Power supply switches on and show if the volts are 12,3.3,5v volt and that's all .Does not actually test the psu on load or anything 
If the voltages are low yes the psu is faulty but normally unlikely 
I more just use one to see if the power supply is dead or not , Check if any damages caps in psu

To test the power supply properly you will need the equipment like that of TPU uses . Check the equipment$$$ they use on testing power supply with load tests

Op - The voltages do look a bit low on the 12volt rail - 11.62 seems but low, but seems pretty stable 
The voltage should not be greater/lower that 3% tolerance


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## EarthDog (Apr 13, 2017)

SnakeDoctor said:


> The power supply testers you buy from ebay(got one) are only going to tell you the Power supply switches on and show if the volts are 12,3.3,5v volt and that's all .Does not actually test the psu on load or anything
> If the voltages are low yes the psu is faulty but normally unlikely
> I more just use one to see if the power supply is dead or not , Check if any damages caps in psu
> 
> ...


5% is the atx specification (see vayara's post two above yours), not 3%. Lower is better of course for stability, but so long as its within spec, it should still work. Outsode of that things get wonky and shut down or just dont work.


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## Master (Apr 19, 2017)

FordGT90Concept said:


> Did the computer restart itself or just go off?
> 
> Have you disabled "automatic restart" on system failure?
> 
> ...



Hello every one, OK, last night I suddenly faced another restart. I had unchecked the automatic restart on system failure, so the system doesnt restart in case it was windows related. Yet the system was restarted, upon getting backed, I checked windows event viewer and again saw the infamous Kernel-Power41. 
Since last night I' have tried to run some tests again to see if I can finally know what could have been causing it. I went to the bios and set the profile to performance, this profile seems to overclock my CPU (two cores 4600, one 4500 and the last one 4400 Mhz). I did that to see if its the temperature that caused the restart. 
I started windows and ran OCCT PSU benchmark for two hours. It went well without any issues until it restarted  just 2 minutes before the two-hour test is finished. I checked the temps , the highest was 99C in the very beginning but after an hour and a half which I checked again, it was around 82 ~85C . The +3V and +5V seemed fine. the 12V was fluctuating between 11.81 11.71 and rarely 11.61~11.62. 
I tried it again, and once again around the same time , system was restarted. 
For the third time I thought maybe its because of me having different RAMs (different speeds but from the same brand, Geil, two modules are Geil 1333 2G and the other two are Geil Evo 1600 8G), and the overclocking may have caused them to malfunction or something like that. So I removed the 2 Gig modules and ran the test again with 16 Gig of ram total. (I need to say that, I had already ran memtest and all modules were fine.)
Any way, to my surprise it restarted at around the same time as the previous tests . 
Having acted like this, what could have been the cause ?
 power seems to be working fine I guess right?


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## EarthDog (Apr 20, 2017)

Bad ram? Try the other set alone amd see what happens..


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## FordGT90Concept (Apr 20, 2017)

You don't have this system on a UPS do you?  Perhaps the computer is fine but there's a slump in incoming power causing the computer to go off/restart.

You can verify this is the case by going into the BIOS and finding the option where it sets behavior for power loss.  If it's set to "turn on" or "restart," change it to "stay off."  When it happens again and the computer stays off, that confirms it's line power causing the issue.


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