AX650 resume from S3 issue

I experience the same issue described in this thread: http://forum.corsair.com/v3/showthread.php?t=103431.

I think stating that MB is the problem is incorrect and too simplistic, in facts i have a different motherboard but the same issue, so i think PSU is to blame too. It seems the problem is an incompatibility in the min load administration by the PSU. Look at this: http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums...ic.php?t=58802. Is it correct?

My motherboard is a MSI 990FXA-GD80, AMD chipset, and CPU is a Phenom II X4 945. The MB has not any problem, it simply - and correctly - requires a very low load from PSU. Is that a fault?

The issue is exactly the same, except that it started after nearly 7/8 months after i purchased AX-650 PSU, as if after this time it has - for some reason - left the capacity to administrate low loads and resumes. No other HW configuration changes have been made in this period.

So what could i do to fix this? Maybe using a lower power PSU could help? Have i to turn back to less-efficient PSUs to get my system working OK?

Wait, so you built the system with another PSU is that what I am getting from this? Please be more specific about the hard ware and how it was setup.

What was the configuration when the O.S. was installed and what is it now?

Sorry for my lack of precision... i write from Italy and expressing my ideas in english is not so straightforward for me... my system was originally built in the 90s and i upgraded components one per time all these years long, so configuration has changed so much times... :o:

My actual HTPC configuration was set last spring using 990FXA-GD80 M/B, Phenom II X4 945 CPU, 2x4Gb XMS3 DDR3 RAM AND Corsair AX-650 in a Silverstone LC-16m case. I use a Samsung 830 SATA SSD for OS and a 3Tb Seagate SATA HDD for media/data, in AHCI mode, a Pioneer SATA BR writer too. Plus a DVB-S2 PCI card, a DVB-T PCIE card and various USB internal/external peripherals (keyboard, mouse, webcam, VFD/remote, speakers). When i installed W7 X64 sp1 (my current OS) M/B, CPU, RAM and other HW peripherals were the same, but PSU was a Rasurbo 650W PSU, and i had a Seagate 1500 Gb HDD instead of the 3Tb drive i use now. In that configuration the resume issue was present, so i changed PSU last spring to solve it and this was succesful for some month: i can assure you that everything was working absolutely flawlessly (S3 resume as well) until last month, when the issue started happening. I made no change in hardware and software configuration in those days...

After the issue started, i tried everything possible to find out its cause: unplugging nearly every hardware component (int/ext USB peripherals, hard disk), updating BIOS and all drivers, tweaking BIOS settings, restoring OS backup image, but issue was not affected by these tries. That's why i suspect an incompatibility between M/B and PSU.

So before we go into all of that when you upgraded the system to the current configuration did you do a fresh install of Windows with this configuration and did you have the latest MB BIOS and or the same version you have installed now?

If they answer is no to any part of this I would try a fresh install of the O.S. on another HDD, but load setup defaults and make sure that you do indeed have the latest BIOS before you start and do not change any of the power management settings just do a fresh install on a Virgin Drive and then install the latest Chipset drivers and then Video and so on and test the S3 function.

If you have a HDD you can use but it has data on it I would the HDD makers utility to erase it or Parted Magic so its a virgin like state.

So you think it's a software/OS related issue? It sounds strange to me, as after the issue appeared i restored a backup image taken a pair of months before (a period when the HTPC was working OK and resume from S3 was always succesful), but the issue didn't disappear after the restore. So i assumed it was an hardware problem...

Anyway, i'll try doing what you say, but it will take quite long, as i don't have much time to spend on my PC all in a row. Please be patient...

Here i am, this weekend i made what Ram Guy asks (i spent all my sunday on this!), i updated BIOS to latest and reset to default values, completely deleted and wiped all partitions in my disk, formatted it and installed W7 X64. I used all latest drivers and did not install particular software nor change power management settings. I finished yesterday night. This morning the issue was still there: i left the PC in standby all night and scheduled a wake up for this morning. The PC freezed on resume exactly as it used to do before reinstallation.

So now i think we can be reasonably sure that it's an hardware issue, isn't it?

do you have the latest firmware for the ssd? usually s3 problem are ssd related...

SSD firmware is the latest from Samsung as well... anyway, every S3 issue i had in the past was ALWAYS due to PSU problems or incompatibility and was solved replacing the PSU... More, i had the same identical issue with my previous Rasurbo PSU, but i was using a normal HDD instead of the SSD. The issue disappeared when i installed my new AX-650 PSU and was back only last month.

Actually S3 issues have always proven to be MB and or driver in my experience.

It is rarely the PSU at fault.

But I dont have a problem replacing it if you want to submit an RMA but I think I would copy the install to a spinning HDD to test the SSD theory if you have one.

The real problem is i'm absolutely not sure if a defective PSU is the problem or if a compatibility issue between PSU and MB is to blame (that's why i always solved S3 problems replacing PSUs: if compatibility is the problem and you keep MB, then changing PSU will work; if you keep PSU, then changing MB will work too)... But i think a different point of view could help: for example, could you please state for sure that what this forum says http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=58802&hilit=min+load (intro basic) is not correct? Because if it should be correct, i don't think replacing the PSU with another similar one would help much... What do you think?

Anyway, i'll try the "SSD replacement" method too as soon as i can (what an hassle doing all these tries!), but it would be very easier for me to simply copy my SSD drive to another HDD using appropriate software (for ex. Paragon Hard Disk Manager). Would it be enough?

I would suggest using HD Clone 4.1 or newer to copy the SSD many applications do not support SSD's. And I am sorry but the link is not found may it was trunked. However I would not be able to comment about a post on another forum.

And I dont object to replacing the PSU it is just from my experience it is rarely the PSU if there are no other associated symptoms like the system will not post randomly for example.

Sorry, i replaced the broken link http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=58802&hilit=min+load. I didn't want you to comment a post, i just wanted to understand if an information (the one in the "intro basic" part of the thread) is correct or not, if you're a Corsair technician i think you can help me with this... i.e. if "min load" requirements can produce such an issue (that doesn't mean PSU is defective).

Well I see a lot of speculation there and no real data to back it up.

However, all PSU's even ours will require a Certain amount of load or the PSU may not power on that part is true. Most of our PSU will require about .75 to 1.0 Amps of load or they may not power on.

So that could cause an issue if MB does not provide a sufficient load?

That should not be an issue with your configuration.

Thank you, that reassures me much! Next i'll try the no-SSD configuration, as soon as i can.

In addition, your system powers on so that is not the issue of not enough load.

In your case it is an issue resuming from suspend right?

Yes, the issue is not resuming from S3 after a few hours of standby (it doesn't happen after a few minutes standby). All the rest is working great.

Did you try another HDD yet?

No, i didn't: i work everyday 8AM-11PM and i have enough spare time only at sunday...

Here i am, replaced my SSD with a WD mechanical HDD and copied the entire drive using Paragon Hard Drive Manager. I didn't remember how slow can a mechanical HDD system be compared to a SSD one!

Anyway, now it will take 2/3 days to check if the issue is still present. I'll keep you informed.

P.S. If i should find out the SSD is to blame for the issue, what should i do? Stay with an HDD OS? I hope i won't!

P.S. If i should find out the SSD is to blame for the issue, what should i do?

Contact the SSD manufacturer and see if you can RMA it or if there is anything they can do to help you out.

Contact the SSD manufacturer and see if you can RMA it or if there is anything they can do to help you out.

Unfortunately there is no need for that: this evening the PC freezed again while resuming from S3, thus demonstrating the SSD was not to blame for the issue.

This is really a strange issue: everytime i make a configuration change (unplugging internal USB devices, reinstalling OS, unplugging HDD, susbstituting OS disk, etc...) the freeze-on-resume stops appearing for a couple of days, then it comes back and becomes more frequent going on. More, the issue takes place ALWAYS around 7/8 AM or 6/7 PM for the first few days (when it appears 1/2 times a day)... this makes me suspect about solar magnetic field, that should vary particularly at dawn and twilight and maybe could interfere with PC's electrical operations. It sounds vary strange, i know, but what should i think? I don't say, obviously, that solar field can cause the issue, but maybe it can have some effect on it.

Anyway, what should i do now?

I had a similar issue recently. I upgraded my rig with a SSD and Windows 8 (from a HDD and Win XP), and did not think about setting up Sleep time laps to "Never" as I probably did 3 years ago when I changed my HDD.

Whan happened was that when Sleep mode was entered, pushing the Power On button on my case would wake up the fans and LEDs, but screen wouldn't get out of Standby and even the Reset button wouldn't launch a reboot. Manually switching the comp Off (pressing Power On button a few secs) then On worked most of the times, but it also happened that it got pretty nasty and that the BIOS had to restore itself afterwards. I circumvented the problem by setting up the OS Sleep parameters to "Never", but I agree its just a bandaid, not a true case resolving.

Coincidence or not, my PSU was also having issues at the time, and it went through the RMA process last week. The replacement is here but it's not installed yet, couldn't test if changing the PSU fixed the issue. And tbh I'm not so sure I wanna tickle the beast...

I had a similar issue recently. I upgraded my rig with a SSD and Windows 8 (from a HDD and Win XP), and did not think about setting up Sleep time laps to "Never" as I probably did 3 years ago when I changed my HDD.

 

Whan happened was that when Sleep mode was entered, pushing the Power On button on my case would wake up the fans and LEDs, but screen wouldn't get out of Standby and even the Reset button wouldn't launch a reboot. Manually switching the comp Off (pressing Power On button a few secs) then On worked most of the times, but it also happened that it got pretty nasty and that the BIOS had to restore itself afterwards. I circumvented the problem by setting up the OS Sleep parameters to "Never", but I agree its just a bandaid, not a true case resolving.

 

Coincidence or not, my PSU was also having issues at the time, and it went through the RMA process last week. The replacement is here but it's not installed yet, couldn't test if changing the PSU fixed the issue. And tbh I'm not so sure I wanna tickle the beast...

I NEED S3, because my PC is an HTPC and should wake up quickly by itself to record TV programs when scheduled for, that is possible only using standby.