Power supply problem?

[xunil76]

my Samsung SIR-S4120R (upgraded to a 500GB drive) is having some issues.

it all started with random lock-ups that required me to unplug the power cable to get it to start working again. the remote control or front panel controls did nothing, i didn't even get a flashing light that indicated that it received the command when i pressed a button. then the freezes started getting more & more frequent, until it stopped working altogether. it got to the point that i would unplug/replug, and it would come on for a few seconds, then power down, then power back on again, in a reboot cycle.

so i figured it may have something to do with the hard drive, even though it's been working fine on the upgraded hard drive for 3+ years with no issues. i could not find the torx tools that came with the Weaknees dual drive bracket, so i just kinda set it aside for a few weeks.

so i finally decided to just go buy some more tools that included the torx bits, and try to fix this thing. i still have the original 120GB drive that came with the unit (even though the software version is still 3.something). this drive was inside the unit, but not connected to either data or power connectors, it was just sitting in there for storage so i wouldn't lose it, or use it for something else by mistake....and it was working perfectly fine when i replaced it with the new drive. anyway, i unplugged the 500GB drive and reconnected the 120GB drive, and it gets to the gray "powering up, please wait...." screen, but would not go past it, and none of the controls would respond. so for the sake of trying it, i reconnected the 500GB drive and got the same thing.

oh, and any time i mess around with the internals, i'm safe and use a static wrist strap to avoid any ESD issues.

is it safe to say at this point that it is likely the power supply going out, and i need a replacement? just want to get some opinions before i plop down $69 for a new one from Weaknees.

[xunil76]

oh yeah, and this unit is on a 900w UPS along with my LCD TV and my smoothwall computer/router (old AMD-K6 II 500Mhz CPU that uses barely any power), a DSL modem, a wireless access point, and a 5-port 10/100 ethernet switch.

[halfempty]

Sounds like the power supply to me also. Can you open the unit and look bulging capacitors? This post might help:
http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=6558030

[rbtravis]

If you need a power supply you can usually pick up one on EBay for under $15.00

[xunil76]

thanks for that link, halfempty....i'll check that when i get home from work in the morning. hopefully it's something that easily and cheaply fixed.

[xunil76]

If you need a power supply you can usually pick up one on EBay for under $15.00

true enough, but there's still no guarantee that the one i buy would have a good PSU in it, and then there's always the possibility of a bad deal, etc. i'm not too fond of ebay personally...plus, i can't use paypal anyway (don't ask...), and that's almost all anyone will accept on there anymore.

plus, i'm reasonably proficient with a soldering gun, so if new caps don't fix it, i'll just get a new PSU with a warranty and all....after all, if an electronic part like a PSU is going to fail, it's usually within the first few days or weeks of use (at least until you start talking about years of usage, obviously), so the 90-day warranty that weaknees offers should be adequate to let me at least get another 1 - 5 years out of this unit. no guarantee, but odds are better, anyway.

[xunil76]

just wanted to provide an update, it was a bad cap in the power supply. it was the 2200uF green cap. a simple $2.50 replacement fixed it right up.

thanks guys.