[SOLVED] Major Intense PC problems

krj
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 4:16 am

[SOLVED] Major Intense PC problems

Post by krj »

1) The other day I tried to point the TV remote control at the Intense PC, and press the buttons randomly. The Intense PC was turned off, but the logo flashed orange. Later when I tried to power on the Intense PC, the logo flashed green shortly but then noting happened, I could not get the machine to power on. I tried to unplug and re-insert the power supply, but that did not help, so I left the power supply unplugged over night. The next day I inserted the power supply, and now the Intense PC would power on as normal. I tried to power on and off the Intense PC numerous times, everything seemed normal. Then I pointed the TV remote at the Intense PC again, and when I pressed the power button on the Intense PC, nothing happened. I left the power supply unplugged for an extended period of time, and when it was re-inserted the Intense PC started as normal, just like the day before.

Everytime I point my remote control at the Intense PC and press some buttons, it refuses to start before the power supply has been unplugged for some time. Why?

2) The power brick emit a very loud high frequency whine, while the Intense PC is powered off, when the machine is powered on, the whine disappear immediately. It would be impossible to sleep in the same room, if the Intense PC was turned off. Is this normal behavior or is the power supply defective?
Last edited by krj on Fri Jan 17, 2014 12:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

gabrielh
Site Admin
Posts: 1260
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2011 1:13 pm

Re: Major Intense PC problems

Post by gabrielh »

1) What type of storage do you use? HDD, SSD, or mSATA drive?
2) It's a little bit hard to say about that issue. The power supply emits sound, but can be barely heard
Gabriel Heifets

Fit-PC2/3/IntensePC support.

krj
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 4:16 am

Re: Major Intense PC problems

Post by krj »

gabrielh wrote:1) What type of storage do you use? HDD, SSD, or mSATA drive?
2) It's a little bit hard to say about that issue. The power supply emits sound, but can be barely heard
1) SSD
2) The Intense PC itself when powered on, makes a little noise because of the switching power circuit, I would say that this noise is barely noticable from a distance of 30 cm, compared to that, the noise of the power brick can be heard in a distance of many meters in a quiet room.

irads

Re: Major Intense PC problems

Post by irads »

A straightforward solution would be having a switch that cuts AC to the power supply. Once you switch on Intense PC will wake up.

krj
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 4:16 am

Re: Major Intense PC problems

Post by krj »

Today, for the first time since the incident with the TV remote, i wanted to enter the BIOS by pressing F2 at boot time, but this is not possible anymore. I press F2 at the boot screen, but the Intense PC just boots directly to the operating system. This was not a problem before. Then only way I can enter the BIOS now, is by removing the SSD and navigate to BIOS from the dialog shown, when no boot device is found. How can i resolve this problem?

gabrielh
Site Admin
Posts: 1260
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2011 1:13 pm

Re: Major Intense PC problems

Post by gabrielh »

Does your keyboard connected directly, or through an USB HUB? If you are using an USB HUB, detach the keyboard from it, and connect it directly.
Gabriel Heifets

Fit-PC2/3/IntensePC support.

krj
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 4:16 am

Re: Major Intense PC problems

Post by krj »

irads wrote:A straightforward solution would be having a switch that cuts AC to the power supply. Once you switch on Intense PC will wake up.
As a last resort I could probably do that, or even let the Intense PC run for 24/7 as it have a low power use.

I found out that I can alter the tone frequency of the whine by unplugging the ethernet cable, so it is likely related to the Intense PC drawing a little power when turned off. I have tried to disable WOL, but this has not made the whine dissappear.

Is it possible to disable something in the BIOS, so the Intense PC will not draw any power when turned off?

krj
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 4:16 am

Re: Major Intense PC problems

Post by krj »

gabrielh wrote:Does your keyboard connected directly, or through an USB HUB? If you are using an USB HUB, detach the keyboard from it, and connect it directly.
I must make a correction to my last post. I have never been able to enter the BIOS by pressing the F2 with my setup. After inserting a new SSD the system booted to the "Internal shell", as no MBR was found, and I navigated to the BIOS from there. I remembered wrong when I wrote the post. The keyboard is connected through an USB to PS/2 converter, and this may be the problem as the Intense PC POST is incredible fast compared to other systems, even with the quick boot turned off. The micro delay the converter is introducing before the keyboard is ready for use, is likely longer than the F2 and F5 options are available. I will try to test with a USB keyboard when I find one.

However, I am still interested to find out how the TV remote control can make the system unable to power on, before disconnecting the power supply?

gabrielh
Site Admin
Posts: 1260
Joined: Thu Jun 02, 2011 1:13 pm

Re: Major Intense PC problems

Post by gabrielh »

krj wrote: However, I am still interested to find out how the TV remote control can make the system unable to power on, before disconnecting the power supply?
This is abnormal behavior, and it is hard for as to reproduce it on our side

To get access to the BIOS, you should hit rapidly F2 key immediately after powering up your system
Gabriel Heifets

Fit-PC2/3/IntensePC support.

krj
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun May 12, 2013 4:16 am

Re: Major Intense PC problems

Post by krj »

UPDATE

The problem with entering the BIOS, was caused by a specific type of USB to PS/2 converter. After replacing the converter with another type, I can now enter the BIOS by pressing F2 during boot.

The problem with the Intense PC not booting and noise from the power brick was caused by a faulty power brick. After replacing it, the Intense PC powers on every time, and the power brick is COMPLETELY silent when the Intense PC is off.

Is it possible that the faulty power brick, can somehow have damaged the Intense PC so problems will arise later on, or is the Intense PC robust enough to not get damaged by this?

Post Reply

Return to “Intense PC faults and troubleshooting”