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I build myself a low power NAS system and I'm trying to power it with a PicoPSU and an external brick power supply. When I turn on the power the case fan starts turning for a second and then stops again, nothing else happens.

Powering the whole thing with a "big" Enermax Power supply from my desktop PC works fine, so I assumed that the problem lies in the power supply. I measured the input and output current and voltage of the picoPSU and I noticed several things: - Output voltages of the PSU ATX pins all seem to be fine so I don't really think that the PSU is defect. - Output voltage of the brick power supply seems to be fine - The power consumption of the whole NAS is really low, with something like 20 and 25W during bootup (Measured it while being attached to the other PSU)

My first assumption was that the whole power consumption maybe was somehow too low for the PSU, since I'm using a Mainboard with a TDP of about 22W and I've heard of cases like that for low power CPUs like Haswell. When I plugged in more power consumers (turned up the chassis FAN, plugged in a hard drive), I actually managed to boot it several times, but it doesn't really work reliable and still won't boot from time to time.

Is the PicoPSU the correct power supply for a NAS setup like that? Is defect of the PSU more likely? Could it be a good idea to try a PSU with a lower maximum wattage?

My Hardware: PicoPSU-150-XT 150W 12V, LEICKE 120 Watt 12V 10A Brick Power Supply, Biostar A68N-5000 Mainboard with an embedded AMD A4-5000, 4GB Crucial Ballistix Sport DDR3-1600, 4000GB WD Red WD40EFRX, Antec ISK 600 Chassis,

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  • Are you seriously trying to power a 150W device with a power supply that can only push 120W? That is your problem right there.
    – Ramhound
    Jul 25, 2014 at 13:13
  • Thanks for the feedback, I didn't expect this to be an issue, since it shouldn't even remotely reach that much of power consumption.
    – matj89
    Jul 25, 2014 at 13:29
  • That might be the case. The behavior you describe indicates a power issue.
    – Ramhound
    Jul 25, 2014 at 13:46

1 Answer 1

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I had the exact same problem.

Solution is change brick power supply - my first AC/DC adaptor was bought in China, 12V 10A

http://ru.aliexpress.com/item/12V-10A-5-5-2-5-mm-120W-Universal-AC-Power-Adapter-Charger-for-LCD-Monitor/1432766100.html

But it was not workable.

Then I change it to that - http://www.kosmodrom.com.ua/pic/HE-1205.jpg

and all work!

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  • The same problem and solution with the newer A68N-5200. Interestingly, the power brick that did not work (but works with the same picopsu and a different board) was original 12V/10A IBM and it started working when switched to some 4.6A "Top Victory Electronics" monitor power brick...
    – jJ'
    Aug 23, 2016 at 2:52

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