i know this has probably been answered before but how do i make a computer power supply stay running with a load on it

I assume you are using an ATX power supply. If so then in most cases you must connect the green wire (pin 14) to ground.

Hope that helps

RC

yes its a atx supply but when i ground the green wire it starts up but as soon as i go to put a load on the 12v side it shuts down. i thought i read some were it needs a small load on one of the other power sources to stay running but im not sure.

Need to install a resistor or some lights on the 5 volt side, there is also another wire that needs to be grounded or 5 volts applied to it.

Pin 8 power OK needs a signal sent to it telling the PS that every thing is working normally.

A load is certainly needed to powerup the PS and get the proper voltage whether you use light bulbs or a certain resistor, it doesn't really matter. The problem is that when a heavy load is switched on, it can trip the protection circuit designed within the PS. You can help this by installing some capacitors across the output lines, however it does not always completly eliminate it from tripping. Some PS's are not as sensitive and a moderate load has no effect.

A couple of 4700uf caps in parallel from the output line to ground will help. You can use larger but I wouldn't go much lower. Also get some that are rated at a minimum of 25V. 35V or higher would be better

I've never had to hook the gray (pin 8) lead to anything. I always just cut that one off. But maybe some PS's need to tie that to ground as suggested above.

The worst that could happen would be it'd go up in smoke...they make more PS's everyday. :)

RC

http://www.rcbatteryclinic.com/ follow the link on this page give detailed instructions