PC not turning on properly

S

seamcn

Member
Hello everyone,

For the last couple of months my desktop pc has not been turning on properly. It starts turning on and then switches off mid boot. It does this quite a few times before finally working. Once it’s on, it works perfectly, no issues with Windows or any programme. I can put it to sleep and wake it up without issue. It’s only when I shut down that it doesn’t start up again.

I’m no computer wiz but it makes me think it’s an issue with the power supply rather than the OS. Unfortunately I had no backups to restore to a previous time point in case it was an issue with an update!

I’ve kept it in sleep mode rather than shutting down for a couple of months, partly because I’m scared it won’t ever turn back on again, but also because I’m addicted to baldurs gate 3 (guilty) and don’t want to be unable to play!

It’s easiest to show what I mean via a video (with sound) but I’m not sure I’m able to post that to the forum.

Any help and advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Sean

Specs:

Case
PCS 6003B BLACK CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-9600K (3.7 GHz) 9 MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
8GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 2060 SUPER - HDMI, DP - VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB Intel® H10 NVMe SSD + 32GB Intel® Optane™ (up to 2400MB/sR | 1800MB/sW)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H60 Hydro Cooler w/ PCS Ultra Quiet Fans
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 4 to 6 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Logo Branding
PCSpecialist Logo
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Could you possibly take another video with the cover off and where we can see the four LEDs in a group on the motherboard? The ones circled in red here...

Motherboard.jpg
 
S

seamcn

Member
ubuysa said:
Could you possibly take another video with the cover off and where we can see the four LEDs in a group on the motherboard? The ones circled in red here...

View attachment 40601
Click to expand...
So I took off the cover to make a video of the LEDs, but I first did some highly technical cable wiggling and checking everything was pushed on. Then I started the video…and it turned on perfectly! 😅

I will keep an eye on it and if the problem returns I will let you know. Thanks for your help 👍
 
S

seamcn

Member
seamcn said:
So I took off the cover to make a video of the LEDs, but I first did some highly technical cable wiggling and checking everything was pushed on. Then I started the video…and it turned on perfectly! 😅

I will keep an eye on it and if the problem returns I will let you know. Thanks for your help 👍
Click to expand...
In typical fashion, the problem happened the very next day I used my PC...

Here is a new video, which shows the motherboard lights. Any ideas?

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View, organize, and share photos and videos with iCloud Photos on the web. Changes will sync across your devices with iCloud.
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ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
Others will be better at interpreting these LEDs than I am, but it seems to cycle through the CPU (red) and RAM (yellow) several times. Are these the switch-offs in mid-boot that you talk about? To me, that suggests a POST issue, though we hear no beeps - but that might be because the beep speaker isn't connected. As I said, others will know more, but I would remove one RAM stick and see whether it will boot smoothly. If not, swap sticks and try again.
 
S

seamcn

Member
Sorry for the delay, I’ve only just tried removing the RAM. Sadly, the issue occurred with both RAMs used alone! Any other ideas about what might be causing the issue? 🤔

Just to clarify, yes those are the switch-offs mid boot I was referring to and also the speaker is connected with working ‘beeps’.
 
S

seamcn

Member
So here is the LED and beep sequence on cold boot:

1. CPU light flashes red once, DRAM light flashes amber once, immediately turns off (no beeps) - all within a few seconds
2. Computer turns itself back on, CPU light flashes red once, DRAM light turns amber for 5 seconds, all lights off, computer turns off (no beeps)
3. Repeat of point 2
4. Repeat of point 2
5. Computer turns itself back on, CPU light flashes red once, DRAM light turns amber for 5 seconds, all lights off, VGA light flashes white once along with a single BEEP, BOOT light comes on green. BIOS loads.
6. I then exit BIOS and have to shut down by holding down the off button.

Boot attempt 2:

1. CPU light flashes red once, DRAM light turns amber for 5 seconds, all lights off, computer turns off (no beeps)
2. Computer turns itself back on, CPU light flashes red once, DRAM light flashes amber once, immediately turns off (no beeps) - all within a few seconds
5. Computer turns itself back on, CPU light flashes red once, DRAM light turns amber for 5 seconds, all lights off, a very harsh sound like my disc drive spinning badly followed VGA light flashes white once along with a single BEEP, BOOT light comes on green. Windows loads and everything works fine.

This actually seems to be quite consistent - i.e. it boots to BIOS after a few failed attempts and then after shutting down post BIOS, it boots successfully to windows after a few failed attempts.
 
ubuysa

ubuysa

The BSOD Doctor
This certainly sounds like a hardware problem so I'll flag the hardware experts on here; @SpyderTracks and @Scott, but there are others. They are more likely to be able to diagnose this that I am.

That said, Have you tried removing one RAM stick and booting? Then try with just the other RAM stick.
 
Scott

Scott

Behold The Ford Mondeo
Moderator
It sounds like a RAM learning procedure, but I'm fairly certain that level of requirement and timing is DDR5 only.

There are a number of things that it can be unfortunately. The PSU is immediately jumping out at me but the likely suspect is a connection or RAM failing.

First thing I would do is reset your BIOS to default. Take a backup of it before you begin. This will likely remove the memory OC from the system and give you a base. This will be the most stable option for testing.

I would remove all connections from the motherboard one at a time and re-connect them.

Give it a go.

If that doesn't work, remove one of the RAM dimms as suggested (Take both out so that you are re-seating them as well). Make sure they are in the correct slot (B1)/

If it's still a no-go then swap them over.

Next you want to test the system without the GPU. Remove the GPU power connections and carefully remove the GPU (Possibly screws holding the bracket in and there will be one clip on the slot end itself). Just check you have display out on the motherboard that's compatible with your monitor. I believe there should be a DP connection but not sure about HDMI.

After that, if no success I would try removing the optane drive. I've never been a fan of these. If it consistently attempts to boot without any of the gremlins then it's likely that drive.

If there is no improvement to the boot behaviour just put the drive back in.

By this point you're down to PSU & motherboard. PSU is the likely suspect for me but it could be either. If replacing the PSU get an 850w RMx model as a minimum. 1000w if you fancy 4k down the line.
 
S

seamcn

Member
Scott said:
It sounds like a RAM learning procedure, but I'm fairly certain that level of requirement and timing is DDR5 only.

There are a number of things that it can be unfortunately. The PSU is immediately jumping out at me but the likely suspect is a connection or RAM failing.

First thing I would do is reset your BIOS to default. Take a backup of it before you begin. This will likely remove the memory OC from the system and give you a base. This will be the most stable option for testing.

I would remove all connections from the motherboard one at a time and re-connect them.

Give it a go.

If that doesn't work, remove one of the RAM dimms as suggested (Take both out so that you are re-seating them as well). Make sure they are in the correct slot (B1)/

If it's still a no-go then swap them over.

Next you want to test the system without the GPU. Remove the GPU power connections and carefully remove the GPU (Possibly screws holding the bracket in and there will be one clip on the slot end itself). Just check you have display out on the motherboard that's compatible with your monitor. I believe there should be a DP connection but not sure about HDMI.

After that, if no success I would try removing the optane drive. I've never been a fan of these. If it consistently attempts to boot without any of the gremlins then it's likely that drive.

If there is no improvement to the boot behaviour just put the drive back in.

By this point you're down to PSU & motherboard. PSU is the likely suspect for me but it could be either. If replacing the PSU get an 850w RMx model as a minimum. 1000w if you fancy 4k down the line.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the the advice.

Having never played with the inner gubbins of a PC before I’ve had fun and certainly learnt a lot!

Unfortunately, none of these actions fixed the boot issue. I even tried turning on the PC without the cooler, based on what Spyder suggested, and even the DVD drive, just in case! But regardless of what was plugged in or not, the boot was still dodgy!

Unless anyone has any further suggestions, I think maybe this leaves with 3 options:

1. Ignore it and just keep the PC in sleep mode, shutting down only when there are updates.
2. Spend money on a new PSU and hope that fixes it.
3. Whilst I’m already making changes, spend more money and potentially change a few other bits of hardware to optimise and upgrade…(although I may be limited with my case size and motherboard model)

Hmmm 🤔
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
seamcn said:
I even tried turning on the PC without the cooler, based on what Spyder suggested
Click to expand...
??? Sorry, I must have missed that? What's this in relation to?

You can't power on a PC without a cooler attached as the CPU will instantly hit dangerous temps.
 
S

seamcn

Member
SpyderTracks said:
??? Sorry, I must have missed that? What's this in relation to?

You can't power on a PC without a cooler attached as the CPU will instantly hit dangerous temps.
Click to expand...
😳 I just very quickly unplugged it in case it was a faulty connection. But the boot bug still occurred and it failed to turn on. Rest assured the cooler is plugged back in and the computer is working fine (when it eventually booted)…
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
seamcn said:
😳 I just very quickly unplugged it in case it was a faulty connection. But the boot bug still occurred and it failed to turn on. Rest assured the cooler is plugged back in and the computer is working fine (when it eventually booted)…
Click to expand...
A system shouldn't power on without a cooler plugged in, you should get CPU fan error which prevents boot.

Never turn a system on without the cooler properly connected.

My concern was it's not something I've suggested, and no one would ever suggest that for any kind of troubleshooting. It's a really good way of killing your system in one easy step.

When @Scott mentioned removing the connectors to the motherboard and reattaching them, that would be with the system fully turned off at the PSU to determine if one of the connectors was slightly loose.
 
SpyderTracks

SpyderTracks

We love you Ukraine
SpyderTracks said:
The cooler is leaping out to me, I wouldn't have wanted an H60 on any processor really, let alone an i5.
Click to expand...
Ah, this is where you may be getting confused. What I meant by this is that I don't think the H60 is adequate for your CPU. It may be just about, but it's such an underpowered cooler, I wouldn't have paired that personally.

I would have said absolute minimum would have been the H80, but more likely the H100 for comfort.

That CPU could pull up to around 200W under load, the H60 isn't really designed for over about 100W
 
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