Power issue

Rowan88 · 6 Mar 2019 at 19:59

Hi.

I had this issue a few weeks ago but it stopped.. its now happening again but I cannot fix.

Basically pc just powered down itself. When I turn it back on it goes on for about half a second then cuts off.

The lights from usb stuff stay on as if power is being given, but it wont power the actual PC.

I took all connectors out and reseated which has it working again but god knows how long..

Could it be PSU needs replaced?

Any ideas

Cheers

Skynet5 · 7 Mar 2019 at 00:11

Check the led lights on the mobo and see which ones are lit. Will help trouble shoot if you don't find anything else before then next shutdown.

Could be overheating PSU?

Anything in event viewer?

Rowan88 · 7 Mar 2019 at 07:48

lnoton said:
Check the led lights on the mobo and see which ones are lit. Will help trouble shoot if you don't find anything else before then next shutdown.

Could be overheating PSU?

Anything in event viewer?

- Don't have any LED's on my mobo (Z87-D3HP)
- I don't see it being an overheating PSU, temps in the case are fine and has plenty of ventilation
- I don't see anything in Event Viewer related to this issue.

Weird thing was last night I took case off, unplugged all my connections and re-seated then it stayed powered on for about an hour.

I then got up this morning and it was doing the same issue, tried different power cables, sockets but still powering for half a second then stopping.

I then took the tempered glass panel and tried and its working fine now :S

Only thing I can think is something must be shorting it? I will try stripping down and re-building later.

Any other suggestions?

Rowan88 · 7 Mar 2019 at 07:52

And literally 30 seconds after posting this my PC powered off and same issue again..
Side panel was still off.. so doesnt get affected by that.

Skynet5 · 7 Mar 2019 at 07:59

A few months back my machine started rebooting.

I blamed the PSU. I tested an old one and machine was fine. Swopped back and forwards endlessly. Sent for repair, they couldn't find an issue. Dad tested it on his old power hungry machine. No problem.

Mean time i bought a new PSU.

Last week I tested the psu in my machine again. Worked fine.

I imagine something was shorting it too...but no idea what.

EsaT · 7 Mar 2019 at 17:06

That's cheap capacitor PSU, so wouldn't put much trust to its reliability after five years in enthusiasts use.
Instead of Gaming Scam bling bling/fancy look Corsair should have spent that money to quality.

Also remove overclocking if you haven't already done that.

Rowan88 said:
- I don't see it being an overheating PSU, temps in the case are fine and has plenty of ventilation

Is PSU's fan running?
Case cooling/temperature has very little effect to PSU, if its cooling doesn't work.

Rowan88 · 8 Mar 2019 at 09:21

Yeah I know I got my moneys worth anyway out of it...

I removed the OC and so far its its not powered off, so looks like it could be the PSU degrading.

I can't really tell if the PSU fan is spinning as its under a shroud, but from what I know the fan only kicks in when required, and when it does you do hear it.. when I game I usually do hear it.

EsaT · 8 Mar 2019 at 17:45

Could be also CPU VRM tiring when removing OC helps.
But also that could be caused/fastened by failing PSU feeding it too high ripple.
(which happens when failing capacitors don't anymore filter output properly)
With cheap capacitors PSU's fan should definitely be always running to give some fresh air.

There should be airflow coming out from PSU, if fan is running.
But that's one more reason why marketroids who invented that PSU shroud marketing BS should get their nose punched.

bishi · 12 Mar 2019 at 09:38

Not always PSU, seen this happen with a worn out mobo (oc) before where it had taken a little too much power for a few too many years. It'd be fine for Windows but as soon as any demanding software was run it would power off no matter what bios settings. PSU, CPU was fine

Rowan88 · 15 Mar 2019 at 08:28

PC has stayed on fine since removing OC.

However I went to play Devil May Cry 5 this morning and during a cutscene I got black screen and no signal error. Then the PC powered off.

I removed each cable from IO one by one but nothing fixed the issue.

Going to completely disassemble and reassemble but if that doesnt work then I guess I need to get a new PSU to test.. and if that doesnt work it must be the motherboard.

I have 24pin and 6/8pun extension sleeves.

Should I try without them first before rebuilding?

Danny75 · 15 Mar 2019 at 08:43

New PSU and motherboard battery (CR2032). An old mobo may be fussy about changing PSU so if you don't get a display, press down on the 24-pin ATX cables once every few seconds until you get a display. It can do the trick and then restarting after that no issues.

Rowan88 · 15 Mar 2019 at 09:08

These are what I tried earlier:

1) Holding power button as static reset, no effect
2) Pull out the extension cables and test, no effect
3) Pull out CPU power and other cables to test, no effect

Then I took off the back panel and pulled all the PSU cables I have stuffed under the shroud and it powered.

Im hoping it might just be when I am putting the cables under the shroud something was touching and causing it to short (hopefully)

Like I said I will rebuild and try keep the cables I don't use away from each other (possible covered with some electrical tape) and if problem persists then new parts may be in order...

Firstly testing new PSU, then if same issues then mobo looks like next cause (audio on it is broke anyway)

Was due a mobo/ram/cpu upgrade anyway

Danny75 · 15 Mar 2019 at 09:13

Hopefully new PSU will do it, so you can hang on till new CPUs arrive.

You can pick up cheap CR2032 (lithium coin) batteries anywhere. Pharmacy etc. Well worth trying too.

Rowan88 · 15 Mar 2019 at 10:13

Yeah ill pick one up too,

Can that small battery be the cause of it not allowing it to fully power?

Danny75 · 15 Mar 2019 at 10:35

Rowan88 said:
Yeah ill pick one up too,

Can that small battery be the cause of it not allowing it to fully power?

Yes, partly so. Note that a semi-faulty PSU could be the cause of the problem in the first place.

As brief a run-down as possible of a recent "adventure":

1. A system won't post. Lights are on, CPU fan running, but the PSU fan keeps switching off and on. Assumption: could be the PSU then?
2. Swap out PSU. No post. Lights are on, CPU fan running, but PSU fan also keeps switching off and on.
3. Leave second PSU in. Swap out motherboard battery. No post, CPU fan running... however this time an improvement: PSU fan no longer switches off and on. Assumption: motherboard/motherboard battery was bad but original PSU might be fine after all.
4. Post obtained through playing with cabling, pulling cables out, plugging them in again. Later on realize that most effective method was pressing down on the ATX cables. Afterwards = system completely stable.
4. Swap PSU out for original to test. With the new motherboard battery, this PSU's fan no longer switches off and on either and post is obtained. Assumption: PSU was fine but let's stress test over a couple days.
5. A day after a bunch of CPU and GPU stress tests, and moving to memory (Memtest HCI with 8 instances open for each core/thread), system shuts down. Completely lifeless.
6. Swap to second PSU = system starts up, completely stable. Passes all tests with flying colours.
7. Conclusion: semi-faulty PSU probably affected motherboard battery and in turn the CMOS memory.

Rowan88 · 15 Mar 2019 at 13:08

Cheers,

I just finished rebuilding it there. I will pick up a new CMOS battery today regardless but if problem persists after this then I will just buy a new PSU and hopefully it fixes the issue, if not then it looks like a new mobo (upgrade) is in order.

Rowan88 · 15 Mar 2019 at 18:06

Sitting playing DMC5 and after 30mins it powers off again. Switching it back on flickers pc power for about half second then nothing.

Replaced CMOS battery there and still same issue.

Only way I could get it working again was switching power switch off, holding in POWER for 20secs to reset static, turning switch back on and booting up.

So seems like its a PSU or Mobo issue.

Based on my current setup in sig do I still need a 600w?

Danny75 · 15 Mar 2019 at 18:32

Rowan88 said:
So seems like its a PSU or Mobo issue.

Based on my current setup in sig do I still need a 600w?

A quality 450W is fine for that CPU and GPU. There's usually not much price difference between those and 550s (or even 650s on special offer at times). Go for a good 550 if you can, better for more upgrade choices.

BitFenix Formula Gold 550 (non-modular, 5 years) and Corsair TXM Gold 550 (semi-modular, 7 years) can be found for same price if you don't want to spend a bunch.

Rowan88 · 15 Mar 2019 at 20:47

The two im looking at just now are:

Bitfenix Formula 550w 80+ Gold and BeQuiet Pure Power 11 600w 80+ Gold.

Both are £65 are any of them the best for price?

Also what advantage is gold over bronze? This is a bronze psu ive had for 7years.

Danny75 · 15 Mar 2019 at 21:14

Rowan88 said:
Also what advantage is gold over bronze? This is a bronze psu ive had for 7years.

Power efficiency, slightly less elec bill. A Gold will also usually have better components. Not always.

The Formula got better reviews, mostly for the use of all-Japanese capacitors. The BeQuiet's main attraction is its BeQuiet fan. Either would be fine, really. The Formula will in theory provide cleaner power for a longer time. The BeQuiet will presumably be quieter (compared to the Formula's 2000 max RPM fan) if both PSUs are under full load (not likely to happen with your current set-up).