PC not booting anymore!

LukieBoy007

LukieBoy007

LukieBoy007

Soldato
Joined
4 Apr 2012
Posts
2,561
Location
England
Hello,
Around 8 months ago I built a PC for my dad, and it no longer boots properly.

Specs:
Intel 330 Series 60GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail
MSI H77MA-G43 Intel H77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Micro-ATX Motherboard
Intel Pentium G840 2.80GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - Retail
Corsair Builder Series CX 430W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020046)
Zalman T1 Mini Tower Case - Black
Toshiba (7K1000.D) 1TB SATA 6GB/s 32MB Cache - OEM (DT01ACA100)
GeIL Black Dragon 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (GD38GB1600C11DC) £29.99
OcUK 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM

It was all fine, and the problem started occurring around a month or so ago. Basically, when I/my dad would switch the computer on it would say on the monitor "going to power saving mode", as if the monitor wasn't detecting the computer. However, the PC was switched on and all fans etc were running. Sometimes it would take anywhere between 2-30 restarts to get it working and to the desktop. This did not happen all the time though, only around 75% of the time but it was quite infuriating especially for my dad. So, that was the first problem.

I tried different things (such as different monitor, mains plug socket, display cable etc). None of these worked, then I decided to take out the CMOS battery. So, I had taken it out and put it back in. Now, it won't even start properly. I can see it trying to start up (the CPU fan will spin once, stop, then again before turning off for about 3 seconds and starting up again, where it does the same thing).

Right, so now I'm stumped. It's gone from bad to possibly broken. So after this I took everything out of the case, and right now I have only the motherboard with the RAM and CPU in, with the motherboard and CPU power plugged in. Next, I took out the CMOS battery again, and shorted the reset CMOS pins before putting the battery back in. Nope. Still the same thing. Then, one time it worked and managed to stay on. Hooray! Unfortunately, I turned it off, tried again and it went back to the same rebooting loop.

As for now, I have no idea what to try next!

What I have tried:
- Taking out and putting back in the CMOS battery
- Shorting the CMOS pins
- 1 stick of RAM, and in different slots
- Removing all SATA connections
- Removing all USB connections such as keyboards

At the start when it would take several attempts to get it to load (but the computer definitely had power) I thought it would either be the PSU, the display drivers are broken or the SSD containing the OS was faulty.

However, now I'm starting to think that either the battery is knackered, or the PSU is failing.

What should I try next? :confused::confused:

Thanks in advance for any help!!
 
it would boot to bios screen without any ssd/hdd attached,idk if you've tried that?

only other thing would be to test with another psu

when testing use onboard graphics no graphic card/dvd/ssd/hdd attached and just one stick of ram installed in second or fourth slot from cpu socket

if it's still playing up then it can anly be a motherboard fault imo

(edit,check all your cables are fully connected too,psu ect)
 
Well I tried it with a different PSU and it managed to boot properly!
I turned it off and thought I'd try it again to make sure, and nope, it did the same thing as before with it trying to boot continuously.

Starting to think it's the motherboard, as you said wazza. Is there anyway I can check if it's a faulty motherboard before RMA'ing it?
 
not sure,youve done all you can imo

strange it would boot first time yet wouldn't again

checked very carefully for any bent cpu socket pins?
 
I'm pretty certain it's not that as it was working fine for 7 months and I can't see how the pins could bend by themselves.

Guess I'll have to start the RMA'ing process, thanks for your help. :)
 
Ok - update, I left it alone for 2 days and it would boot fine. I put it all back together, it still boots fine but now I'm back to the power saving problem. The actual computer itself will boot fine, but the monitor says power saving mode. It's as if there's no signal going from the PC to the monitor. This was the original problem. I've tried different cables and monitors but it's still not working. Any suggestions?
 
Have you tried any of the following:

- Plugging your monitor into your motherboard (with GPU still in system)
- Removing your graphics card and attach monitor to motherboard


My gut feeling says this is a motherboard issue, as I've had similar symptoms on an old motherboard that gave up on me. However let's rule out the GPU first.
 
Ok, another update - I tried my GPU inside his system, and it won't even boot. It starts to boot and then shuts down, and makes 1 beeping noise. I unplug the GPU and it boots as normal (still the same "power saving" issue though). It's as if there's not enough power being provided by the PSU and it's shutting itself off. It's only 8 months old and is a Corsair CX430.
 
Hi, I had almost same problem with my Asus P8P67 mobo after over 2 years. I used 4 GPUs and testet with RAM like u did and no change. I did almost all same u did and ended up with RMA replacment of the mobo. I've send to OC.uk they've testet it and send to Asus. After over a week I got email with info about new mobo.
 
My PC didn't bood up at all. All fans were running but HDD didn't spin. It looked like powered up all fans and LEDs and that was it.
 
Hmm, I just tried my PSU in his PC (motherboard and CPU power only) and it wouldn't boot up. Seems like it could be a motherboard issue then, as you said Sadus.
 
Just email OCuk with all the details and infos u did with the board to find the problem and wait for RMA number ;)
 
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