PC randomly loosing power

Hank Scorpio · 12-12-2014 3:33am #1

Hey folks,

I setup a new system a month or 2 ago and its been fine until the last few days, the specs are in my sig.

Randomly the PC will loose all power and try to restart but it will fail. The CPU fan spins and the leds are on but the system fans don't spin and there's no output on the monitor. If I wait for 5 minutes or so it`ll boot up again. It can be fine for hours then randomly cut out.

My mobo is an asrock extreme4. I re-used my PSU, its a 700w cm silent pro moduler, its had alot use over the past 4 years, would the most likely problem be that?

I did open the pc recently before these problems began and had to reseat the power led+ - hdd led, power switch etc. I believe I put them in wrong, could the wrong pins cause a short? I double checked it tonight and now all the hd leds etc are lighting up correctly and so far it hasn't crashed again.

I guess I should just monitor for the next week or so and if it continues to happen be looking at a new PSU?

Thanks guys!

braddun · 12-12-2014 3:40am

is your power supply underpowed

try new power supply

did you overclock your cpu

Hank Scorpio · 12-12-2014 3:42am

Readings from the psu look fine. CPU is overclocked but at a low voltage, 1.2v or so. 700w should be plenty for that system

challengemaster · 12-12-2014 6:29am

Check your CPU temps and see if your heatsink is properly mounted. Could be auto shutting down to prevent damage?

Hank Scorpio · 12-12-2014 7:21am

challengemaster wrote: »

Check your CPU temps and see if your heatsink is properly mounted. Could be auto shutting down to prevent damage?

Aye I checked both gpu and cpu temps and they're all fine. I really think I messed something up with the front panel pins the other day. They're back in properly now so time will tell

Hank Scorpio · 12-12-2014 10:59pm

Been fine all day even during stress tests etc

Must have been the small led hd ground pins etc in wrong causing some kind of short

Hank Scorpio · 15-12-2014 7:32pm

PC wouldn't boot up properly today, it would turn on

- cpu fan spins
- gpu fan spins
- system fans won't spin
- no output on monitor
- after 2 mins or so the power cuts out

I removed the gpu and connected to the onboard graphics and now it boots flawlessy everytime. I did this as I figured the gpu (r9 290) draws alot of power and it might indicate a failing psu.

I've also tested my old gtx 460 and the system boots fine

Is there anything else that might be the culprit? Cheers guys

Hank Scorpio · 15-12-2014 7:54pm

It's booting with my r9 290 now, its totally random. I`ll have to test another psu

Hank Scorpio · 16-12-2014 7:55am

anyone?

game4it70 · 16-12-2014 8:15am

What code is the debug led showing when you try to boot and it fails?

16-12-2014 8:18am

I had this problem recently.
It kept getting worse and worse.
It was the psu.
Have you got an old one you can try?

Hank Scorpio · 16-12-2014 11:34pm

game4it70 wrote: »

What code is the debug led showing when you try to boot and it fails?

Not sure what that is, a led on the mobo?

Hank Scorpio · 16-12-2014 11:35pm

BrownFinger wrote: »

I had this problem recently.
It kept getting worse and worse.
It was the psu.
Have you got an old one you can try?

Yeah there's another one here I`ll try out. Its been fine all day and I've been stress testing non stop. The pc is on its side

If it decides to turn off again I`ll try another PSU

cherryghost · 17-12-2014 9:48am

nuxxx wrote: »

Not sure what that is, a led on the mobo?

Yeah, normally the LED shows a pattern of blinking that can indicate the problem. I think the LED codes vary from manufacturer to manufacturer though. Also listen out for the beeps:

No Post - Diagnostic codes

Verify POST beep codes
Continues beeps or 1long 2short beeps = possible memory error
• Try re-seating memory or test with different memory
1long 2short or 8short beeps = possible video card problem
• Try re-seating video card, test system with known good video card
High/Low tone (siren sound)= CPU is overheating.
• Verify that CPU heatsink is properly installed and power connected

Check diagnostic LED codes from D-Bracket
Motherboards equipped with D-Bracket may provide useful diagnostic codes for common problems on the diagnostic LEDS.
• Listing of diagnostic LED codes can be located in manual for your motherboard .

AMI Beep Code

Deep Code Description
1 short DRAMS refresh failure
2 short Parity circuit failure
3 short Base 64k RAM failure
4 short System timer failure
5 short Process failure
6 short Keyboard controller Gate A20 error
7 short Virtual mode exception error
8 short Display memory Read/Write test failure
9 short ROM BIOS checksum failure
10 short CMOS shutdown Read/Write error
11 short Cache Memory error
1 long, 3 short Conventional/Extended memory failure
1 long, 8 short Display/Retrace test failed

AWARD Beep Code

Deep Code Description
1 Long, 2 Short A video error has occurred and the BIOS cannot intialize the video screen to display any additional information
Any other beep(s) RAM problem

game4it70 · 17-12-2014 9:58am

nuxxx wrote: »

Not sure what that is, a led on the mobo?

The board has a lcd that displays 2 digit codes that can help diagnose problems.

Genghiz Cohen · 17-12-2014 2:02pm

My dads computer had a similar problem and it was the motherboard.
Some of the capacitors had blown.
Have a look around your mobo for something like this

Hank Scorpio · 21-12-2014 7:53pm

Boards capacitors look fine.

Could anyone recommend a 800w-1000w psu for around 100e or less, that will have enough connectors for sli if needed in the future.

Thanks all so far

jhud · 23-12-2014 2:40am

Do memory test i had problems like you saw and it turned out to be one faulty memory chip test them one at a time.

I found that when the issue happened to machine i would remove components one by one until system booted. Then put them back to see if problem returned with last component taken out. When i found it to be memory i tried moving memory to different slots on its own to see if problem was still happening as you can also get faulty memory slot on board but it would not work in any of them but this was about 1 month of issues before memory chip gave up for good.

Hank Scorpio · 23-12-2014 10:33pm

Bought a new psu and everything looks fine! If it does decide to act the bollix again I`ll test the memory. I have an old i5 and gtx 460 lying around so at least I can use that old psu for it.

Thanks all for the help

T-Bird · 23-12-2014 11:08pm

nuxxx wrote: »

Bought a new psu and everything looks fine! If it does decide to act the bollix again I`ll test the memory. I have an old i5 and gtx 460 lying around so at least I can use that old psu for it.

Thanks all for the help

it is probably most likely that there is a dry joint on power supply. it used to be a big thing with them years ago, but not so much these days.

PC randomly loosing power

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