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PC won't boot, fans spin up for a second, power off, repeats [solved]

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  • 09-05-2015 5:51pm
    #1
    MOH
    Registered Users Posts: 6,464 ✭✭✭


    Have a build that's been working fine for about 8 months.

    Yesterday it powered off, back on for a second, then off again. Keeps happening until I pull the plug. The GPU and case lights come on OK. Both the case and mobo fans spin, every second time for slightly longer.

    This happened once before and I think it was a loose mobo cable. But this time everything seems properly seated. I can't see anything that could be causing a loose connection or a short.

    Tried unplugged the CPU power header, made no difference. Likewise the drives and GPU. I'm really not in the mood for disassembling everything and putting it back together bit by bit - anything else I could check first?

    Build details:
    ASRock H97M Pro4
    Intel Xeon E3-1230v3
    Corsair CX Series Modular CX600M
    ASUS GTX770-DC2OC-2GD5 DirectCU II OC, GeForce
    8GB-Kit Crucial Ballistix Sport Series DDR3-1600, CL9
    Crucial M500 120GB SATA
    WD Blue 1TB
    Antec One, ATX

    [edit]
    .... aaand no sooner do I post all that and reconnect all the cables again for at least the third time, it boots just fine. I'm putting it down to boards magic


    Moral of the story: even when it's not a loose cable, it probably still is a loose cable.


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  • Options
    #2
    MOH
    Registered Users Posts: 6,464 ✭✭✭MOH


    Just updating this, since it's happened a couple of times since, and I nearly ended tearing what's left of my hair out the other night.

    I'd learned from my mistakes in the past.
    It's always, always, always, always a loose cable.

    Except when it's loose RAM.

    I'd spent about an hour unplugging and replugging everything, trying booting it without the gfx card or other stuff plugged in, no joy.
    Checked the drives cables, mobo cables, no change, just fans spinning up for a sec and then down.

    Eventually realised the only thing I hadn't tried was pulling the RAM, tried that and it started straight away.
    Stuck it back in, booted no problem.

    (Looking at it, the gfx card fits fairly snugly against the holding clips for the RAM. So it's possible that if one of them wasn't clipped in properly, the card was actually holding it in place most of the time, until it eventually worked loose. And possible on previous occasions my cable jiggling was pushing the card up against the clip again and forcing it back in)

    This is mainly to remind me next time it happens, but might help someone else!


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