PC sometimes won't turn on until I unplug it from the wall for a 30 seconds or so. Faulty PSU?
PC sometimes won't turn on until I unplug it from the wall for a 30 seconds or so. Faulty PSU?
Just like in the title my PC has an issue when it won't turn on. Power button does nothing, fans do not spin, PC is completely dead. First time it happened was when I put it to sleep, sometimes it wouldn't wake up so I just avoided putting it to sleep as a temporary solution that become quite permanent... Simple power off worked well enough but recently it won't start even when I turn it off. If that happens I need to flip the power button on the PSU for a 30 or so seconds then it turn it back on and I can start PC no problems.
From what I read on the Internet people suggest faulty PSU. Is there a way to confirm that? I don't want to buy a new PSU if the old one is still good. It has little over 5 years so it's not exactly new but certainly not too old.
I also had one crash that looked like PSU fault since PC just shut down suddenly but I blamed it on some power drop in the grid at the time.
Cutting the power for 30 seconds drains capacitors. The most likely culprit is in the PSU, but I've also seen it be the motherboard or GPU.
Desktop PSUs have been pretty standardized for 25 years. The odds are pretty good that you still have an old one, or know someone that you could borrow from long enough to test.
Failing that, just get one from a place with a decent return policy. I like Micro Center, if you're near one of those.
Had a similar issue once and it turned out to be a powered USB hub backfeeding and putting the motherboard into an odd power state, only figured it out when I noticed a status LED remaining on after I physically unplugged the main power for the computer. May be worth unplugging any hubs you may have to rule that out
I don't have any hubs. The only thing I bought recently was 4x SATA to PCI card. But it worked ok for quite a while so this shouldn't be the culprit?
You can probably do a "paper clip" test to help you confirm its the PSU and nothing else. Basically removing the PSU and connecting a paperclip to specific pins on the PSU to act like an "ON" button.
But based on the symptoms you've indicated, it does sound like a PSU problem. Nollij's idea of buying another PSU that would allow you to return it sounds like another good solution/test.
They sell PSU testers for $15-20. I bought one years ago and it still serves me well. You plug in the 24-pin and the other power connectors and it will tell you where it's faults lie. If none, then the motherboard should be scrutinized next.
Capacitors exist all over your system. They are on nearly every component. Look for them and then look for the bulge out the top. There are reliefs (a big X) in the top of the capacitor to allow it to "blow" out that direction. Sometimes it only bulges and does not blow, but that's enough for failure. If you open your PSU, try not to root around too much with your fingers. Be cautious of the power load that might remain. Visually inspect the caps. It might only be a slight bulge or none at all, but the caps can still die.
I'd lend you a PSU, so maybe you have a friend close who might too? You may still consider buying a new PSU to allow for future upgrades and put the old one on the shelf as a spare or for other purposes. That is, if the PSU is fine. It is still possible the motherboard is at fault, but again with these symptoms, it would likely be a cap.
Good luck!
I always thought that PSU testers were way more expensive but it's good to know you can buy them relatively cheap. Honestly I'm curious if such a tester would detect anything. Currently the PSU works just fine under heavy load (CPU + GPU stress test). It only happens when I turn off the PC or put it to sleep so low or little to none power draw.
I haven't seen any bad caps on the GPU or motherboard so I'll see on the PSU (obviously with caution).
With GPU it's an easy swap so I once exchanged GPUs with my friend to see if GPU is causing crashes (it was RAM btw) but with PSU I feel it's a lot of work to unplug everything so I don't want to bother them too much. I ordered an MSI 800W PSU. I have two weeks to return it if I want but your idea of having a spare is a good one.
Try unplugging it from the wall, and then hitting the power button. It you see any lights or fan activity, some cap somewhere still has juice
Light flashes and fans move for a fraction of the second but isn't that normal? I always do that when I want to quickly discharge caps and swap some components without worrying about shorting something.
Depends on how long or possibly how many fans. My PC won't spin any fans for example, just turn on lights.
My instructors always said that wierd ass issues are usually power supplies, if you don't have another one you could test with then I would buy one from somewhere with a good return policy