Computer Intermittently Refusing To Power On

Hi all,

I built a PC in 2012 which I still use today. The specs are as follows:

CPU: INTEL i5-3570k (3.40GHz)
MOBO: Asus P8Z77-V
RAM: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Corsair Vengeance
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 5GB (Upgraded old GPU in 2014)
PSU: Corsair AX 650 Gold (650W)
OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit (1.0, Build 17134)

Life gets in the way of gaming quite a lot now so it's not been too much of an issue (until now, please read on) but over the past few months when I go to turn on my PC, it would do one of 3 things:

1. Power on immediately
2. Power on after about 10 seconds
3. Not power on at all until I depressed the power-on button for 10 seconds to dispel any stored electricity, and pressed the power-on button again (see point 1 and 2 for result)

Without giving it much thought, I'm assuming my PSU now being 6 years old (and having been quite heavily used for the first 5 of those) is finally giving up, but seeing as A.) I could always get it working eventually, B.) Money is quite tight at the moment, and C.) I wouldn't know what PSU to replace it with these days, I decided to put up with it.

Just to be on the safe side, and for other reasons as well, I reformatted my PC about a month ago - the first time since I built it (I know, I know - it was fine though, just losing a lot of ghost storage space by that point).

So as I said, I decided to put up with it - until this morning, when it wouldn't power up at all, no matter what I did with the cable, switch, or button.

I frantically googled and found that A.) They stopped selling this PSU in 2013, and B.) A lot of people have had problems with it only months, or even weeks after purchase - so I must be pretty lucky.

I found some threads, and a Corsair YouTube video explaining/showing how to remove a PSU, hook it up to a case fan, and bridge a connection with the MOBO 24-PIN using a paperclip(!) to check that the PSU was in-fact functioning. I learnt two things:

1. I had to dig up some archived paperwork from 2011 to find a paperclip in our house, so rarely are they needed
2. My PSU & case fan did indeed spin when the power was turned on

What I didn't learn from reading/viewing is why then my PC would delay start-up, or not start-up at all - so my only assumption is that it's load-based; like an old muscle-man who can no longer lift the weights he used to be able to?

In any case, I put the PC back together again which was pretty stressful as I haven't messed around inside a case in 4 years and prayed that it would power on. It did. Instantly.

Fixed, I thought!

I've just come back to it this evening, and had to do "Situation 3" described near the top of the post - so now the first thing I've done with this lifecycle is to come here begging for advice.

I either need to know how to fix it, or how to cheaply replace it as I have no idea what wattage I need for these components (presumably 650w!). I'm hoping by Christmas to have saved enough to treat myself to a brand new PC, hence not wanting to spend much money on this one now - but I can't do without it until then.

I've attached a DxDiag to the post, and can run any reports necessary for you. Any and all advice would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

- Heskey

 

This does NOT prove your PSU is good. All it proves is it can start up and it can deliver +12V. It does NOT prove it can also deliver the necessary +5VDC or the necessary 3.3VDC. Nor does it prove it can deliver anything when presented with a substantial load - such as powering the entire computer at boot (a most demanding time).

The only way normal users can verify their PSU is working properly is to swap in a known good spare and see if the original problem still exists.

You did not provide all your system specs so determining your PSU wattage requirements is a guess. But assuming you have 2 x 4GB of RAM, 2 hard drives, 1 DVD, and 3 120mm case fans, as seen here you can easily get by with a 500W PSU (and that's even padding the results further by setting computer utilization to 16 hours/day and CPU utilization to 100%).

If you will be upgrading your computer in the next year or two, you can edit that calculator by changing the parts list it uses. And remember, you can always get a larger PSU, but don't under power.

One thing you might also check is your case's front panel power button. They can get dirty or wear out over time. A quick squirt with some quality electrical contact cleaner might do the trick. Over time, electrical contacts can become gummed up with oily dust and other contaminants.

Often the switch itself is held in place by tension spring arms that have lost tension over time allowing the switch to get loose. Bending the arms back will often temporarily fix the problem.

Sadly, it is often a bit tricky exposing the interior side of the case's front panel. It might take removing some screws and pressing come catches, but it should be accessible - with patience, and good lighting.

What I have done several times is simply swap in the reset button for the power button. This is easy (again, with good lighting). Follow the two wires from the case's front panel power button to the motherboard's front panel header and remove those two wires from the motherboard. Then follow the two wires from the reset button and put them on the two pins where the power button wires were. From now on, just use the reset button as your power button. You don't even have to worry about wire polarity. Be sure to tie back the two abandoned wires so they don't accidentally come into contacts with something else.

 

Thanks for the reply Digerati. I figured it didn't prove much.

I have 2x sticks of 4GB RAM, 1 Western Digital 500GB HDD, 1 Corsair 120GB SSD, 1 DVD/RW, 3 case fans (I think 120mm?) and one large front fan - my case is a CMStorm Enforcer.

If a 500W PSU would suffice, is there one you could recommend? Do they all come with a standard number of socket connectors which will be sufficient to connect to everything in my PC, or do some come with more or less? The one I have current is "modular" in that you can remove ones you don't need from the PSU whereas I see they're not too common now, and most PSUs just have a mass of wires coming out of a hole in the back of the PSU whether you need them or not.

 

Actually, most PSUs, except budget models (which should be avoided anyway) are modular. But sadly, there is no industry standard for the PSU end of those cables. So modular cables are NOT interchangeable with other power supplies. So make sure to keep them separate and labeled.

Other than that, yes they all come with the necessary cables for your components. Some come with more connectors for more drives, for example, but most easily support 5 or more already. I like EVGA and Seasonic PSUs, preferably 80 PLUS Gold though Bronze will do if the budget is tight.

 

Thank you for your help.