Machine not fully powering up?

[Jim12345]

Hey all,

I was wondering if someone could help me figure this out.

I bought a power supply Few months ago (5/6 months ago) all has been working fine until recently, I go to turn the computer on and all lights come on, you hear some of the fans go but there's no beep, and doesn't seem to bootup.

Its almost like it doesn't have enough power, I turn it off and plug it into another plug socket (wall outlet) and it works, and the happens every few weeks, any ideas ? 

 

The power supply is a Evga 550watt 80+gold

[kris44dad]

You might want to specify "plug it into another plug socket".  An outlet from the wall? Internally from the power supply to an alternate socket on the motherboard? What?

[Jim12345]

6 minutes ago, kris44dad said:

You might want to specify "plug it into another plug socket".  An outlet from the wall? Internally from the power supply to an alternate socket on the motherboard? What?

Sorry wall outlet.

[kris44dad]

I'm not an electrical expert. I can change outlets and switches, that's about it. There are a few things I would try, to narrow down possible causes.  

 

Check the power taps inside the case from the power supply to the connections on the motherboard. Make sure none of them are loose. I would go so far as to re-seat each of them, you can reach.  If the power supply is modular, check the connections on both ends.  If that fails to resolve the issue, you could go cheap and pick up an electricity usage monitor (P3 P4400 Kill A Watt Electricity Usage Monitor from Amazon) to see what your computer is drawing from the wall, both when it is operating and while the issue is occurring.  That COULD be useful, or not.

 

Several things strike me as possibilities.

 

1) For some reason your power supply is resetting itself. (Loose connections, or general failure of the unit).

2) It's a component on the mother board itself with an intermittent problem.

3) You have something attached to the motherboard that is trying to draw too much power from it. (Older equipment not as optimal as new.)

4) Your rig is overheating. (There are software utilities to use, to check. Find one that keeps logs, and check them after it fails.)

5) You have something in your house on the same circuit that draws so many amps that your rig is being starved for current, or is generating enough fluctuation that your power supply is shutting itself down.

 

I would say 1,2 and 4 are most likely.

 

[kris44dad]

I'm also wondering if 550W is enough for your video card...

[IkeaGnome]

24 minutes ago, kris44dad said:

5) You have something in your house on the same circuit that draws so many amps that your rig is being starved for current, or is generating enough fluctuation that your power supply is shutting itself down.

I think this one is more likely if it's only happening every few weeks. 

@Jim12345I'd be looking at what else is on that circuit of the house and what happens to be kicking on when your computer shuts off

[kris44dad]

10 minutes ago, IkeaGnome said:

I think this one is more likely if it's only happening every few weeks. 

@Jim12345I'd be looking at what else is on that circuit of the house and what happens to be kicking on when your computer shuts off

Either that, or they happen to be doing something power intensive every few weeks (ie. video card power draw)  that shuts the 550W unit down. Personally, I wouldn't go lower then 650W for a power supply.  But the circuit is worth checking for what else is there. I wasn't going to suggest a UPS, right off the bat.

[Jim12345]

2 hours ago, kris44dad said:

I'm also wondering if 550W is enough for your video card...

Hey,
I have had this machine for about 6 years now, the graphics card was upgraded about 3 years ago never been a issue.
The only new addition recently  is the power supply.
I`ve recently moved from Europe to Canada, the power supply that was originally in the machine was not compatible with US wall outlets being only 110v the power supply needed 220v to function, hence the reason I got the new power supply.

[Jim12345]

2 hours ago, IkeaGnome said:

I think this one is more likely if it's only happening every few weeks. 

@Jim12345I'd be looking at what else is on that circuit of the house and what happens to be kicking on when your computer shuts off

It only happens when I try to turn the machine on, no issue shutting it down.
I cant think what it could be, I do have a professional setup, Wacom screen as well as 3 monitors but I have them connected to a Belkin power surge protector, there even going into a different wall outlet, the computer was on the same surge protector, and the first time it happened I assumed it was just the surge protector crapping out.
but seems to be still working fine.

[kris44dad]

On 4/17/2021 at 5:25 PM, Jim12345 said:

It only happens when I try to turn the machine on, no issue shutting it down.
I cant think what it could be, I do have a professional setup, Wacom screen as well as 3 monitors but I have them connected to a Belkin power surge protector, there even going into a different wall outlet, the computer was on the same surge protector, and the first time it happened I assumed it was just the surge protector crapping out.
but seems to be still working fine.

If you plugging into separate wall outlets to try and distribute power draw, each outlet would have to be on a different house circuit, or it accomplishes nothing (to the best of my knowledge).  Turn off the breaker for the outlet with the issue. If both outlets you are using go dead, then separate outlets is not going to change anything from just using the one outlet.

[kris44dad]

On 4/17/2021 at 5:25 PM, Jim12345 said:

It only happens when I try to turn the machine on, no issue shutting it down.
I cant think what it could be, I do have a professional setup, Wacom screen as well as 3 monitors but I have them connected to a Belkin power surge protector, there even going into a different wall outlet, the computer was on the same surge protector, and the first time it happened I assumed it was just the surge protector crapping out.
but seems to be still working fine.

One of the things you should find out is how many amps your setup is actually pulling.  I doubt anywhere close to the 15 amp rating of the circuit, but with 550 watts for the machine, and the operating watts listed for each of the three monitors, you can total it all up and get total amps at 120 volts.