Help please! Power button, PSU clicks, brief fanspin, PSU clicks, and loops, PC cannot turn on

[phantomstar01]

Hi there,

• I Built a PC (specs below) back in 2015. Works just fine until recently where:
• Pressing the power button leads to: Hearing the PSU "click" on, fans (CPU and GPU) barely spin for 0.5s, the PSU clicks again, and this keeps looping. Unable to POST or even "turn on" properly. This issue seemed to resolve after ordering a new PSU (previously: Corsair CX 600), but it's happening again only after a week or two of purchase and light computer use. On the MOBO, there aren't any sounds or LEDs that show an error code, but these lights light up: EZ-XMP, (Upper right in video: lights up, then off, then reset), but PW_LED (beneath GPU in video: stays on throughout unless I manually switch off the PSU).
• I've done the typical troubleshooting (one ram stick at a time, resetting, clearing, and changing CMOS battery, checking if cables are properly seated, shorting MOBO pins and using its own power button instead of case, etc.). No overclocks, and disabled XMP after the first PSU swap. Not sure what to do next, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Will also try bringing the computer to a repair shop. Did I get a faulty PSU, or is maybe one of my components dying? Any advice would be great!
  • Windows 10 2021 64bit (forgot version)

Specs (Windows 10 2021 64bit (forgot version)

• i5 4590, Asus Z97-A USB 3.1 (unsure of BIOS version), EVGA GTX 970 SC, EVGA 750W 80+ Gold PSU, WD 1TB HDD, Samsung 128gb SSD, 24GB Corsair DDR3 LP RAM, 

 

Other Notes

- Computer has been acting up recently, even after fresh windows install. Since last year, I need to install ethernet drivers every time it wakes up from sleep, or cold-boot,  I can't install the latest windows 10 build (gives an error code), and sometimes boot times are very long. Haven't installed anything recently that might be malicious, but I'm wondering if any components like the CPU/MOBO are dying.

[An0maly_76]

Dead PSU, likely. PSU can take out mobo but PSU is a good start. If it revives with a new PSU, you should be good to go.

[JKRsega]

5 minutes ago, phantomstar01 said:

Hi there,

 

• I Built a PC (specs below) back in 2015. Works just fine until recently where:
• Pressing the power button leads to: Hearing the PSU "click" on, fans (CPU and GPU) barely spin for 0.5s, the PSU clicks again, and this keeps looping. Unable to POST or even "turn on" properly. This issue seemed to resolve after ordering a new PSU (previously: Corsair CX 600), but it's happening again only after a week or two of purchase and light computer use. On the MOBO, there aren't any sounds or LEDs that show an error code, but these lights light up: EZ-XMP, (Upper right in video: lights up, then off, then reset), but PW_LED (beneath GPU in video: stays on throughout unless I manually switch off the PSU).
• I've done the typical troubleshooting (one ram stick at a time, resetting, clearing, and changing CMOS battery, checking if cables are properly seated, shorting MOBO pins and using its own power button instead of case, etc.). No overclocks, and disabled XMP after the first PSU swap. Not sure what to do next, so any help would be greatly appreciated. Will also try bringing the computer to a repair shop. Did I get a faulty PSU, or is maybe one of my components dying? Any advice would be great!
  • Windows 10 2021 64bit (forgot version)

Specs (Windows 10 2021 64bit (forgot version)

• i5 4590, Asus Z97-A USB 3.1 (unsure of BIOS version), EVGA GTX 970 SC, EVGA 750W 80+ Gold PSU, WD 1TB HDD, Samsung 128gb SSD, 24GB Corsair DDR3 LP RAM, 

 

Other Notes

- Computer has been acting up recently, even after fresh windows install. Since last year, I need to install ethernet drivers every time it wakes up from sleep, or cold-boot,  I can't install the latest windows 10 build (gives an error code), and sometimes boot times are very long. Haven't installed anything recently that might be malicious, but I'm wondering if any components like the CPU/MOBO are dying.

IMG_1202-1-1.mov

Sounds like it's been static shocked to me.  You might have to strip everything down, build it on a box or breadboard.  But that's my solution to everything, lol.  Worked for me though.

[Needfuldoer]

Did you change anything recently, besides the power supply? That almost sounds like something is shorting to ground, and the power supply is immediately shutting down to protect itself.

[phantomstar01]

1 hour ago, An0maly_76 said:

Dead PSU, likely. PSU can take out mobo but PSU is a good start. If it revives with a new PSU, you should be good to go.

Thanks for responding! With my old PSU, this same issue happened; then, I tried another PSU and everything was fine, so I thought it was a dead PSU and ordered a new one off of amazon (the one I'm using now). It was working fine for a couple of weeks (games, browsing, YouTube, etc.) but it just randomly started happening again. Do you think it's still a dead PSU (just having some doubts since I just bought this one), or could it be something else that's causing the issue?

[phantomstar01]

1 hour ago, JKRsega said:

Sounds like it's been static shocked to me.  You might have to strip everything down, build it on a box or breadboard.  But that's my solution to everything, lol.  Worked for me though.

Thanks for responding! Ahh, do you think there's any way that could've shocked it? Typically I only touch the power button and it's tucked inside one of those  desks with a desktop cutout

[phantomstar01]

41 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

Did you change anything recently, besides the power supply? That almost sounds like something is shorting to ground, and the power supply is immediately shutting down to protect itself.

Thanks for responding! Nope, I only changed the PSU (since this issue happened and tried another PSU around the house (which fixed the issue, but maybe not long enough so I couldn't clearly notice), and then ordered a new one). It was working just fine just until last week, so I'm not really sure what I could've done or how to fix

[kuchikirukia]

43 minutes ago, Needfuldoer said:

Did you change anything recently, besides the power supply? That almost sounds like something is shorting to ground, and the power supply is immediately shutting down to protect itself.

This.  It sounds like you're tripping the overcurrent protection.

I'd unplug all the peripherals and take out the GPU and try again.

[phantomstar01]

1 minute ago, kuchikirukia said:

This.  It sounds like you're tripping the overcurrent protection.

I'd unplug all the peripherals and take out the GPU and try again.

Thanks for responding! I've tried that, but the issue still occurs And the only thing I've changed about my system (in an attempt to fix the issue) was a new PSU, but it actually happened with my old PSU too (nothing else changed from original build back in 2015)

[kuchikirukia]

Try unplugging your drives, too.

 

If that doesn't work, I'd say it's your motherboard.  Time for an upgrade.

[phantomstar01]

13 minutes ago, kuchikirukia said:

Try unplugging your drives, too.

 

If that doesn't work, I'd say it's your motherboard.  Time for an upgrade.

Darn, thanks for the suggestion. Do you think It could possibly a CPU issue too (to buy a CPU/mobo combo from that generation), or should I just go with a mobo at this point?

[kuchikirukia]

CPUs rarely go bad.  I would personally have no qualms with just selling the CPU untested locally. (though take a return if they have issues too).

I wouldn't go for the same generation unless you can find it CHEAP.  (like I found a 4790/z87/32GB/212EVO/case/500W PSU for $100)  The 12th gen quad cores are just too good.

 

Compare the i3 12100 to a massively overclocked 4790k:

 

 

When you can get something like this:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Mp6ccb

For a 4th generation to compete, you need to get an i7 4790 + mobo + 16GB for $100 or under.

 

The 12th gen is really a game-changer. The 2nd through 4th gens could hang even with the 10th gen, and so easily beat them in price/performance on the used market.  But the used prices haven't dropped all that much compared to the performance increase of the 12th gen.

[An0maly_76]

1 hour ago, phantomstar01 said:

Thanks for responding! With my old PSU, this same issue happened; then, I tried another PSU and everything was fine, so I thought it was a dead PSU and ordered a new one off of amazon (the one I'm using now). It was working fine for a couple of weeks (games, browsing, YouTube, etc.) but it just randomly started happening again. Do you think it's still a dead PSU (just having some doubts since I just bought this one), or could it be something else that's causing the issue?

Depends on the brand, and their quality control. Seems like most brands are having problems these days, unfortunately EVGA's PSUs aren't known for being high-quality. I wouldn't say they're 100% junk, but I'd suspect an EVGA of being bad before most others. That said, it does sound as though either the current protection is being tripped, as others have said, OR some or all of the capacitors have gone kablooey. Light possibility of the motherboard being the issue -- VERY light, in my book. Seems to me a flaky motherboard would eventually quit before it took out two or three PSUs. Also, you might consider having the building supply circuits checked, line noise, voltage fluctuations, all kinds of stuff can slowly take out a PSU.

Edited August 9, 2022 by An0maly_76
Revised, more info

[phantomstar01]

I think I'll bring the desktop to a local repair shop tomorrow and have them do a diagnosis. Is there anything I should watch out for, or things to do right now, just to make sure I cover all bases (and in the worst case scenario, prevent getting scammed)? The shop has pretty good reviews, but just in case if that makes sense