High Humidity won't let me turn on my PC... ?

[vliktor]

I have been battling this baffling issue for months now. I have resorted to using gremlins and ghosts to explain why this is happening (I posted about it here), but here goes:

 

I have a computer that won't turn on at times, then when I bring it to a computer store and plug it in there, it would turn on. But it never worked on any other socket at home, regardless if I had it hooked up to a UPS or not, but that changed today (I'll explain later below). Note that the computer has no other issues as it is stable when gaming or with general use.

 

No matter what kind of troubleshooting I did, and short of replacing the motherboard and case, I replaced the PSU. The problem then disappeared... only to reappear a few months down the road.

 

I heard about how humidity can affect computer longevity or performance. So I did an experiment. I have a thermometer/humidity meter unit that I use. Just today, the computer wouldn't turn on, and I noticed that the meter was registering 84% humidity. I then move the PC to another room, and plug it in to another socket... same issue. But this time, I turn on the AC on this room. I waited for the humidity to drop to 79%, and then.. it turns on!

 

What is going on? What can I do to make this PC turn on like it's supposed to (without the AC)?

[TimedPing]

It's happening many times for me, I lived in a place with average temps of 32C and 60% humidity, Picture below is taken 2 days ago with air conditioning system turned off for repair:

Spoiler

Dirt and easy solution for my problem is putting bunch of silica gel inside of my PC case, it's pretty effective. Other ways is you can check whatever part of your electric conduit is little bit exposed cable (I think is responsible for dirty AC-DC conversion on your PSU, especially cheap PSU, don't quote me on that).

 

[CWALD]

What are the environmental ratings for your PSU? (temp and humidity operating limits)

 

What temp are you experiencing that humidity at? (80% at 50f is a lot different than 80% at 90f)

 

Are there other things in your humid air (Florida will have salty humid air that causes corrosion) 

[vliktor]

45 minutes ago, TimedPing said:

It's happening many times for me, I lived in a place with average temps of 32C and 60% humidity, Picture below is taken 2 days ago with air conditioning system turned off for repair:

  Reveal hidden contents

Dirt and easy solution for my problem is putting bunch of silica gel inside of my PC case, it's pretty effective. Other ways is you can check whatever part of your electric conduit is little bit exposed cable (I think is responsible for dirty AC-DC conversion on your PSU, especially cheap PSU, don't quote me on that).

 

I have a brand new Seasonic 650W unit. I had this problem with a Silverstone and thought 'it must have been the PSU'. Well, now I know for certain it isn't cause the same thing keeps on happening again.

 

Silica gel? Just like put these packets wherever inside the case?

[vliktor]

46 minutes ago, CWALD said:

What are the environmental ratings for your PSU? (temp and humidity operating limits)

 

What temp are you experiencing that humidity at? (80% at 50f is a lot different than 80% at 90f)

 

Are there other things in your humid air (Florida will have salty humid air that causes corrosion) 

Not sure about the environmental ratings but this is what I have (https://seasonic.com/focus-gx#specification)

 

I also had the same issue with a SilverStone PSU.

 

The temps are mostly 29C to 32C at 65% to 80+% RH. I live in the Philippines so i"m not sure about what is in our humid air but I'm pretty far off from the sea. I have two other laptops at home that don't have these problems. The desktop shares the same circuit as a router, modem, printer and the monitor, and they don't show any of these issues.

[PDifolco]

11 minutes ago, vliktor said:

Not sure about the environmental ratings but this is what I have (https://seasonic.com/focus-gx#specification)

 

I also had the same issue with a SilverStone PSU.

 

The temps are mostly 29C to 32C at 65% to 80+% RH. I live in the Philippines so i"m not sure about what is in our humid air but I'm pretty far off from the sea. I have two other laptops at home that don't have these problems. The desktop shares the same circuit as a router, modem, printer and the monitor, and they don't show any of these issues.

Rainforest climate ain't good for PC.. I suspect it's so hot and wet that some small water droplets get in the PC and make shorts circuits...

Try to dry the PC with some air duster or hair dryer before turning it on

[CWALD]

12 minutes ago, vliktor said:

Not sure about the environmental ratings but this is what I have (https://seasonic.com/focus-gx#specification)

 

I also had the same issue with a SilverStone PSU.

 

The temps are mostly 29C to 32C at 65% to 80+% RH. I live in the Philippines so i"m not sure about what is in our humid air but I'm pretty far off from the sea. I have two other laptops at home that don't have these problems. The desktop shares the same circuit as a router, modem, printer and the monitor, and they don't show any of these issues.

The operating temperature range is 0-40C and the fan is rated for 50,000 hours at 40 °C, 15 % - 65 % RH so I think you are probably ok there. If you are trying to use it in fanless mode then I might turn that off. Otherwise check your bios for environmental settings maybe? I haven't seen that before but am out of ideas at this point.

 

[CWALD]

4 minutes ago, PDifolco said:

Rainforest climate ain't good for PC.. I suspect it's so hot and wet that some small water droplets get in the PC and make shorts circuits...

Try to dry the PC with some air duster or hair dryer before turning it on

if that works then just leaving a small desk fan on it to prevent accumulation might help

[vliktor]

6 hours ago, CWALD said:

The operating temperature range is 0-40C and the fan is rated for 50,000 hours at 40 °C, 15 % - 65 % RH so I think you are probably ok there. If you are trying to use it in fanless mode then I might turn that off. Otherwise check your bios for environmental settings maybe? I haven't seen that before but am out of ideas at this point.

 

I didn't turn on fanless mode. I am not sure of which UEFI settings I would even start checking on.

[vliktor]

6 hours ago, CWALD said:

if that works then just leaving a small desk fan on it to prevent accumulation might help

I do have a small desk fan but it's a bit tricky to place since the desktop is in a common area. I am considering as well the purchase of a small air duster.

[vliktor]

6 hours ago, PDifolco said:

Rainforest climate ain't good for PC.. I suspect it's so hot and wet that some small water droplets get in the PC and make shorts circuits...

Try to dry the PC with some air duster or hair dryer before turning it on

Thanks. I am considering an air duster or even just moving this PC to the room with the AC.

[CWALD]

7 hours ago, vliktor said:

I didn't turn on fanless mode. I am not sure of which UEFI settings I would even start checking on.

its a button on the back of the psu. If it is pressed in then it wont use the psu fan until it reaches a specific temp or wattage. If it is left out then the fan will keep a minimum speed.

[Robchil]

3 hours ago, CWALD said:

its a button on the back of the psu. If it is pressed in then it wont use the psu fan until it reaches a specific temp or wattage. If it is left out then the fan will keep a minimum speed.

that fan gets quite loud if your not used to it..  

accidently turned it on when rebuilding my waterloop.. wondered wth was blowing that hard..  

 

[vliktor]

On 6/22/2023 at 2:34 AM, CWALD said:

if that works then just leaving a small desk fan on it to prevent accumulation might help

Update: after many attempts, putting the CPU in the room with the AC works. But even better, a small desk fan pointed at the CPU works just as fine to reduce humidity. It acts up at above 80% RH, but the desk fan somehow manages to reduce RH quite quickly.

 

Thanks!

[CWALD]

On 9/7/2023 at 8:58 AM, vliktor said:

Update: after many attempts, putting the CPU in the room with the AC works. But even better, a small desk fan pointed at the CPU works just as fine to reduce humidity. It acts up at above 80% RH, but the desk fan somehow manages to reduce RH quite quickly.

 

Thanks!

sure, the AC reduces the amount of moister the air can hold which in turn reduces the amount that has a chance to accumulate in the first place. A heater would work by keeping the water in the air instead of on a surface but would have the side effect of heating you CPU. A fan on the other hand keeps the moister moving, so even if it starts to accumulate, it just evaporates again right away. It's not actually reducing humidity just its effect, this is why it feels good in the heat, it doesn't keep the air cool, it just helps evaporate your sweat which has a cooling effect on your skin.