PSU + boot problems

[jellybutt]

Hello dear reader(s),

 

I'm going to give you a heads up, this is a pretty long and detailed story. The reason behind it is that experts might noticed something that I overlooked since I don't have any experience at all and don't know what to do. If you want to skip to the summary of the problem, at the end there is a section with a big, blue header.

 

After posting a topic a while ago about some upgrades I wanted to do, I had ordered the parts a few weeks ago. These parts were a Cooler Master V850 and a Sapphire R9 290 Tri-X OC (all new). In the mean time, I installed a Samsung 840 Pro as boot drive and installed a fresh, new Windows 7 Ultimate 65-bit. All worked perfectly. When the parts finally arrived, I put them in the day after. This was my first time ever to install a new PSU, I already knew how to install a GPU (and RAM). The old PSU was a semi-modular, the new one is fully modular. I shall provide my old setup and new setup below.

 

Old

Case: Cooler Master Centurion 534

PSU: Cooler Master Real Power M520

Mobo: ASUS M4A87TD/USB3

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 (stock) with AMD (stock) cooler

GPU: ASUS EAH5850 1GB TOP Direct CU (stock)

RAM: GeIL DDR3-1300 2x2GB (stock)

Storage: 1TB WD green something

 

New

Case: Cooler Master Centurion 534

PSU: Cooler Master V850

Mobo: ASUS M4A87TD/USB3

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 (stock) with AMD (stock) cooler

GPU: Sapphire R9 290 Tri-x OC (stock)

RAM: GeIL DDR3-1300 2x2GB (stock) (soon to be 16GB Corsair Vengeance 1866 or 1600)

Storage: 1TB WD green something for storage

                265GB Samsung 840 Pro for boot

 

So I was pretty excited that the computer booted up properly and everything worked fine. I tested this on my desk, with only the power cable plugged in. After knowing that all was working fine, I pressed the on/off button on the case till the PC shut down. I put the PC back to its normal place, where it always stands. Plugged in all the cables and pressed the on/off button to start the system. Everything booted up properly and I installed the drivers for my new GPU.

After that, I bench marked with Fire Strike (to see the difference between my new and old GPU) and played a new game to see it's performance.

 

When I was done with all that, I thought I would shut down my PC as I wasn't using it anymore (it had been running for about 5-6 hours without problems). I always use the shut down option in the Windows start menu (I thought I'd just mention it, because I also know some people that always press the on/off button till the PC shuts down). I never switch the PSU off with the on/off switch located on the PSU. But later that night I wanted to look up something, so I pressed the start button.... nothing. No fans spinning, no *beep* sound, no blue LED's jumping on, nothing. Well okay, I thought, perhaps the PSU on/off switch. Nope, this was on 'power'. Tried again, a few times. Unplugged the power cable, waited for a few seconds and tried again. Nothing. So I unplugged all the cables and put my PC back on my desk, with only the power cable plugged in. Removed the side panel and saw that the green LED in my motherboard was on (means that it is in sleep mode/soft-off mode). So I knew that I got power from the PSU. Again, nothing booted when I pressed the power button.

 

So I tried these settings to see if I could find the probable cause of this:

• All cables unplugged, except the mobo and CPU cable.
• All cables unplugged, except the mobo, CPU and GPU.
• All cables plugged in.

For every test I did, I used these settings:

• With 2 sticks of my RAM.
• With 1 stick of my RAM.
• With no RAM.
• With no RAM and GPU.
• With no GPU.

No result, as you might guess by the amount of settings I tried.

So I removed my new PSU and put my old PSU back in and.... *beep*, everything was working perfectly except the GPU (one fan wasn't spinning as hard as it should, but I think that's because it didn't get enough power). I installed my old GPU and tried again. It still booted up as it should. I tried the same settings as above with my old PSU, it even gave the error beeps with GPU or RAM problem/missing. 

 

So I made the conclusion that my new PSU was faulty. I send it back to the store I bought it from for a test/repair, as I don't have a PSU tester (and I have warranty). My PC was now running on the old setup again, as the old PSU didn't give enough power for the new GPU. A few days ago the news came that the PSU wasn't faulty and that they would send it back. Yesterday I received it together with a anti-static wrist strap (just feels a bit more safe). I installed my new PSU immediately and pressed the power button. *Beep*, success! I pressed the power button till the system shut down and I installed my new GPU. Again, I pressed the power button and again a *beep*. Shut it down again by holding the power button till it shut down.

 

I put my PC back under my desk, plugged in all the cables and started the system. It started without any problems and I played BF3 for a while. When I thought it was time for bed, I shut the PC down via the Start menu. When the PC was off, I thought by myself "let's try it again, would be weird if it didn't start now". And whadduyouknow, it didn't boot.... Nothing. This morning I tried it again with unplugging all cables, only leaving in the mobo+CPU cable from the PSU. Tried with the old GPU, still nothing.

 

 

These are my observations.

• The system works perfectly, without any problems, with the new GPU and PSU.
• If I use the 'shut down' option via Start Menu, the PC won't boot.
• If I press the power button on the case itself till the PC shuts off, I can boot (for certain: for a second or third time) without problems.
• The motherboard gets power, the green LED indicator for the sleep mode is glowing.
• The system doesn't have this problem with the old PSU.
• The new PSU is not faulty, according to the store I bought it from (after testing with PSU tester).
• Nothing is wrong with the power button on the case/cables or anything, as it works without problems with the old PSU/setup.

Problem is now, I can't use my PC at all. The cooler mount of my old GPU broke this morning and since I cant use my old PSU with my new GPU, I can't use my PC. I don't have another GPU laying around. 

 

For those who took the time to read it, I thank you. I don't know what to do, this whole problem doesn't seem logical to me.

[William12h]

DId you mess up the Front Panel connectors? Maybe the pins are placed incorrectly and stuck on reset, thus restarting the PC over and over.

 

Does your MB light up?

Is the internal speaker plugged into the MB? for the Beep sounds? 

Check power settings in BIOS.

Is your wall Socket on  

Maybe you broke something on the MB? 

 

You can try cleaning the CMOS and try booting. make sure the OC button is not on, on the MB

 

Hello dear reader(s),

 

 

[jellybutt]

DId you mess up the Front Panel connectors? Maybe the pins are placed incorrectly and stuck on reset, thus restarting the PC over and over.

 

Does your MB light up?

Is the internal speaker plugged into the MB? for the Beep sounds? 

Check power settings in BIOS.

Is your wall Socket on

Maybe you broke something on the MB? 

 

You can try cleaning the CMOS and try booting. make sure the OC button is not on, on the MB

 

Nothing has changed, nothing is broken. I removed nothing from the motherboard apart from the power cables. I rechecked all fan cables and front panel cables, they're not lose. The only difference between booting up and working normally like it should, and not booting up at all is the old PSU vs. the new PSU.

 

Also, I never said that the "PC is restarting over and over." I doesn't start at all with the new PSU (apart from the 1st time ever).

 

I'll say it again. It all works perfectly with the old PSU. With the new PSU it just wont boot up after you shut it down via the Start menu in Windows, the whole system doesn't respond to the power button (which it does with the old PSU).

I can't check anything in the BIOS, because it won't get to the BIOS.

 

But what is there to look for in the Power settings in the BIOS? As far as I know there are only optional features in there. If so, how could it be that with the same BIOS the system does boot up properly with the old PSU and not with the new PSU, while no settings have changed?

[William12h]

Faulty PSU or Motherboard, RMA it. 

 

Nothing has changed, nothing is broken. I removed nothing from the motherboard apart from the power cables. I rechecked all fan cables and front panel cables, they're not lose. The only difference between booting up and working normally like it should, and not booting up at all is the old PSU vs. the new PSU.

 

Also, I never said that the "PC is restarting over and over." I doesn't start at all with the new PSU (apart from the 1st time ever).

 

I'll say it again. It all works perfectly with the old PSU. With the new PSU it just wont boot up after you shut it down via the Start menu in Windows, the whole system doesn't respond to the power button (which it does with the old PSU).

I can't check anything in the BIOS, because it won't get to the BIOS.

 

But what is there to look for in the Power settings in the BIOS? As far as I know there are only optional features in there. If so, how could it be that with the same BIOS the system does boot up properly with the old PSU and not with the new PSU, while no settings have changed?

[79wjd]

Probably because you're running 65-bit windows

[jellybutt]

Faulty PSU or Motherboard, RMA it. 

 

I already explained that there is nothing wrong with the PSU, I RMA'd the PSU already last week. The PSU was tested with a PSU testbench and equipment by the company I ordered it from.

Seems a bit weird to me that the motherboard is faulty. What could there be wrong with the motherboard, since it works normal with the old PSU. It just doesn't work with the new PSU.

 

 

*EDIT*

Turns out that the company didn't test it in the right way. They just measured the value's of all outputs, not if it was capable of actually booting a PC.

I send it back with the request of trading it in for a RM850. They said they had to test it first and surprise surprise, it was faulty now! But since I ordered a RM850, they sended a new version of that PSU instead of a new V850. At first I wasn't that happy with it, I thought the V850 looked way cooler. But whatever, the PSU isn't in my sight and as long as it works I'm satisfied.

 

So... Nothing wrong on my end, a faulty PSU it was after all. In total it cost me 2-3 weeks till all problems were solved. But everything was free, so that's an upside to the story.

TIP: if you think your new PSU is faulty and you RMA it for testing, just day to the company that you want it completely tested, not just the values of the output power. Not like I had, that would have saved me a week.

[William12h]

I already explained that there is nothing wrong with the PSU, I RMA'd the PSU already last week. The PSU was tested with a PSU testbench and equipment by the company I ordered it from.

Seems a bit weird to me that the motherboard is faulty. What could there be wrong with the motherboard, since it works normal with the old PSU. It just doesn't work with the new PSU.

Check all the cables and the pins on both PSU and see if anything is damaged, Maybe you broke something on the MB where it has damaged the current it can uses and the new PSU over powers it or sum, not quite sure.

 

Your New PSu is fully modular?  Make sure all your cables are correctly plugged in to the PSU and your MB again, you may find it best to take your MB out of your case while you test it for easy of access. Check the PSU/MB manual for instructions