PC will only boot once with GPU.

[Chox]

Hi,

 

Yesterday I made the following changes to my build:

 - Moved setup to a new case, Corsairs 750D.

 - Installed new PSU, Corsairs AX860 (old one was Corsair Enthusiast Series TX850 V2).

 - Added two new SSDs, Samsung Evo 850 500GB.

 

Current System specs

Case: Corsair 750D

PSU: Corsair AX860

MB: ASUS P8Z77-V LK

CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K

CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS 12X

GPU: GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 780 OC - 3GB GDDR5

RAM: Kingston 16GB DDR3 1600MHz (4x4) HyperX

HDD: WD Green 2TB

SSDs: 1x OCZ Agility 3 240GB (OS currently on this one), 2x Samsung 850 Evo 500GB (just installed)

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit

 

For now I'll skip all the details of what I did to come to the following conclusion, but here's the pattern I found:

I boot up the PC once without problems, with all components installed. I then shut down the PC, and it won't boot up again. Sometimes it starts up for at split second, giving the CPU cooler a subtle push and turning on the lights - but not even for a full second. I then remove the GPU completely from the system, and the PC boots without problems, multiple times. I insert the GPU again, the PC boots up once, I shut it down, and it won't boot again. So it seems the PC will only boot ONCE with the GPU installed.

 

I tried removing all power from the GPU but leaving it in the PCIe port. Same behaviour (still only boots once), except the one time it does boot up, is without any signal to the monitor - I'm guessing it doesn't use the onboard graphics when there is a GPU connected to the PCIe?

 

I've also tried:

- Clearing CMOS.

- Installing the GPU in the other PCIe port.

 

It should be noted that:

- I had trouble removing the GPU from the old setup, as the PCIe lock thingy got stuck with the GPU half way out, so I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I damaged something in the process. If that's the case, it's just a matter of finding out what.

 - I checked the temps after first successful boot, and both CPU and GPU were steady and below 30C.

 

I intend to test the following:

 - Installing another GPU in my system, to see if problem still occurs.

 - Installing my GPU in another system, to see if problem is related to the GPU.

However, I don't have an extra GPU or another PC with enough power to run my current GPU, so I can't test either at the moment.

 

 

I'm sure I've left out some important details, so please do ask. But from the above, can anyone give an educated guess as to what part might be damaged, or suggest further tests to determine what's causing the problem? Any help is much appreciated.

[MeDownYou]

try another pci-e slot you could have a bad one...It happened to me when i bought a store computer once (EWW wth was i thinking)

 

did you break off a tab from you gpu? also make sure you are getting it correctly seated and that same bar on your new mobo isn't preventing installation.

[Mattyd7829]

How long does the pc run for on the first boot? I am wondering if this could be heat related. It may be worth changing the TIM on the cpu and gpu just to rule it out.

[Guest]

IVe had alot of problems with that board including that it cloud not boot up whitout gpu finally it was it's Demise and than the last board i cloud buy was a cheap h61 one ;(

[Chox]

Try using the old PSU instead.

 

According to the title, are you suggesting that the GPU is preventing the rig from booting? Meaning it will boot just fine if you run off the mobo's graphics port with integrated graphics?

 

Thanks, I'll try hooking the system up to the old PSU later today.

 

If I remove the GPU from the system, it boots just fine on the integrated graphics. What puzzles me is, that when I put the GPU back in, it'll boot once, and when I shut it down, it won't boot again until I remove the GPU, after which it boots fine, multiple times. I haven't tested nearly enough to determine that the GPU is the problem, but it's definitely still on the list of possibilities.

 

try another pci-e slot you could have a bad one...It happened to me when i bought a store computer once (EWW wth was i thinking)

 

did you break off a tab from you gpu? also make sure you are getting it correctly seated and that same bar on your new mobo isn't preventing installation.

The GPU looks fine to my, and so does the motherboard (I didn't change the motherboard, still using the old one).

 

How long does the pc run for on the first boot? I am wondering if this could be heat related. It may be worth changing the TIM on the cpu and gpu just to rule it out.

Honestly, I haven't testet more than maybe 10-15 minutes runtime - it's definitely worth trying a longer run, and keep an eye on the temps. But so far it hasn't crashed by itself (I've shut it down each time), and the temps looked fine when I checked. I'll look into this later today, thanks.

[dragoon20005]

i may point to faulty GPU

 

you may need to try the GPU on another PC to verify

[Chox]

i may point to faulty GPU

 

you may need to try the GPU on another PC to verify

 

Might have found another PC to test on. I'll update the thread later, with results. Thanks.