Strange PC issue

[gary.hall82]

Hi all, 

 

I build my first PC back in September 2015. It has been working flawlessly without any issues until recently. 

 

My rig

Corsair 200R Case

ASUS Z97 P Motherboard

Core i5 4690K 3.5 GHz (with stock cooler)

8 GB HyperX Savage 1600 MHz RAM DDR3

120 GB Samsung 850EVO

EVGA SuperNova GS 650W PSU

Windows 10 Pro 64 bit 

Recently Added: EVGA GTX 970 SSC

 

The issue:

Rarely my PC won't post. PC comes on as normal but no display on the screen. I cannot turn the PC off by holding the power button down for 5 seconds, and I have to turn it at the back via the power supply switch. 

 

I have realised that this only seems to happen if the PC has been shutdown and the plug at the wall has been left on for a extended period of time (I usually switch off the plugs at the wall after shutting down the PC). 

 

Example:

Being on the PC in the morning before work, then shutting down, leaving power on at wall. Come home on the evening to turn on the PC and it wont post.

 

However once I've switched it off at the back of the PSU then back on the PC will boot perfectly fine even after multiple shutdowns and power ons. PC runs fine when on, no crashes, freezes, or any other issues.

 

Just wondering what this issue could be as I have no idea, why the PC would do this once but be perfectly fine afterwards. 

 

I thought it was 2 old HDDs that I had used from my old PC but they have since been unplugged a few days ago. Today is the first time its happened since then, and the power at the wall has been on all day.

 

My thoughts:

 

Possibly the GPU, but that has worked perfectly fine since buying it at the end of April. With no crashes even after long gaming sessions. 

PSU?

 

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Gary

 

 

[ELSknutson]

when is the last time you updated your drivers for your motherboard?

[VoyexTech]

1 minute ago, ELSknutson said:

when is the last time you updated your drivers for your motherboard?

I agree a bios update might help

[victor de souza]

Corrupted bios surely.

[gary.hall82]

Not for a while, probably a few months ago when I clean installed Windows 10 Pro. 

 

Do you think it could be driver related?

[gary.hall82]

1 minute ago, victor de souza said:

Corrupted bios surely.

How would I fix this, if thats the case?

[raphidy]

5 minutes ago, gary.hall82 said:

How would I fix this, if thats the case?

BIOS update. Even if it`s the same version.

[victor de souza]

1 minute ago, gary.hall82 said:

How would I fix this, if thats the case?

I have a gigabyte motherboard and they have 2 bios chips and it boots from the other when something wrong.Check out asus https://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Z97P/HelpDesk_Download/

[gary.hall82]

Think I'll reflash my bios now and update all of my drivers to rule them out. But sounds like I may have an answer to this weird issue. 

[gary.hall82]

Updated my BIOS to the latest version, now updating any drivers that are out of date. I'll leave the power on overnight and try in the morning, and see how it goes. 

 

Thanks for the quick responses and all your help!

 

 

[gary.hall82]

So, I woke up this morning, after leaving the power on at the wall all night. PC was shutdown around 10pm last night. 

 

Turned on the PC to the same issue. This time I noticed that all the fans were spinning, including the CPU fan. A strange noise can be heard, almost like clicking but not (I dont have a mechanical HDD, only SSD). 

 

The power light isn't lit up on the case but the HDD LED is and flashing as if loading into Windows. 

 

Any ideas guys?

 

Thanks

[gary.hall82]

Note: I'm now running on the latest BIOS from the ASUS site for my board dated March 2016. 

 

As soon as I switched it off at the back of the case and back on, it powered on straight away without any issues.

[LabRat]

what happens if you install a different ps?

[gary.hall82]

Unfortunately, I haven't got a spare one to try

 

 

[LabRat]

cpu's click when they're going bad.

[gary.hall82]

I've done a clean power cycle. Shut down PC, turned off at wall, back on at wall, then turned on PC, everything absolutely perfect. 

 

Booted within seconds to the desktop, as is the case 99% of the time.

 

This now only seems to happen if I leave the power on at the wall for a long period without the PC being used. 

 

I have to get sorted for work, but anything I can try when I get home tonight?

 

Bare in mind that I dont have access to any spare parts (PSU etc).

 

Thanks

[LabRat]

unplug the thing when you're not using it.

[gary.hall82]

Could it be more a power issue and not my PC after all?

 

Its just very strange as to how this presents itself. Only occurring in this way

 

@LabRat Yeah, I normally do, its only if I forget that this has happened (Only over a long period). If left a hour or so, no issues.

[LabRat]

power saving settings/performance/sleep/hibernate ........

[gary.hall82]

Thanks!

 

The only other thing I could think of thats changed apart from the addition of the GTX 970 since I built the PC is the upgrade/install of Windows 10 Pro 64-bit from Windows 7 Professional 64-biit that I had installed from day 1.

 

 

 

 

[DanWilkes92]

Reading this, it sounds like a PSU issue. Firstly look on your PSU does it have a small red voltage switch on it saying 240V or 120V, try switching that first, you may be on the wrong voltage. 

Second, try to source another PSU from someone just to test and rule that out as the issue, but i suspect if you change the PSU that will resolve the problem.

[gary.hall82]

The only switch it has on it, as far as I'm aware is a eco mode switch, which is currently turned on. This means the fans dont spin unless the PSU is under a certain load.

 

May be hard for me to source a PSU, how easy is it to get my PSU replaced from EVGA if it is that?

 

Would I go straight to them or through where I bought it from (eBuyer)

[DanWilkes92]

30 minutes ago, gary.hall82 said:

The only switch it has on it, as far as I'm aware is a eco mode switch, which is currently turned on. This means the fans dont spin unless the PSU is under a certain load.

 

May be hard for me to source a PSU, how easy is it to get my PSU replaced from EVGA if it is that?

 

Would I go straight to them or through where I bought it from (eBuyer)

I would call e-buyer first, see if it is still under warranty, if it is then just RMA it, if not then call EVGA directly and see what they can do for you.

 

failing that you can pick up a cheap second have PSU, it doesnt need the full wattage of your current one (you can always take out the graphics card or RAM), its just to check if it is a PSU issue

[gary.hall82]

Thanks for all the help!

 

I'll do some testing, and diagnostics over the next few days... Should still be in warranty as PC was only built in September 2015.

 

Other than this strange occurrance, the PC can be on for hours, gaming, and doing heavy tasks such as encoding without any crashes, freezes, or sudden power offs. Which lead me away from a PSU problem.

 

Think I'll test without the GPU, as this has been the most recent addition, and with there being no display on the monitor, could possibly be the culprit.

[gary.hall82]

Has anyone had any issues returning products/getting new replacements from eBuyer?

 

I forgot to register my PSU so not sure if EVGA will exchange it, although I'm going to register it later once I get  in from work.

 

My PSU is no longer lised for sale on eBuyer  so wondering what they'll do if I RMA my PSU to get it replaced