Problems during Power Up

This is the place to discuss the latest computer hardware issues and technology. Please keep the discussion ON TOPIC!
Post Reply
KPRROK
Legit Enthusiast
Legit Enthusiast
Posts: 42
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:26 am

Problems during Power Up

Post by KPRROK »

Hello all,

I've run into a bit of a problem and it's beyond my current abilities so I'm hoping someone here can chip in some advice to help me out.

I got my current PC about 6 months ago...

Gigabyte EP-45 DS3R, C2D E8400 with Zalman 9500AT cooler, ST PC2-6400 2x2GB, MSI HD4850, 7200.11 500GB, Zalman 600PSU

About 2 months ago, it would have problems when I hit the power button. The fans and everything would come on really loud, but it would not go any further. If I just quickly toggled the power switch on the back of the PSU, it would come on fine. Imagine that "whoosh" you hear when you first power up, well, mine would "whoosh" non-stop until I flipped the switch on the back.

Yesterday, it just turned itself off in the middle of the boot, but instantly reboot. I figured it was a fluke and didn't worry. After a couple hours of lite use, it just died. I was annoyed, but since it was after midnight, I didn't do anything.

Today, same problems. It'll "whoosh" and "whoosh" and nothing else. I eventually got it to power up once, only to have it shut down after about an hour. While it was running, I checked the core temps and they were at 40 at 20% load (about as high as it gets).

Looking at the machine, my guess is the CPU cooler isn't sitting right or perhaps the PSU is messed up. When I received the computer, the CPU cooler had shifted a bit in shipping and the shop told me to just manually adjust it, which I did.

Any thoughts? It's a long holiday weekend here, so no shops are open to take it to and my old PC is slow as crap and annoying me!

Cheers

Kevin
KPRROK
Legit Enthusiast
Legit Enthusiast
Posts: 42
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:26 am

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by KPRROK »

A little update, it won't power up at all anymore. Just the fans running when I hit the power button. They don't stop, so I have to toggle the switch. Then the power button won't work at all for several minutes.
User avatar
smack323
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1275
Joined: Fri Dec 30, 2005 4:28 pm
Location: Waukesha, WI

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by smack323 »

knowing nothing else it sounds to me like your PSU is bad. Do you have another one you could swap to test that? maybe from your old system?
Core i5-6500 - Corsair Vengence 16GB DDR4 2133 - MSI 2080Ti - Antec 750W - Crucial 525GB SSD - Windows 10 64bit - ASUS 32" LED
User avatar
DMB2000uk
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 7095
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:36 pm
Location: UK

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by DMB2000uk »

I just had my work computer die in a similar fashion. When you pressed the power button the fans would spin, but nothing would load (or display on the screen).

That was a bad motherboard.

Dan
Image (<- Clickable)
KPRROK
Legit Enthusiast
Legit Enthusiast
Posts: 42
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:26 am

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by KPRROK »

DMB2000uk wrote:I just had my work computer die in a similar fashion. When you pressed the power button the fans would spin, but nothing would load (or display on the screen).

That was a bad motherboard.

Dan
Any way to diagnose this without getting a new motherboard?
User avatar
DMB2000uk
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 7095
Joined: Mon Jul 18, 2005 5:36 pm
Location: UK

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by DMB2000uk »

Does your board have a speaker for POST Code error beeps? If not, does it have a connection for a speaker for POST Code error beeps?

Have you tried running the board with just one stick of RAM in different RAM slots, then trying the same again with the other stick?

As your board is only 6months old, it will be still under warranty, so you can take it back to the place you bought it for (look for an RMA if you bought it online), and they will repair/replace it for you.

Dan
Image (<- Clickable)
KPRROK
Legit Enthusiast
Legit Enthusiast
Posts: 42
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:26 am

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by KPRROK »

I actually took it to a shop today to see if they had a PSU they could throw in. They asked what the problem was and when I explained, they wanted to see it themselves...and it powered up just fine. Multiple power ups and it never faulted there. I brought it home and no problems here either. Oh well, I guess we'll see. I did change the power cable from the wall to the PSU, so maybe that was it.
barone
Legit User
Legit User
Posts: 8
Joined: Thu Jul 26, 2007 3:10 am

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by barone »

Hmm this seems very peculiar especially after doing all the things you've tried
have you tried a BIOS reset?
User avatar
ibleet
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1529
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2007 5:40 pm

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by ibleet »

Sounds to me like your problem had something to do with moving it, like a loose cable or wire. The first thing I try when I face a problem is removing, cleaning and plugging back in all my connections. I'm glad you got it working.
User avatar
mr_noname111
Legit Aficionado
Legit Aficionado
Posts: 96
Joined: Mon Dec 26, 2005 9:09 pm

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by mr_noname111 »

I had the exact same problem once. It turned out taht the RAM was incompatible with the mobo and it was causing issues.

But as aforementioned, definately try to clear the CMOS and see if it helps.
Main Rig: E8400@3600mhz, Asus P5Q, OCZ 4GB, EVGA GTX260 216, Corsair HX520, Antec 300, Samsung 2443BW
HTPC1: E5200@2500mhz, EVGA 780i SLI, OCZ 2GB, Asus 9600GSO, OCZ GameXStream 600W, LG 47LG70 LCD TV
HTPC2: E6500@3300mhz, DFI DK X48 T2RS, Kingston 2GB, Palit 9800GT Green, BFG 550W, Acer H5360 720p 120hz Projector
User avatar
ikjadoon
Legit Aficionado
Legit Aficionado
Posts: 72
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 11:17 am

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by ikjadoon »

Definitely check the connectors. Try reseating the graphic card, too. That has been the case plenty of times for my friends and me.

~Ibrahim~
Overdrive PC Core2.SLI:

Core 2 Duo E6600 @ ~3.5GHz, ASUS P5N-E SLI, 4GB of DDR2-770, 8800GTS 640MB @ 621/1836, Western Digital 640GB, LITE-ON 20X, CM Stacker 830, Enermax 620W, Vista Ultimate 64-bit SP1

3DMark '06: 10,302
SuperPI 1M: 15.194s
WEI: 5.7
KPRROK
Legit Enthusiast
Legit Enthusiast
Posts: 42
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:26 am

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by KPRROK »

The problem is back...it was fine for several months, but has started up again. I took everything out of the system except the CPU and cooler, unplugged it all and then re-installed it all. I even swapped out a couple of the modular power cables. It worked fine for 2 days, but started up again. I took it to a different shop and they diagnosed it as a bad MSI 4850. I sent the card in for service and they sent a new one. No problems for 2 days. Tonight, it's back.

I don't have any time to take it to the shop for a couple of days b/c of my work schedule, but I can fiddle around at night. Any advice on where to start this time? Resetting the CPU would be easiest, but I've never done that before.
User avatar
Darkstar
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1910
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2007 12:24 pm
Location: San Diego
Contact:

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by Darkstar »

i have had several systems do this before, both turned out to be a bad PSU (Antec)

:drinkers:
Phenom II 1075T,Phenom II 1090T,Intel i7 870
Gigabyte 890XA-UD3
Evga GTX460
8 GB Corsair
Agility2 120GB SSD
Dual 24" Samsungs LCD's
User avatar
DJ Tucker
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1502
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2008 11:52 am
Location: Hardbase Headquaters
Contact:

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by DJ Tucker »

you really have not had it easy kprrok and i seriously think that you have a bad motherboard. this happened to my mates pc that is the same as mine but not overclocked and his made the whoosh at power up but thats it nothing else. after changing the motherboard well replacing it with new one his now works fine so try at some point to get a replacment motherboard on your warrenty and see how that goes!
MSI Z590 Gaming Edge Wifi
Core i7 10700KF 5Ghz @ 1.25v With Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora Edge
Gigabyte RTX 2080 Super 1980Mhz @ 0.925v With TechN GPU Block
32Gb Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3600Mhz 16-18-18-38
Aqua Computer Ultitube 200 Pro D5 Next
Corsair XR5 240mm x2 & 360mm
Intel 670p 2Tb & WD Blue M.2 2Tb
Corsair HX1000i
Philips Momentum 3000 24" (Main) & MSI Optix G241V E2 (Second)
Lian Li O11D
Roccat Vulcan 120 Aimo, Roccat Kone Aimo Remastered and Roccat Sym Pro Air
User avatar
Darkstar
Legit Extremist
Legit Extremist
Posts: 1910
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2007 12:24 pm
Location: San Diego
Contact:

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by Darkstar »

be alot easier to swap out the PS.....

:drinkers:
Phenom II 1075T,Phenom II 1090T,Intel i7 870
Gigabyte 890XA-UD3
Evga GTX460
8 GB Corsair
Agility2 120GB SSD
Dual 24" Samsungs LCD's
KPRROK
Legit Enthusiast
Legit Enthusiast
Posts: 42
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:26 am

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by KPRROK »

So I tried to fix stuff last night. I tried changing RAM slots, swapping HDD connectors, etc. Still had the same problem this morning. I then had to try to find a PSU with an 8-pin ATX 12v connector, my old one was a 4-pin. Went to the shop and the only one they had was $75. I didn't want to spend that much just to test it, so I decided I'm just going to return it to Zalman for service. It's still under warranty so it's free. I'll just be out of a gaming computer for a week or so. Oh well, I guess my netbook will now be my primary.

thanks for the advice. I'll let you know how this goes. on the plus side, I'm learning a lot more about building a full system by swapping out cables, and just about every part now.
User avatar
ikjadoon
Legit Aficionado
Legit Aficionado
Posts: 72
Joined: Mon Mar 13, 2006 11:17 am

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by ikjadoon »

KPRROK wrote:So I tried to fix stuff last night. I tried changing RAM slots, swapping HDD connectors, etc. Still had the same problem this morning. I then had to try to find a PSU with an 8-pin ATX 12v connector, my old one was a 4-pin. Went to the shop and the only one they had was $75. I didn't want to spend that much just to test it, so I decided I'm just going to return it to Zalman for service. It's still under warranty so it's free. I'll just be out of a gaming computer for a week or so. Oh well, I guess my netbook will now be my primary.

thanks for the advice. I'll let you know how this goes. on the plus side, I'm learning a lot more about building a full system by swapping out cables, and just about every part now.
I would say 2/3 of the people here know so much about computers because theirs are always broken, LOL.

I remember my first BSOD........

Good luck!

~Ibrahim~
Overdrive PC Core2.SLI:

Core 2 Duo E6600 @ ~3.5GHz, ASUS P5N-E SLI, 4GB of DDR2-770, 8800GTS 640MB @ 621/1836, Western Digital 640GB, LITE-ON 20X, CM Stacker 830, Enermax 620W, Vista Ultimate 64-bit SP1

3DMark '06: 10,302
SuperPI 1M: 15.194s
WEI: 5.7
User avatar
skier
Moderator
Moderator
Posts: 4450
Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2007 3:29 pm
Location: Maine
Contact:

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by skier »

ikjadoon wrote:I would say 2/3 of the people here know so much about computers because theirs are always broken, LOL.

the best way to learn is to have such "experiments" or "problems" or...oh yeah " virus' "

i've had 3 boards die, 4 videocards, 1 CPU, 1 PSU, 1 RAM stick, more fans than i could count, and a few Hard drives as well as optical(2 CD drives, 1 DVD drive) and one floppy(after i *may* have shorted it out with the PSU connector) and maybe my current graphics card(a GSO) not sure if its dead, it has issues

sh!t happens :lol:

make sure they send it back working! 8)
-Austin
Image
Screamin' BCLK: Image
775 System (Overclocking Platform): Q8400/Q8300/E8400/E7400/E7500 - GA-EP45-UD3R v1.1 - 4GB (2x2) OCZ Reaper HPC DDR2 1066 CL5 2.1v Corsair TX-750w
Gamer: Asrock Z77 Extreme4, i7 3770K @4.6GHz, ThermalTake Armor A90 modded, 2x4GB GSKILL RipjawsX DDR3 2133 CL9, Corsair HX-750w, MSI GTX660 Twin Frozr
Server2012: Q9300 - 8GB DDR2 - Asus P5QL Pro - Corsair CX430 - Mirrored 2TB Seagate's with 2TB WD cav for fileshare backups, 1TB WD for OS backups
KPRROK
Legit Enthusiast
Legit Enthusiast
Posts: 42
Joined: Sat Apr 05, 2008 5:26 am

Re: Problems during Power Up

Post by KPRROK »

Got my PSU back from Zalman A/S. Changing out the PSU wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Probably because I only have 2HDDs, 1 ODD, and 1VGA to plug in.

It's powered up OK and rebooted twice with no problems. Hopefully this will solve the problem, but I'm not declaring success until I go a week without any problems.

Thanks again for the advice.

Kevin
Post Reply