Question Computer not posting after cleaning

Apr 20, 2019
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Right so I cleaned my pc this morning, did everything as I always have done used compressed air and tissues. After the clean the pc powers on but it doesn't post. One time it posted in safe mode and it detected all my components so I assume mboard and cpu, ram, gpu and drives are all fine. So could the PSU be dead? If so, I just replace it and its fine?
 

clutchc

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Likely your compressed air blew something loose. Hopefully it was a cable or wire and not something soldered to the board. Might try unseating and reseating all the cables. Same with the gfx card. Or remove the gfx card and run off the iGPU for testing. Post your system specs.
 
Apr 20, 2019
13
0
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Likely your compressed air blew something loose. Hopefully it was a cable or wire and not something soldered to the board. Might try unseating and reseating all the cables. Same with the gfx card. Or remove the gfx card and run off the iGPU for testing. Post your system specs.
Specs:
Cpu: Intel Pentium g4560
Ram: corsair ddr4 2400Mhz 8gb stick
Gpu: Geforce GTX 1050ti
Drives: Kingston ssd 240gb
WD hdd 1tb
PSU: Corsair VS450 80 plus white
Mobo: Asus prime b250m-k

Unfortunately I already tried reconnecting all of the wires and cables, also tried running off of the igpu with no results. Thanks for the reply, any other troubleshooting tips?
 
Last edited:
Apr 20, 2019
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stick with 1 thread
So I cleaned my pc using compressed air and some tissues as I do regularly. After the clean though, pc didn't want to post it just turns on and runs, fans spin everything seems good except it doesnt post at all the monitor is just black. One time it posted in some sort of safe mode and it recognised the cpu, ram, drives correctly. I tried reconnecting all the cables, tried booting without gpu only with igpu, sill nothing. My main guess is that the PSU has decided to quit on me? Any suggestions? And am I right in assuming the death of the PSU?
 

clutchc

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Might try un-building the system, and breadboard it outside the case. Connect to the motherboard ONLY the CPU/cooler, one stick RAM, monitor (to iGPU), PSU, Keyboard. Start the system by momentarily shorting the two pins that the power button would connect to. See if the same thing happens.

If so, I'd suspect the board or the PSU. If you have access to another (good) PSU, that would be the first thing I'd try.
 
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Apr 20, 2019
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Might try un-building the system, and breadboard it outside the case. Connect to the motherboard ONLY the CPU/cooler, one stick RAM, monitor (to iGPU), PSU, Keyboard. Start the system by momentarily shorting the two pins that the power button would connect to. See if the same thing happens.

If so, I'd suspect the board or the PSU. If you have access to another (good) PSU, that would be the first thing I'd try.
Thanks for the tip, i'll try it later today and get back to you. And when I try this with a different psu and the issue still persists it's the board then right?
Also would it help if I told you that while cleaning the PSU with compressed air I saw some like water particles emmit from the can? Could that have killed it?
 

clutchc

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Thanks for the tip, i'll try it later today and get back to you. And when I try this with a different psu and the issue still persists it's the board then right?
Also would it help if I told you that while cleaning the PSU with compressed air I saw some like water particles emit from the can? Could that have killed it?
Owww... yeah, that spray of mist happens with poor quality compressed air, and if you tip the can down too far. The compressed air in the can is actually a liquid when under high pressure. It becomes a gas when released back to normal atmospheric pressure. Hard to say that mist was the cause, but it definitely is a possibility. Especially if the can contains chemicals.

I would try the breadboard technique with your existing components, including the PSU before buying anything new. Might find it works outside the case.
 
Apr 20, 2019
13
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Owww... yeah, that spray of mist happens with poor quality compressed air, and if you tip the can down too far. The compressed air in the can is actually a liquid when under high pressure. It becomes a gas when released back to normal atmospheric pressure. Hard to say that mist was the cause, but it definitely is a possibility. Especially if the can contains chemicals.

I would try the breadboard technique with your existing components, including the PSU before buying anything new. Might find it works outside the case.
Good news! I stripped down the pc and tried booting with a different PSU, it booted just fine. Then i switched back to the original PSU and magically it decided to boot aswell. I added back the components one by one and it all somehow works now! Thanks for all of the help! Also, do you have any idea on why it just decided to work again?
 

clutchc

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Did you happen to look under the motherboard when you removed it? There might have been something dislodged from the air blast that grounded out or shorted out the exposed solder traces and points under the board. If there was, hopefully you cleaned anything out that was there before you replaced the board.

Another possibility is that removing the components and replacing them outside the case allowed any foreign matter that may have been forced into some electrically-sensitive location to finally fall lose. (My favorite guess ;-)

Finally, the issue could have been as simple as drying out whatever got wet from the mist that the compressed air can produced.

At any rate, all's well that ends well. Back to gaming again, huh? And w/o having to buy anything new. In the furure if you use compressed air to clean the motherboard, do it from a distance, and hold the can so it never points down.