Computer won't boot unless I flip the power supply off and on

[darius_6]

So, for about a 2 weeks now, the only way I can turn on my PC is by flipping my power supply off, wait about 5 seconds, and then turn it back on. I've looked on the forums here before and other people said that the way to fix it was to replace the the power supply because this is a sign of it failing. Well I replaced my power supply and its doing the exact same thing as before. But now this is becoming more of a burden because a few days ago, a windows update came up and wanted me to update, but the update keeps failing because my PC refuses to get off of the bios page after a restart so I have to turn my PC on and off again multiple times before the update just gives up. Is there any possible way to fix this?

 

[M3Stang]

Maybe the case power switch has a problem? Maybe the wire got disconnected from the mobo?

 

[darius_6]

Nope, I've checked power switch connector and my reset switch, I had recently gotten a new case as well so I thought that might of been the problem, but it wasnt. I also switch around my ram as well and still I still get the same effect.

 

[C12Friedman]

Two things to try...
First try cleaning the contacts of your memory modules (a pencil eraser works well) although I doubt it's the issue
Second would be to look over the motherboard for any swollen or leaky capacitors but I suspect an IC chip is "locking" and by turning off the PSU, it allows the circuit's resistor the opportunity to discharge and reset the offending IC. If that is what is going on, component level repair would be in order to correct it.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Specs?

 

[darius_6]

my specs are:
4 GHz FX-Series Eight-Core FX-8350
ASUS M5A78L-M/USB3 AM3+ mATX AMD Motherboard
Corsair 8GB 2 x 4GB DDR3-2133 PC3-170000 CL11 Desktop Memory
WD Blue 1TB 7,200 RPM SATA III 6.0Gb/s 3.5
ASUS Radeon RX 480 Overclocked 4GB GDDR5 Video Card
EVGA 650BQ 650W 80+ Bronze Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

The BQ is a poor power supply made by HEC , I would replace it with a GS or G2, might solve your issue.

 

[pkim1230]

i think it's either the psu or the motherboard.

do you have another computer to try the PSU on?
Just take the 4 pin and 24 pin out and plug it in to see if it turns on without any problems.
if it turns on just fine, then the psu is ok and I'd be suspicious of the motherboard.
alternatively if you have another motherboard that fits your cpu and ram, then i'd test if that works.

 

[darius_6]

I can tell you for a fact that the problem is not within the psu, because i had already switched it out and am getting the same effect with the new one, and all of my capacitors are fine and not leaking. I tried my old Anthlon and am1 board and it did properly turn on and off though.

 

[pkim1230]

I can tell you for a fact that the problem is not within the psu, because i had already switched it out and am getting the same effect with the new one, and all of my capacitors are fine and not leaking. I tried my old Anthlon and am1 board and it did properly turn on and off though.

Ok so your PSU is fine.
Can you test the motherboard somehow? Visual test isn't going to cut it.
If you can get another AM3+ motherboard to test it out, this would help a lot.
It's never really the CPU, it can be the RAM but the symptoms don't match. Make sure the RAM is seated tight with the clips holding it firmly. Does the POST screen show the correct amount of RAM?
Another minor check, is the motherboard placed on top of spacers? Sometimes people install the motherboard directly onto the case and it shorts sometimes that causes the symptoms you describe.

 

[darius_6]

So, after hours of fiddling with it, I finally gave up, but I decided to give it one more test so i turned my pc off and turned it back on, and for some unknown reason, it worked! I tested it a few more times to make sure that it wasnt just a fluke and its still working great. I believe it was as pkim1230 said, my motherboard wasn't on all of its brass stand offs, so some of the pins were probably touching the metal inside my case, but thank you to everyone who tried to help anyways.

 

[pkim1230]

So, after hours of fiddling with it, I finally gave up, but I decided to give it one more test so i turned my pc off and turned it back on, and for some unknown reason, it worked! I tested it a few more times to make sure that it wasnt just a fluke and its still working great. I believe it was as pkim1230 said, my motherboard wasn't on all of its brass stand offs, so some of the pins were probably touching the metal inside my case, but thank you to everyone who tried to help anyways.

Thats awesome. I hope that was the problem and that you've solved it for good.