Question Desktop PC requiring heat to boot up ?

[nikhilsaxena835]

Specs :
Motherboard : Asus Ex A320M Gaming
CPU : Ryzen 5 3500
PSU : Circle CG Raw Power 550W 80Plus White
GPU : Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti
RAM : Corsair Vengence 2*8GB

Previous thread : https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/three-year-old-system-acting-weird.3812286/
If a mod sees this post kindly remove that thread as all the speculations there have been invalidated and this new thread might give us a solution.

For those, who don't want to read that thread here's a tldr. So, I was use my computer daily but I left it shut down for a week. After when I pressed the power button, it didn't boot up. The first suspicion falls on PSU. So, I tested it with the paperclip trick and it was working fine. I took it to a shop and it booted just fine there (the shop is some 200km away from my home). I thought maybe it was a one time thing. After two-three days, the problem reappeared. Again I went to the shop and it booted just fine. Something common was that when I was taking it to the shop, the PC was fairly exposed to the sun. I finally decided that it must be the motherboard until I stumbled across this thread https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...faulty-motherboard-or-it-is-my-fault.3753239/. Everything, the overnight rain, the exposure to sun, the motherboard, the system time lag, the boot time lag and the problem were exact same as mine.

One of the concern in that thread was that it could still be the PSU acting strange. I went to my friend's. Removed his PSU and inserted it into mine and nothing boots. I installed my PSU into his computer and his computer booted with my PSU. Conclusion: It is not the PSU.

Today, I used a convection heater to heat my case. And after ten minutes it booted with my PSU and with same motherboard. If you say that the PSU needs heating then why did it worked in my friend's computer last night when it was raining and I didn't applied any heat then. The relative humidity was 92%. Now, I don't think this solution is feasible. I need to get to the bottom of this. What component on the motherboard is causing this and is this a model problem? If it is, then I am better off with a B450 available for cheap here.

Answers here https://www.reddit.com/r/computers/comments/qxlf2i/pc_wont_turn_on_unless_warmed_up_with_a_hair/ suggest that this is not something which can be repaired.

 

[Colif]

As one answer on the Reddit thread says, it could be a capacitor on the motherboard to blame.

You have a dead capacitor somewhere in the motherboard. Re-heating the capacitor or capacitors will temporarily bring it back to life, but it isn't a permanent solution. You need to find the bulged capacitor and replace it.

same motherboard

I took the PC cabinet(with just GPU, motherboard, RAM, CPU ) and kept it in the sunshine for an hour after an hour brought it back into the home and connected the new PSU to the motherboard, pressed the power button it TURNED ON.

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could be a known rare problem that happens on board. A B450 board would be a better idea.

As for other thread, I will just close it.

Not a well known PSU maker but as it works in other PC, might not be to blame here.

 

[Misgar]

The trick I learned when fault finding components on a printed circuit board involves a can of freezer spray and a hairdryer (less fierce than a hot air gun used for paint stripping).

You aim the tube attached to the freezer spray nozzle at a suspect component and give it a quick squirt. A couple of seconds is usually enough for "passive" components such as capacitors, resistors and chokes/transformers.

Active heat emitting components such as transistors, integrated circuits and diodes may require a five second burst from the freezer can. When white frost appears on the component, it's time to stop spraying.

If the components you have just cooled down cause the computer to act in a strange manner, you may have found the culprit. To confirm, heat up the affected components with the hairdryer until the ice crystals melt. If the system recovers, the culprit is probably confirmed. Try another cool/heat cycle just to make sure.

Don't overdo the hairdyer cycle like a friend of mine did. He heated a capacitor too long and it started to bubble and boil. The result was a dead capacitor.

See this guide for more info:
https://www.techspray.com/using-freeze-spray-to-diagnose-faulty-electronics

I'm not sure how easy it is to find freezer spray where you live, but you might be able buy it mail order. It's not exactly cheap, especially for a large can (which you won't need) but it should cost less than a new motherboard.

Here are some examples:
https://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/faci...-cleaners-protective-coatings/freezer-sprays/