[SOLVED] Faulty capacitor in the PSU - or on the motherboard?

[The Electro Machine]

Symptoms:

A] I am unable to finish making an image of my operating system with True Image. After doing from as little as 20 to as much as 75% of it my hardware just completely turns itself off or the software spits a generic error [of being unable to finish]. Mind you that this is my ~30th version of this very system that I am attempting to secure- I had no prior problems doing so, I did run chkdsk c: /f, the system is stable even for a dozen of hours and I have no new / untested hardware connected. I also changed cable and slots for connecting of my Blu-ray disc which holds this software being run as a bootable one

B] Today for few repeated times I could not turn the whole system on. All I was getting was a slight push of power [with some lights and fans turning on for something like a second or half]. This reminds me of my past problems with damaged capacitors, both [on separate occasions] in a power supply and on a previous motherboard

C] For around a month one of my wireless keyboards [long story short] have been having issues with charging a removable battery inside it. Normally the power for that goes through USB-C cable from motherboard to my monitor- and then through USB-mini to the keyboard. But also taking the monitor out of the equation and plugging the charging cable directly to motherboard. [This symptom however could be just a coincidence and it is just the keyboard that is malfunctioning]


What do you think? Is there something I can test with very electronic knowledge and without tools? Could it be as well a fault of a damaged capacitor in the PSU as well as on the motherboard?

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

Include PSU: make, model, wattage, age, condition (original to build, new, refurbished, used)? History of heavy use for gaming, video editing or even bit mining?

Disk drive(s): make, model, capacity, how full?

After the next successful boot, immediately open Reliability History. Look for any error codes, warnings, or even informational events that were captured just before or at the time the True Image failures occurred.

What is the target device for the image?

If possible, expand the Reliability History window so all can be seen. Take two screenshots (first Weeks, then Days) and post the screenshots here via imgur (www.imgur.com).

Do you have another known working keyboard that can be tested on the computer?

Or you able to test the keyboard on another known working computer?

Determine if the problem follows the keyboard or stays with the computer.

Also try using the keyboard without any charging connections being used. Independently charge the keyboard when the host computer is not in use.

 

[The Electro Machine]

Thanks for the various suggestions. I will address some of them

[...]
After the next successful boot, immediately open Reliability History

I would not know what to look for specifically - plus I do not think it is a right use case scenario for that tool. Because I use True Image from a bootable disc, without ever going to the system. While in the system the whole hardware oes not suddenly cuts its power off

What is the target device for the image?

I have already tried different ones, as I have many. No prior problems with any of them

[...]
Do you have another known working keyboard that can be tested on the computer?

Now that I have not think of at all. It might be that my main keyboard is doing the cancelling and the power offs. But it would not explain why there is an issue with powering up the while machine



I am already on some path to resolve this issue. If I do, I will report the culprit - and if not I will go through your suggestions one by one. But for now:

● Once again after a few hours of cool down the whole system had a problem with utilizing received "push of power". Thus this looks exactly like my past problems with capacitors

● It is not the fault of external GPU- disconnecting its cable from my modular PSU and even also the riser leading to it from motherboard] did not immediately fix the above issue

● Turning the PSU upside down and then back also did not help- only repeated pushing of POWER ON. And no, I am not using a button on the case, as I have no case at all

● I finally managed to make an image of system - in attempt performed just right after almost an immediate fail [by receiving an error after less than 5%]

● If after a night cooldown there again will be problems of turning the system up, I will try to shortcut the POWER with paper clip, thus bypassing the front case wire. If despite this the problem will persists then this will more clearly point out to the motherboard as culprit

● I t struck me only now, that this USB-C cable only communicates monitor with motherboard, as the screen has its own brick. So that initial "C" issue must be a coincidance

 

[The Electro Machine]

[...]
● Turning the PSU upside down and then back also did not help- only repeated pushing of POWER ON. And no, I am not using a button on the case, as I have no case at all

● I finally managed to make an image of system - in attempt performed just right after almost an immediate fail [by receiving an error after less than 5%]

● If after a night cooldown there again will be problems of turning the system up
[...]

Well, there was no problems; for the last 5 days

So could it be that some capacitor in the PSU got [with some delay] fixed with this upside-down maneuver? But nevertheless the PSU is running on a borrowed time and it will eventually fail entirely to power the system?

 

[Ralston18]

Failed capacitors do not fix themselves. With or without delay. If anything something was shaken back into place, maybe some short was undone.

No way to know. And not something to consider as fixed.

= = = =

System specs?

Who knows what the "manuver, etc." might have done.

And without knowing anything at all about the system and the PSU itself making predictions would be mostly futile.

Remember that PSU's provide three different voltages (3.3, 5, and 12) to various system components. So a problem with any given voltage may cause a boot failure while speakers beep, LED's light up, and fans spin. Sometimes the entire PSU will be completely dead.

With any luck there may be some warnings such as what has occurred.

However, something, sometime, still will fail. Not if - when.....

All important data backed up? At least 2 x copies away from problem system and verified as recoverable and readable.

 

[The Electro Machine]

It has been over a month now and the problem seems to be entirely gone

Maybe what has happened was that a thorough cleanup of dust stopped hypothetical short circuit from occurring in whatever component?

 

[DSzymborski]

It has been over a month now and the problem seems to be entirely gone

Maybe what has happened was that a thorough cleanup of dust stopped hypothetical short circuit from occurring in whatever component?

There is zero way to know.