I could use some help troubleshooting my PC boot issue. When I press the power button, the lights come on, all the fans spin up, the hard drive spins up. Nothing on the monitors, and after 20 seconds it shuts off, then restarts. It continues to do this, and currently every other cycle, one monitor comes on with the usual BIOS screen, then goes to black with a cursor in the top left corner, then to a screen I've never seen before just saying "GIGABYTE - UEFI DualBIOS" at the top. Then it shuts off and starts the cycle again.
HISTORY:
I built the computer (specs below) just over 5 years ago now and have never had a problem with it. It is my first build. About a week ago, I shut the computer off while getting ready to head out on vacation. I had two USB devices plugged in and tried to eject and safely remove them, but the first one hung up and didn't seem to be working. I then just shut the computer off, and realized I forgot to get some files off it. I tried turning it on and it started the cycling mentioned above except that the screen only came on every 3rd cycle. I don;t understand what would cause the very consistent cycling with the monitor coming on every 3rd cycle or every 2nd cycle. Maybe that is a clue to the issue.
SPECS:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H
CPU: Core i7-3770K
RAM: G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
Video Card: VGA 02G-P4-2643-RX GeForce GT 640 2GB 128-Bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP
PSU: PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III 500W Modular 80PLUS Bronze
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO - 250GB
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
OS: Windows 10
Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
After returning from vacation, the computer did the same thing. I read the computer won't start troubleshooting thread on this forum and have done just about all the steps. At one point, it was cycling on/off about every 1 second. Here is what I've tried.
1. Removed main SSD drive, put into an enclosure and plugged into a laptop to verify it wasn't dead. No problem there.
2. Reinstalled the SSD and tried starting again. At this point the computer would only power on for about 1 second before turning off and repeating.
3. Manually tested the PSU with a multimeter with no load on the PSU. Everything was very close to nominal voltage. I expected to find something off here, but no luck.
4. Hooked up the power plugs again, but left non-essential items unplugged (DVD, Memory card reader, HDD dock). Tried testing PSU and testing again, but it was difficult with it only staying powered for 1 second at a time, and I was having a hard time fitting my multimeter leads into the back of the 24 pin connector. I did manage to take a few readings which were normal, but gave up after a while.
5. Reseated all connectors. No change.
6. Tried turning on again and got the same on/off cycle every 1 second or so.
7. Tried reseating the memory, single stick, swapping single stick, both sticks again. Tried starting with each combination and got the same results.
8. Reset the BIOS (screwdriver on jumper pins method). Pushed the power button and the lights and fans came on and stayed on. I didn't have monitors plugged in. I was pleasantly surprised that it stayed on. I plugged in the monitors, but had no video.
9. Turned off. This time to turn it off, instead of needing to hold the power button in for a few seconds, it shut off immediately when I pushed the button.
10. Turned on again, and it went back to the 20 second on, then off cycle with the monitor coming on every 2nd cycle. The keyboard doesn't appear to be recognized yet as the lights on it are not on, and pressing F12 to go to BIOS setup doesn't do anything. But after that screen switches to the black screen with cursor, the keyboard lights come on.
11. Tried removing the CMOS battery. Had it out for an hour or two, put it back in and got the same cycling.
12. Tried multiple additional CMOS resets and nothing changes.
13. removed video card and plugged monitor into onboard video. No change.
14. Checked power switch by doing continuity check. Checked out fine. Also disconnected teh reset button and still get same results.
What should I do next? I have no speaker, so I don't hear beeps. Should I buy a speaker and a POST test card? Does this cycling with the monitor coming on every 2nd or 3rd cycle mean anything?
Chris
HISTORY:
I built the computer (specs below) just over 5 years ago now and have never had a problem with it. It is my first build. About a week ago, I shut the computer off while getting ready to head out on vacation. I had two USB devices plugged in and tried to eject and safely remove them, but the first one hung up and didn't seem to be working. I then just shut the computer off, and realized I forgot to get some files off it. I tried turning it on and it started the cycling mentioned above except that the screen only came on every 3rd cycle. I don;t understand what would cause the very consistent cycling with the monitor coming on every 3rd cycle or every 2nd cycle. Maybe that is a clue to the issue.
SPECS:
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H
CPU: Core i7-3770K
RAM: G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
CPU Cooler: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus
Video Card: VGA 02G-P4-2643-RX GeForce GT 640 2GB 128-Bit DDR3 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP
PSU: PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III 500W Modular 80PLUS Bronze
SSD: Samsung 850 EVO - 250GB
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s
OS: Windows 10
Case: Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
After returning from vacation, the computer did the same thing. I read the computer won't start troubleshooting thread on this forum and have done just about all the steps. At one point, it was cycling on/off about every 1 second. Here is what I've tried.
1. Removed main SSD drive, put into an enclosure and plugged into a laptop to verify it wasn't dead. No problem there.
2. Reinstalled the SSD and tried starting again. At this point the computer would only power on for about 1 second before turning off and repeating.
3. Manually tested the PSU with a multimeter with no load on the PSU. Everything was very close to nominal voltage. I expected to find something off here, but no luck.
4. Hooked up the power plugs again, but left non-essential items unplugged (DVD, Memory card reader, HDD dock). Tried testing PSU and testing again, but it was difficult with it only staying powered for 1 second at a time, and I was having a hard time fitting my multimeter leads into the back of the 24 pin connector. I did manage to take a few readings which were normal, but gave up after a while.
5. Reseated all connectors. No change.
6. Tried turning on again and got the same on/off cycle every 1 second or so.
7. Tried reseating the memory, single stick, swapping single stick, both sticks again. Tried starting with each combination and got the same results.
8. Reset the BIOS (screwdriver on jumper pins method). Pushed the power button and the lights and fans came on and stayed on. I didn't have monitors plugged in. I was pleasantly surprised that it stayed on. I plugged in the monitors, but had no video.
9. Turned off. This time to turn it off, instead of needing to hold the power button in for a few seconds, it shut off immediately when I pushed the button.
10. Turned on again, and it went back to the 20 second on, then off cycle with the monitor coming on every 2nd cycle. The keyboard doesn't appear to be recognized yet as the lights on it are not on, and pressing F12 to go to BIOS setup doesn't do anything. But after that screen switches to the black screen with cursor, the keyboard lights come on.
11. Tried removing the CMOS battery. Had it out for an hour or two, put it back in and got the same cycling.
12. Tried multiple additional CMOS resets and nothing changes.
13. removed video card and plugged monitor into onboard video. No change.
14. Checked power switch by doing continuity check. Checked out fine. Also disconnected teh reset button and still get same results.
What should I do next? I have no speaker, so I don't hear beeps. Should I buy a speaker and a POST test card? Does this cycling with the monitor coming on every 2nd or 3rd cycle mean anything?
Chris