Question PC keeps restarting/turning on & off by itself/Boot Loop/Power Cycling ?

[Abdul_Razzaq]

I know this question has been asked one too many times on Different platforms but I’m posting it again here in thoughts that someone might offer a new insight and get me out of my predicament.

I have a PC that I’ve been using for more than 4 years now.

It's an HP Z220 CMT Workstation that came with:
Stock CPU (Xeon E3 1225 v2 3.2 MHz with 4 Physical Cores and 4 Threads),
8GB RAM
Stock fans
Stock PSU (400 watts) and a 500 GB HDD.

Some 12 or 13 months ago, I got an MSI GTX 1660 Super Ventus XS C OC that required Higher power Consumption so I replaced the Stock PSU with Cooler Master (RS-500-PCAR-D3 — 500 watts) and I also upgraded RAM to 16 GB (4*4 at 1333 MHz). I also added an additional 500 GB HDD.

It worked flawlessly for 4 or 5 months and then it started to Power Cycle/Kept Restarting/Kept turning on & off by itself/Boot Looping. I tried simple troubleshooting techniques that are available on the net (like Removing the CMOS Battery, Replacing the CMOS Battery, Removing the RAMs and Cleaning them and re-inserting them, removing the cables and re-plugging etc etc) but to no avail.

Then I took my PC to a Technician and he said that There’s an issue with my motherboard and he’ll solder/repair/replace some chips near the CPU bracket. After a couple of days, he tells me that My PC is working now and I can come and collect it. I noticed that he had literally just dusted the motherboard with some dust blower and cleaned the other parts.

I collected my PC and it worked fine for almost 9 or 10 days but then, the same thing started happening again. I took it again to the same technician and he said that he’ll check it again. Next day, he called and said that there’s no issue with my Motherboard and it is PSU that needs replacing. He also added that He can’t/doesn’t repair PSUs (I guess he couldn’t get it to work after blowing dust from it/cleaning it). I took the PC home and put it in a closet.

Some time after that (a month precisely), I needed some files that were stored on one of my HDDs and I took the PC out of the closet. Before taking out the HDD, I plugged in the power cord, in hopes that it will start working again somehow, and it did. It ran for a whole day. I copied my files to an external drive and did some light gaming.

The next day, same thing was happening again. I took it to another technician and he said that the first technician had just dusted the motherboard and cleaned the parts because it is impossible to Repair the Motherboard and PSU. He also added that I needed a brand new Motherboard or PSU (or an entirely new PC) without thorough inspection and troubleshooting of, where the fault really is?

So my Question is, what do I do from here? I don’t want to go on ordering new parts without the assurance whether it will actually work. Because things are tight money-wise. Do I order new parts or an entirely new PC or just lay it to rest again in the closet for a couple of months, hoping that, by chance, it will start working again?

 

[rgd1101]

test with a better psu?

 

[Abdul_Razzaq]

Thing is, I don't have an extra one lying around. I sold the Stock PSU and invested the amount in new parts at that time.

 

[DSzymborski]

Thing is, I don't have an extra one lying around. I sold the Stock PSU and invested the amount in new parts at that time.

Unfortunately, that's the next step of diagnosis. This PSU is literally old garbage; it's a cheap group-regulated PSU only fit for powering PCs up until the late 90s, and I don't think it's even been produced in more than a decade. This PC should never have been even turned on connected to this PSU. Not replacing it is like trying to cure a stab wound on a leg without removing the knife.

 

[Abdul_Razzaq]

Unfortunately, that's the next step of diagnosis. This PSU is literally old garbage; it's a cheap group-regulated PSU only fit for powering PCs up until the late 90s, and I don't think it's even been produced in more than a decade. This PC should never have been even turned on connected to this PSU. Not replacing it is like trying to cure a stab wound on a leg without removing the knife.

Took it to a 3rd guy. He checked it with a couple of PSUs. PSU is fine. There's an issue with the Motherboard. He also said, He'll try to REPAIR it. Guess I'll have to wait & see. Fingers Crossed.

 

[DSzymborski]

The PSU is *not* fine, regardless of whether it's directly responsible for this specific issue.

 

[Abdul_Razzaq]

The PSU is *not* fine, regardless of whether it's directly responsible for this specific issue.

You just might be right. When I mentioned that I took it to a 3rd guy, He repaired the Motherboard, and PC ran again for 10 days (He gave me a 7 days checking warranty, ironic isn't it).

Then it started happening again. Boot loop, power cycle, restart etc. etc. Then it just went fully dead on me (No Display, Fans spinning very fast, some times 4 red beeps and sometimes 6).

Way I was able to get it to restart/post/display is to remove the CMOS battery, pressing the clear CMOS button and resetting the crisis reset jumper. I also updated the bios. It started to post again and giving display but now it restarts randomly after 10 or 20 minutes.

Guess, it is time to throw it out and getting a new PC.
You were right about the PSU all along. I read somewhere on another forum that Cooler Master (RS-500-PCAR-D3 — 500 watts) is ancient and practically garbage. The person on that forum also added that anything (meaning PSU in this case) that still has the power button (1/0 switch) in this day & age is pure rubbish (and this PSU does.)

 

[TerryLaze]

because it is impossible to Repair the Motherboard and PSU.

It's not impossible, it's just a lot of work and not worth the trouble.
What you describe sounds a lot like a capacitor issue and that would be easy enough to re-cap the whole board but they would charge you way too much for it to be worth it, it's really tedious and difficult job doing it on a mobo.
If you can upload a high res pic of the mobo it would be really interesting to look at.
PSU is a safety risk, for the PC as well as the one that repairs it, so many won't touch it just for that reason.

 

[Abdul_Razzaq]

It's not impossible, it's just a lot of work and not worth the trouble.
What you describe sounds a lot like a capacitor issue and that would be easy enough to re-cap the whole board but they would charge you way too much for it to be worth it, it's really tedious and difficult job doing it on a mobo.
If you can upload a high res pic of the mobo it would be really interesting to look at.
PSU is a safety risk, for the PC as well as the one that repairs it, so many won't touch it just for that reason.

https://imgur.com/NmFgk0f

View: https://imgur.com/NmFgk0f


There you go. I hope it is clear enough.

 

[Abdul_Razzaq]

It's not impossible, it's just a lot of work and not worth the trouble.
What you describe sounds a lot like a capacitor issue and that would be easy enough to re-cap the whole board but they would charge you way too much for it to be worth it, it's really tedious and difficult job doing it on a mobo.

So, when I said that I took it to a couple of technicians and they repaired it. What did they even repair or fix? Because after each repair, PC works for 8,9 days. I'm from a South Asian Country. Things are tough for us there. First Guy charged me 1800 PKR (6 USD) and the second guy charged me 1500 PKR (5 USD). It might not b a lot for most of the guys here, but for me, it is.

I got this PC exclusively for gaming. I was excited when I got the GTX 1660 super and did extensive gaming on it (while I could). Gaming is the only thing that has kept me sane. Is it even fixable? What's the least I could do to fix it? I wanna get it resolved with minimum expenditure and just don't wanna throw the money, down the drain.

 

[TerryLaze]

So, when I said that I took it to a couple of technicians and they repaired it. What did they even repair or fix? Because after each repair, PC works for 8,9 days. I'm from a South Asian Country.

Lot of humidity in your room?! Maybe they just allowed it to dried out and it has issues when it gets damp again.
Or even capacitors sometimes if you just leave them be for a few days will recover a bit and work again for a short while.
Or maybe they actually did replace a capacitor or something, the pic is way too low resolution and too far away from the mobo to see anything.

 

[Abdul_Razzaq]

Lot of humidity in your room?! Maybe they just allowed it to dried out and it has issues when it gets damp again.
Or even capacitors sometimes if you just leave them be for a few days will recover a bit and work again for a short while.
Or maybe they actually did replace a capacitor or something, the pic is way too low resolution and too far away from the mobo to see anything.

No Humidity. Both the Room and the PC case have proper Air Flow. and Yes, the PIC is low res. it was taken with an average android phone.