[SOLVED] PC 'shuts off' after booting, need to press reset button for normal use

[lipton_tea]

Hi everyone,

I've had this issue for quite some time now and hoping to get your advice on what the issue may be. I tried looking for a similar issue everywhere but no one else seemed to have it.

It doesn't happen every day, but maybe once every two days. When I start my PC and open one or two programs (i.e. docs for work, chrome, games, etc), the computer just switches 'off' randomly. The CPU and case fans are still spinning, the motherboard light is still on so it's not completely shut off. But the monitor is black (with the monitor power indicator blinking so there's no signal) and everything's unresponsive. I have to press reset switch on the case and it reboots fine with no more problems, until the next day or the day after when I turn my PC on again in the morning and the issue repeats. Another symptom it shows is when the PC enters this 'shut off' phase and I turn my monitor off and on, it only shows a green screen. I usually turn my PC on in the morning for work / games and shut it off in the evening before going to bed.

I built this system and when it works, it works fine and performs like it should compared to PCs with similar specs. But it's just this one issue. I don't think the assembly was an issue as I built a system for my GF as well which runs just fine, albeit with different (better) hardware.

I'm inclined to believe it's a power problem but thinking it could be a graphics card issue or maybe even ssd. Below is my full spec sheet:

PSU: Cougar STE500 500W Active PFC
SSD: Kingston 480GB SSD 2.5in SSDNow A400
HDD: WD 1TB Blue 3.5" HDD (purchased at a later stage, the problem existed before this part was installed)
Case: Thermaltake Versa H17
CPU: AMD Rysen 5 2600
Mobo: Asus Prime A320M-K AM4 mATX
Graphics: Asus Radeon RX570 Expedition 8GB OC
RAM: Team Elite 8GB 2666 DDR4 (2 sticks to make it 16GB)
OS: Windows 10 Home

Would love to get some feedback and if I came to the wrong board to post this question, please let me know.

Hoping there's a software / OS tinkering fix for this issue, rather than a hardware fix if possible.

Thank you,

 

[Ralston18]

This:

"PSU: Cougar STE500 500W Active PFC "

How old? Originally new, refurbished, taken from another system?

Heavy gaming use? Video editing? Bit-mining even?

Look in Reliability History for error codes, warnings, or even informational events that correspond to any observed or experienced problems.

 

[lipton_tea]

This:

"PSU: Cougar STE500 500W Active PFC "

How old? Originally new, refurbished, taken from another system?

Heavy gaming use? Video editing? Bit-mining even?

Look in Reliability History for error codes, warnings, or even informational events that correspond to any observed or experienced problems.

Thank you for the response,

The PSU was new when I purchased, as were all the other parts, about 1 and half years ago.

I use it for quite heavy gaming for about 3-4 hours every day, used to do a bit of video editing, never bit-mining.

The PC's on for more than 12 hours a day for work and play, as I work from home now, so the life-expectancy wouldn't be great. However, the issue arose pretty much straight after I built the unit. I should have asked for some sort of warranty, but at that time I couldn't pin-point a source.

I looked in the Reliability History and am seeing red x once every two days (sometimes everyday) saying Windows was not properly shut down. Unfortunately no error-code or any other specific information.

Thank you for the input, I'm leaning more towards thinking it's the PSU issue. Unfortunately Cougar's warranty expired after one year...

Screen shots of the reliability monitor:

https://imgur.com/a/0lgWhdg

View: https://imgur.com/a/0lgWhdg

There are some dips with x's for some of my games that I play which shut off fine but says stopped working. Not sure why.

 

[Ralston18]

Unexpected and "not properly shutdown" errors are a strong indication of power problems. Especially a faltering PSU.

Interesting pattern - that every 2 days or so. And cluster of errors around December 2nd. Games may be buggy and when you stop playing the games do not really stop or otherwise completely go away. Look in Task Manager and Resource Monitor to get a sense of what all is running on your system. Check before and after gaming.

Not enough, to indite the PSU completely but I have that thought that if you think about it all you may note some similar pattern in your work, gaming, and personal use of the computer.

Any workloads that put the PSU more under stress those days: backups, updates, more graphics work, etc.?

Rather speculative from afar but you have far greater insight.

You can also look in Event Viewer for more information. Event Viewer is not as user friendly but can be revealing if you delve into it all a bit more.

And right-clicking individual errors in either Reliability History or Event Viewer will reveal more "technical details". Those technical details may or may not be helpful.

FYI:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-psus,4229.html

 

[lipton_tea]

Unexpected and "not properly shutdown" errors are a strong indication of power problems. Especially a faltering PSU.

Interesting pattern - that every 2 days or so. And cluster of errors around December 2nd. Games may be buggy and when you stop playing the games do not really stop or otherwise completely go away. Look in Task Manager and Resource Monitor to get a sense of what all is running on your system. Check before and after gaming.

Not enough, to indite the PSU completely but I have that thought that if you think about it all you may note some similar pattern in your work, gaming, and personal use of the computer.

Any workloads that put the PSU more under stress those days: backups, updates, more graphics work, etc.?

Rather speculative from afar but you have far greater insight.

You can also look in Event Viewer for more information. Event Viewer is not as user friendly but can be revealing if you delve into it all a bit more.

And right-clicking individual errors in either Reliability History or Event Viewer will reveal more "technical details". Those technical details may or may not be helpful.

FYI:

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-psus,4229.html

After checking Event Viewer, I can see that I've been getting critical errors with the source being Kernel-Power, with the description being the system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. I think its most likely PSU's problem. I don't particularly push my computer hard, other than playing games and the 500W power (with 80 Plus certification) should be more than enough to power my specs so the unit may be faulty.

Considering I keep getting 'shut down' errors, maybe it could be the motherboard. I could be way wrong but maybe it could be caused by the APM setting which I changed as soon as I built my PC because I was annoyed by all the lights staying on after shutdown. I'll experiment with a few things and see if they work. If all fails, I'll just have to save up to get a new PSU and maybe mobo.

Thank you for all the help and suggestions. Definitely learned new things from your replies that will be useful in the future. Greatly appreciated.

 

[Ralston18]

You are welcome.

And with respect to the PSU:

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-manually-test-a-power-supply-with-a-multimeter-2626158

Not a full test per se as the PSU is not under load.

However if you have a multi-meter and know how to use it any out of spec voltages may be revealing.

If not, try to find a knowledgeable family member or friend who can (socially distanced of course) help with the testing.

Any voltage out of spec is likely a clue.