Question PC startup issue, can't decide if it's a faulty PSU or something else ?

[Hard_baller]

Hi everyone,

I have been having this issue for a few weeks and decided to fix it but couldn't be sure as i am not an expert.Whenever a power outage happens (frequently in my neighborhood) or if the PSU's power button is switched to off at some point,the next time I try to turn on the computer fans spin,led lights get on etc. for literally 1 second then everything turns off for 5 seconds and finally PC actually starts running again.DVD player makes a very loud mechanical sound at the final boot(doesn't do that normally) and there are some weird electrical noises coming from PSU that could be heard from the case.I suspect PSU but can't be sure. What i am afraid is if it is PSU then it could pretty much destroy the computer if not replaced but I don't want to buy a new one without being certain since electronic stuff is very expensive in where i live due to insane exchange rate so i need to be sure.I don't have the chance to test the PSU on another computer.

Here is a short video showing it :

View: https://youtu.be/EFtnwexFSgs


I wanted to make sure other parts are working fine so did some testing.

Things I Have Tested:

1) Inspected the case,motherboard and other parts to see if there is any damage to components, circuits and cables but everything seems fine.I don't know if motherboard could be faulty since couldn't test it.

2) PSU:Tested PSU's wall cable with a multimeter to check voltage and it was fine.Did the paperclip test to check voltages of 24 pin connector's pins and they were also fine.

3) CPU/GPU:I did stress tests on them to see how they perform under load and no issues at all.Voltages were at ideal range under heavy load too.Pretty low temps when idle.

4) RAM:I had some unused RAM's so changed them with the ones I currently use.They are all fine.

5) SSD:It is working fine since tested it with 4 programs all showing it is in perfect health but around the time this power issue started i also started getting some CRC errors(not much a few in a day).I don't know if that's a coincidence(maybe some power issue?).I don't think it is sata cable since i never got this error when i had hdd.

6) Removed CMOS battery.Nothing happened.

Some Additional Info:This PC is from 2011 so it's pretty old but hasn't been used that much.The only component got broken was the HDD(replaced it with an SSD).OS is fresh installed no issues at all.Same goes for BIOS.Booting is fine no delays.Running pretty good and windows event collector doesn't find issues at all.

 

[Flayed]

Hi everyone,

I have been having this issue for a few weeks and decided to fix it but couldn't be sure as i am not an expert.Whenever a power outage happens (frequently in my neighborhood) or if the PSU's power button is switched to off at some point,the next time I try to turn on the computer fans spin,led lights get on etc. for literally 1 second then everything turns off for 5 seconds and finally PC actually starts running again.DVD player makes a very loud mechanical sound at the final boot(doesn't do that normally) and there are some weird electrical noises coming from PSU that could be heard from the case.I suspect PSU but can't be sure.What i am afraid is if it is PSU then it could pretty much destroy the computer if not replaced but I don't want to buy a new one without being certain since electronic stuff is very expensive in where i live due to insane exchange rate so i need to be sure.I don't have the chance to test the PSU on another computer.

Here is a short video showing it :

View: https://youtu.be/EFtnwexFSgs


I wanted to make sure other parts are working fine so did some testing.

Things I Have Tested:

1)Inspected the case,motherboard and other parts to see if there is any damage to components, circuits and cables but everything seems fine.I don't know if motherboard could be faulty since couldn't test it.

2)PSU:Tested PSU's wall cable with a multimeter to check voltage and it was fine.Did the paperclip test to check voltages of 24 pin connector's pins and they were also fine.

3)CPU/GPU:I did stress tests on them to see how they perform under load and no issues at all.Voltages were at ideal range under heavy load too.Pretty low temps when idle.

4)RAM:I had some unused RAM's so changed them with the ones I currently use.They are all fine.

5)SSD:It is working fine since tested it with 4 programs all showing it is in perfect health but around the time this power issue started i also started getting some CRC errors(not much a few in a day).I don't know if that's a coincidence(maybe some power issue?).I don't think it is sata cable since i never got this error when i had hdd.

6)Removed CMOS battery.Nothing happened.

Some Additional Info:This PC is from 2011 so it's pretty old but hasn't been used that much.The only component got broken was the HDD(replaced it with an SSD).OS is fresh installed no issues at all.Same goes for BIOS.Booting is fine no delays.Running pretty good and windows event collector doesn't find issues at all.

If the PSU is from 2011 you should replace it, you have had your monies worth out of it.

 

[Hard_baller]

If the PSU is from 2011 you should replace it, you have had your monies worth out of it.

Do you think anything other then PSU could cause this?It is just that i don't want to buy a PSU let't say if mobo could be faulty since that would mean i am gonna need a new PC and still paid for a fresh bought useless PSU(not cheap in where i live).

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

It would help to know PSU make & model, knowing that might confirm that it needs changing.

 

[Hard_baller]

It would help to know PSU make & model, knowing that might confirm that it needs changing.

It is a 400W(460 Peak) High Power(Sirtec) PSU.Model number AE-A460-V1.I am not expert so correct me if i am wrong.It is delivering correct voltages at least as far as multimeter and PC softwares could detect whether computer be off, idle or under heavy load.I don't know about amperages but PC never crashes or freezes when i make stress tests and wattage usage increases a lot(obviously) so components can draw the amperages they need when they need to.So what's the issue here?

 

[SkyNetRising]

So what's the issue here?

Memory training.
Normal operation. Probably have ram overclock set up.

If you don't like sounds from dvd drive, then disconnect it. You probably haven't used in years anyway.

 

[Flayed]

Do you think anything other then PSU could cause this?It is just that i don't want to buy a PSU let't say if mobo could be faulty since that would mean i am gonna need a new PC and still paid for a fresh bought useless PSU(not cheap in where i live).

Just saying they don't last forever 12 years is a good long while. It would be a shame if it died and took out your motherboard or CPU when it went.

 

[Hard_baller]

Just saying they don't last forever 12 years is a good long while. It would be a shame if it died and took out your motherboard or CPU when it went.

I know 12 years is very good for a PSU but i don't need one if it is still working good .My Seagate Barracuda HDD died this year which is the first and only component i had to replace (except i upgraded my RAMs like 10 years ago).That's probably because I don't use this PC much since 12 years lasting HDD should be impressive i guess...

 

[Hard_baller]

Memory training.
Normal operation. Probably have ram overclock set up.

If you don't like sounds from dvd drive, then disconnect it. You probably haven't used in years anyway.

RAM is probably the least likely issue here since i already tried replacing them(i had some unused but healthy RAMs(tested with memtest iirc and they're also different models).Disconnecting DVD player doesn't have any effect on what is causing this startup issue to occur.It also doesn't do that sound when it is a normal startup.

 

[beyondlogic]

Hi everyone,

I have been having this issue for a few weeks and decided to fix it but couldn't be sure as i am not an expert.Whenever a power outage happens (frequently in my neighborhood) or if the PSU's power button is switched to off at some point,the next time I try to turn on the computer fans spin,led lights get on etc. for literally 1 second then everything turns off for 5 seconds and finally PC actually starts running again.DVD player makes a very loud mechanical sound at the final boot(doesn't do that normally) and there are some weird electrical noises coming from PSU that could be heard from the case.I suspect PSU but can't be sure. What i am afraid is if it is PSU then it could pretty much destroy the computer if not replaced but I don't want to buy a new one without being certain since electronic stuff is very expensive in where i live due to insane exchange rate so i need to be sure.I don't have the chance to test the PSU on another computer.

Here is a short video showing it :

View: https://youtu.be/EFtnwexFSgs


I wanted to make sure other parts are working fine so did some testing.

Things I Have Tested:

1) Inspected the case,motherboard and other parts to see if there is any damage to components, circuits and cables but everything seems fine.I don't know if motherboard could be faulty since couldn't test it.

2) PSU:Tested PSU's wall cable with a multimeter to check voltage and it was fine.Did the paperclip test to check voltages of 24 pin connector's pins and they were also fine.

3) CPU/GPU:I did stress tests on them to see how they perform under load and no issues at all.Voltages were at ideal range under heavy load too.Pretty low temps when idle.

4) RAM:I had some unused RAM's so changed them with the ones I currently use.They are all fine.

5) SSD:It is working fine since tested it with 4 programs all showing it is in perfect health but around the time this power issue started i also started getting some CRC errors(not much a few in a day).I don't know if that's a coincidence(maybe some power issue?).I don't think it is sata cable since i never got this error when i had hdd.

6) Removed CMOS battery.Nothing happened.

Some Additional Info:This PC is from 2011 so it's pretty old but hasn't been used that much.The only component got broken was the HDD(replaced it with an SSD).OS is fresh installed no issues at all.Same goes for BIOS.Booting is fine no delays.Running pretty good and windows event collector doesn't find issues at all.

get a proper psu tester

Amazon.co.uk

i would personally replace it its a duel rail psu its real voltage combined on the 12 rail is only 360w.
the rest on the other voltages are for things like ram/fans/hardrives

psu over time lose roughly about 20 percent capacity over its lifespan so say 5 years
so thats roughly 72 watts gone every 5 years on 12v rail.

other things it could be is a dodgy capacitor on the board check for bulging capacitors.


though i suspect its the psu not being able to provide enough power indefinitely.

where about are you from ?

 

[Hard_baller]

get a proper psu tester

Amazon.co.uk

i would personally replace it its a duel rail psu its real voltage combined on the 12 rail is only 360w.
the rest on the other voltages are for things like ram/fans/hardrives

psu over time lose roughly about 20 percent capacity over its lifespan so say 5 years
so thats roughly 72 watts gone every 5 years on 12v rail.

other things it could be is a dodgy capacitor on the board check for bulging capacitors.


though i suspect its the psu not being able to provide enough power indefinitely.

where about are you from ?

I didn't know about PSUs losing capacity,that's crucial info but if that's right then my PSU's actual capacity atm should be around 200W(since it's 12 years old).How come my PC doesn't crash if i make stress tests to multiple parts at once.Shouldn't it turn itself off when watt usage jumps?Literally nothing happens.Doesn't that mean it is powered properly since i never saw PC turn itself off at any point or any BSOD?

The important part is if electricity to the PC somehow cut off (PSU switch button,power outage) after next time I try to turn PC on this issue happens ONCE,doesn't happen again until next time power goes out.When it happens DVD player makes a very loud noise(why?),I tried to show that in the video.I am trying to figure out whether PSU started to go bad since this never happened in the past 12 years or mobo/cpu(literally PC) is about to die.

I already checked the voltages with avometer and by using a few PC real time monitoring softwares so what else does a PSU tester do?

Something is definitely wrong but at the same time everything looks fine so I am confused.

 

[Flayed]

The thing is it is hard to be absolutely certain that a particular component is at fault before replacing it with a known good one or a new one. Perhaps you have access to another PC that you could borrow the PSU from for testing purposes?

 

[beyondlogic]

I didn't know about PSUs losing capacity,that's crucial info but if that's right then my PSU's actual capacity atm should be around 200W(since it's 12 years old).How come my PC doesn't crash if i make stress tests to multiple parts at once.Shouldn't it turn itself off when watt usage jumps?Literally nothing happens.Doesn't that mean it is powered properly since i never saw PC turn itself off at any point or any BSOD?

The important part is if electricity to the PC somehow cut off (PSU switch button,power outage) after next time I try to turn PC on this issue happens ONCE,doesn't happen again until next time power goes out.When it happens DVD player makes a very loud noise(why?),I tried to show that in the video.I am trying to figure out whether PSU started to go bad since this never happened in the past 12 years or mobo/cpu(literally PC) is about to die.

I already checked the voltages with avometer and by using a few PC real time monitoring softwares so what else does a PSU tester do?

Something is definitely wrong but at the same time everything looks fine so I am confused.

psu tester tests all the rails making sure there at the correct voltage e.g that the gpu leads etc each read the required voltage every light apart from the -5v should light up if the psu is good.

the reason it hasnt crashed up till now is quite simply the tech in processors and gpu will just clock down when it doesnt have enough power. plus most stress tests focus on one component at a time. this can be the same for games some prefer cpu over gpu.

either the cpu or gpu and again the cpu or gpu when hit with a power wall will just clock down to try and save itself.

when a pc just randomly turns off its most likely cause the cpu or gpu spiked beyond what it can do within the power envelope. ( spikes are common in all pc builds.

you also mentioned you get regular power cuts which can damage the psu overvoltage protections if these fail the psu can become a potential firehazard.

one other reason it hasnt failed stress test it can still temporary hit 460w in bursts.

to be accurate most power supplys can go beyond there spec so a 460w can temporary draw 100w more. ( not recomended as this will trigger overvoltage protection and turn off the system.