PC 'tries' several times before actually booting.

sergiocnf

Honorable
Aug 6, 2013
6
0
10,510
Hello everyone,

About a month ago my build started misbehaving when I try to turn it on for the first time in the day. Yes, only for the first time. I'm using it to type this, and if i turn off then on again it works fine. I understand this kind of problem is hard to diagnose but I think some light can be shed by someone more experienced than myself. The issue is, when i push the power button, it turns on for less than a second (LEDs light up, fans start spinning) then off for about 3 seconds until it starts over. It does that for about 3 - 5 minutes everyday before properly booting up. I even made a video of it 'trying' a few times: http://youtu.be/9kAmV0YSNug

This is the set up:
Mobo: Intel DQ57TM
CPU: Intel Core i5 750
RAM: 2 x 4 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR 3
VGA: XFX Radeon HD 7870 2GB GDDR5
Storage 1: Corsair Force GT 120 GB SSD
Storage 2: WD 1 TB HDD
PSU: Corsair TX650M 650 W

The last change I did to my build was in September 2013, I upgraded the RAM and the VGA, but I believe this was too long ago to be related.

Also worth mentioning is that less than a month ago (i.e. *after* the problem started) I moved and my PC was off for a while. When I first turned it went on 'trying' for about an hour. Then I decided to try a few things:

1. Turn it on without the VGA power connectors => no success.
2. Turn it on without the CPU nor the VGA power connectors => no success.
3. Switched the CPU power connector (my PSU has 2) => no success, but after a few 'tries' it booted. Maybe it was just luck.

I guess that's all I have for now, any help is appreciated. If i remember/find out something new I'll keep the thread updated.

Thanks in advance!
 
Solution
sounds like a short likely caused by dirt or dust. that or something isn't plugged in fully.

I'd break your pc down. take everything out of the case, clean all the boards with rubbing alchohol and qtips, pay close attention to dirt or spill marks, also examine each board for burn marks and the CAPS for potential popping (a cap that's popping will have a convex top like the backside of a spoon, bulging out)

once everything is clean reassemble your system, make sure the motherboard is on the spacers correctly, there is no loose wires in the power plugs or metal touching the boards, then CLR_CMOS and see if your system will start normally.
sounds like a short likely caused by dirt or dust. that or something isn't plugged in fully.

I'd break your pc down. take everything out of the case, clean all the boards with rubbing alchohol and qtips, pay close attention to dirt or spill marks, also examine each board for burn marks and the CAPS for potential popping (a cap that's popping will have a convex top like the backside of a spoon, bulging out)

once everything is clean reassemble your system, make sure the motherboard is on the spacers correctly, there is no loose wires in the power plugs or metal touching the boards, then CLR_CMOS and see if your system will start normally.
 
Solution
Those gen of motherboards are prone to have issues like yours. If you watch this guy ranting about what he has tried to fix his issue like yours you can somewhat generate an idea of what to try next and what worked and didn't work for him https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNNGlFLcIKI. The socket you have is 1156, and the socket in the video is 1366 but if I remember correctly this problem occurd in both sockets
 
Thanks everyone for all the answers.

I did as @ingtar33 suggested, and cleaned the whole thing up. All capacitors looked fine. I'm not sure the CMOS reset worked, so I'll try that again. Apparently it got a little "better" (it seems to be "trying" <10 times), but I can't make any sense out of that so I think it probably was this way before and I'm just paying more attention. I really don't want this to be my PSU, because they're not that old and I already have plans on replacing the mobo/CPU, but I didn't open it up so it can still be the problem.

One thing on the video @eatmypie posted really got my attention: I have a very similar CPU cooler - CoolerMaster Hyper 212 X - which was my actual last change (forgot about that on my original post), but it was early 2014, so I'm not really sure it's related. Back then I've also added a fan at the top, (not three, 😀), which is easy to relate to the video, so I'll try unplugging it. Haven't had much time, but I'll keep this thread updated as I try these.
 
This gets harder to understand with each day. I Still couldn't try anything new since my last post, but for some reason, for the past few days, the issue disappeared. I didn't do anything. Since I don't know for how long is it going to work, and the only thing i did was @ingtar33's recommendation, I'm picking that as an answer. But I'd like to thank all of you for the input!