[SOLVED] PC will only Post After Power is cut?

[jsief1]

I have been using this PC for years without issues, but I took my motherboard out of my case to clean my components, reapply thermal paste, all that stuff. I reconnected everything, but now, my PC only boots to Windows once. If I power it off, then try to power on again, the fans spin up, but it does not post at all. If I cut the power to the PC, it will the boot normally to windows without any issues. Any ideas what the problem may be? Additionally, if I every try to boot into BIOS, I can get to the settings, but if I exit BIOS settings and try to boot into windows, it also never posts until I cut the power again. I only have it set to 1 boot option, my main C drive. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Ralston18]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

PSU: make, model, wattage, age (years?), condition (original, new, refurbished, used)?

Disk drive(s): make, model, capacity, how full?

Try a new CMOS battery.

 

[jsief1]

Update your post to include full system hardware specs and OS information.

PSU: make, model, wattage, age (years?), condition (original, new, refurbished, used)?

Disk drive(s): make, model, capacity, how full?

Try a new CMOS battery.

All parts were purchased new
Mobo and PSU: 3 years old
CPU and RAM: 2 years old
GPU: 2 months old
3 SSD's: One is 3 yrs old, one is 1 yr old, one is 2 months old

System includes PSU: coolermaster Masterwatt Lite 500w, Mobo: b450m-hdv, CPU: R5 2600x, GPU: rtx 3060, Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16 gb 3200 mhz ram

 

[Ralston18]

My thought is that that 3 year old PSU is a likely suspect.

Especially if used for heavy gaming, video editing, or even mining.

PSU may be at or nearing its' designed in EOL (End of Life). Starting to falter and fail.

Possibly something loose or cracked and not making full contact until the PSU has cycled on and off a couple of times and warmed up enough expand and fully connect.

If at all doable, try swapping in another known working higher wattage PSU. Do not mix and match in PSU cables from other sources.

And, as always, ensure that all important data is backed up at least 2 x to locations other than the current host. Verify that the backups are recoverable and readable.

 

[jsief1]

My thought is that that 3 year old PSU is a likely suspect.

Especially if used for heavy gaming, video editing, or even mining.

PSU may be at or nearing its' designed in EOL (End of Life). Starting to falter and fail.

Possibly something loose or cracked and not making full contact until the PSU has cycled on and off a couple of times and warmed up enough expand and fully connect.

If at all doable, try swapping in another known working higher wattage PSU. Do not mix and match in PSU cables from other sources.

And, as always, ensure that all important data is backed up at least 2 x to locations other than the current host. Verify that the backups are recoverable and readable.

I wouldn't know why this would be a power supply issue, since I never have any issues at all after the PC boots while I've had this issue, even when gaming where it would be drawing more power. This all started after I took out the motherboard to clean, and it seems like to consistent or predictable of an issue to be PSU related. It is always immediately after the PC is disconnected from power and reconnected that it boots successfully. It also would not make sense to it being a PSU issue since it still never boots successfully after entering BIOS settings, leading me to believe it may be Mobo related. Any thoughts?

 

[Ralston18]

Unfortunately that is what often happens. No problems at all and then after X amount of time the PSU degrades to some threshold condition and problems begin.

I would try a new CMOS battery first - just as an easy matter of elimination.

Then, if you have a multi-meter and know how to use it (or know someone who does) test the PSU.

FYI:

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

Turn on and test the PSU. Then turn off, disconnect, reconnect etc. following the pattern you have been using.

The test is not a full test because the PSU is not under load. Any voltages testing out of tolerance make the PSU suspect.

Next, if at all possible, swap in another known working PSU. Do not mix in PSU cables from other PSUs.

The problem may indeed be motherboard related. However, no harm in eliminating other possible causes beforehand.