Question Super Weird Issue: Computer starts booting up a few seconds and then restarting.

CrashBang

Reputable
Sep 19, 2014
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4,510
Hey hey,

I want to apologies in advance for what might be a lengthy post, I just have no idea what to do next, so I’m sparing no detail in the hopes that someone is able to help me.

I built this PC about 5 years ago. I’m not super technically experienced with building PCs, it’s the first and only one I’ve done, but I think I did a decent job. However when it comes to trouble shooting, I’m taking shots in the dark here.

MOTHERBOARD: Gigabyte GA-B55M-D3H (I think... it’s been a while)
CPU: Intel i5-4690
GPU: MSI GTX 770 4GB
RAM: 2x Transcend 4GB DDR3 1600
PSU: Corsair VS650
SSD: SAMSUNG 120GB
HDD: Western Digital Green 1TB
For all the time I’ve had my pc I’ve never had any issues. Then, about a year ago it’s did this thing where it would start booting up for a few seconds, and then shutdown and repeat. I pulled out everything external that was connected to the computer (monitors, keyboard, mouse, etc.) and plugged them back in and it worked again. It only did this on a few occasions then worked perfectly again, until now.

I woke up last week and tried to start it up and it did the exact same thing. Starts to boot up, and then restarts and repeats. I have to turn the PSU off to stop from trying to boot. The weird thing is that the amount of time it tries to boot before turning off varies... sometimes the fans don’t even get a chance to spin up, but other times it will get as far as the windows loading screen. Veeeerrrrryyy rarely it will boot up fully, and never spontaneously shuts down once it’s in windows. It works for the rest of the day and so I leave it on at night in fear that it won’t turn on again in the morning... but every time I come through in the morning it’s off and won’t start up again.

I first tried to disconnect and reconnect all my peripherals. That didn’t work. So I stripped down the entire PC one part at a time, trying to boot it every time I took something out till I only had the PSU, CPU and MOBO connected. One of the threads on this forum suggested the paper clip test to check the PSU. I tried it and the PSU worked fine. So I concluded it must be the mobo or cpu (Which I’m dreading, because replacing them for this old machine is going to be a mission). When I reassembled everything though, it booted up perfectly. I figured I had accidentally solved the problem, so I started neatening the cables and when I touched one of the psu cables, it shut down. I tested it a few more times and every time I touched that wire it shut down. I thought it must be a short or something in the power supply. Having just moved to a new area and knowing no one i could borrow a psu from, I bought a new one. I took the whole pc apart, cleaned it out and reassembled it with the new power supply. It worked perfectly! I worked the whole day on it yesterday and this morning I came to turn it on and once again, it’s not working.

This is where I am now. I have no idea what to try next...
 
UPDATE:
This may be super coincidental but, I noticed that every time it has booted up, it’s been towards the afternoon. I thought maybe temperature is playing a part and the mornings are too cold. It’s not that cold where I live (12 degrees celsius in the mornings), but I’m leaving no stone unturned. I pointed a heater at the pc for a few minutes and it booted up. But this could just be a huge coincidence because I’m sure colder is better for PCs?
 
You are using a vs series power supply, one of the hated power supplies out there.
It could be your power supply going bad, plus you have had to for 5 years, i would think that it is time to upgrade.
 
You are using a vs series power supply, one of the hated power supplies out there.
It could be your power supply going bad, plus you have had to for 5 years, i would think that it is time to upgrade.

Thanks for replying.

I don’t think it’s the power supply... I literally just bought it yesterday because I thought it was my previous 5 year old one XD
 
But why did you exactly buy the vs series? you had a lot of choices, still it could still be a faulty power supply.
Else i don't know what could be an issue here, other members will help!

I live in South Africa, and unfortunately we don't have the biggest selection of PC components here. I was pretty desperate and couldn't find anything immediately bad about it online.

Do you know what the best way to test the power supply would be? Besides trying another one 😕