Computer savy stoners, help out

Hokay, so, my computer has this turning on problem. Like basically to get it to turn on I need to turn it on, it goes on for a second then fails, turn off the switch on the power supply for a second to be able to try again, and turn the monitor on/off in different ways each time and eventually whether it be 5 minutes or an hour later some combination of turning this on/off at the right times works and it turns on.


But point is why the fuck doesn't it start right when I push the button.

I'm assuming it has something to do with the power supply unit, I can't figure out what though.

 

just dont turn your computer off

 

Nah we can't afford that on the electric bill, plus it works like shit when it's been on for days. Hibernate helps alot though

 

get a new power cord... there could be a short.. check the outlet you have it plugged into too.. if either of those dont fix it, there could be a short in the power button on the comp.. then you either shell out cash to get it fixed, or get a new one.

 

or look up on google to see how you can fix it yourself...not reccomended unless you have tec. expertise

 

im no puter expert but i have a ancient puter that has the same problem.. what i found works is to hold the button in for about 5 seconds when i turn it on and then it stays on...

 

Disconnect the power cord from the machine and leave for at least ten seconds to reset the BIOS... reconnect and try again. If this works then you very likely have a BIOS problem and may need to start computer shopping.

 

There's serveral options here


1. A failing power supply
2. A bad connection to the motherboard from power botton/power supply


Less likely
3. Your CPU fan is loose, cuasing over heat, cuasing your CPU to shut it self down to prevent damage.



I'm going to need more details. Post your specs and more details. IS your case fan beeping at all?

If it is option 1. I highly suggest replacing it ASAP. When it totally goes it probably will take the motherboard with it, and thats ALOT more trouble.



Open your case put and use an Airduster to blow some of the dust out and then look at the following

1. Power botton to mother board
2. Power supply to cpu fan
3. Power supply 20 or 24 pin connector
4. Possibly loose CPU fan

Look for anything loose/fishy

 

You can clear and whipe BIOS then flash a new version. Of course, it might just be easier to replace the motherboard. But I don't see this has the problem unless the BIOS is not reading the CPU temp uncorrectly and shutting itself down.

 

I'm only suggesting this because this was my experience hit the power button; fans and lights for a couple seconds then nothing... I noted that once the HD activity light went on (and POST beep) all was clear and the box booted. There was no mention of randomly shutting off once booted so I tend not to think it a bad cord though that is a very good suggestion.

Don't know what the specific BIOS issue was... flashed it but no help. The disconnect solution was stumbled upon accidentally after twice unplugging and opening the box to check for bad connections and again to disconnect a bad DVD drive- each time the machine booted right up ONCE upon reconnecting but the problem reared its ugly head afterward.

Finally the power supply blew and the machine I was building got forced into service. I sense you know your shit so I'm not going to contradict ya!

 

Hmmm, I see. I'm just going to need alot more details from the OP.

Yea, I was going to suggest the OP un-plug all input devices and hardware, boot, shutdown, re-install then re-boot. But, we don't wana get ahead of ourselfs.


It also sounds pretty likely the OP has a store bought PC the power light should also function has a diagnostic, so that might also give us some hint of whats going on.

 

Hey man.... It could be quite a few things acctaully.

Powersupply is a cheap thing to try first... swap it out with another.

The other two things I would suggest looking at

CPU (can you switch the chip)? See if that is a problem? (also, check your cpu fan - a new one is $10 - might be something to try.

It could also be your motherboard... but the problem is, if you swap your board, your OS will freak out... (i.e. unless your running linux (or some other unix flavor), windows stores all info on your hardware in its registry... if your motherboard is swapped out, your windows will most likly fail to load, and you'll have to re-install your OS.

Also, something cheep to try...

* Disconnect everything from your system except for:

1. Motherboard & CPU
2. Video card (it may be onboard too).
3. leave your RAM on the board.

Unplug everything else... - i.e. Hard drives, CDROM, floppy drives, all the other crap... then fire it up.

You won't boot up, as you have no hard drive, but you'll get a screen (bios, and such)... leave your system running, and if it does not shut down... slowly plug shit back... one at a time. Oh, and make sure you always turn off the power before you plug anything back in!!!

Then, if say: i.e. you plug in your harddrive - and things start to fail.... you know where your problem is... you then swap your drive, re-install your OS, and your good to go...

PS: Since you see your computer is failing, now would be the best time to do a very good backup before doing anything else...

 

I highly suggest the OP NOT stick he's hand into an open running case.. when he doesn't seem very versed with the subject. The motherboard wouldn't recongise it anyway, much safer to restart after each device is installed.

 

Yea, its but its cool to have the case open while he is testing each component.... it makes life easier that way.

I actually taught this (and a lot of other computer classes) at the university for many years... use to have the students take a PC apart and put it back together again... its quite easy, and no one was electrocuted over the years.... so don't worry much about that... just use your head, don't touch boards while the system is running... and just systematically test each component... and you'll nail it down... (sooner or later).

PS: You will also learn quite a bit doing this if it is your first time... (think of it as a good education

Let us know how things go... where here with ya.

Peace
Soc