Computer is acting up VERY weird (to say the least)...

[SHayden]

Hello all,

I've been having VERY weird computer issues.


See, when I turn my pc on it either:

a) turns on for about less than 1 sec, shuts down, attempts to reboot again, fails and then gets stuck in infinite loop.

b) turns on for even shorter amount of time than in a), but doesn't reboot anymore, just stays off and any further attempt at turning it on is futile.


But that's not the weird part....

Weird part is....that it can actually boot and work. It can boot and I can work anything including game world of warships on max graphic settings on regular client...for hours, no problems.

What I do is unplug everything in the computer, and then plug back in. Like, stripping my PC off of any component besides essential ones sufficient enough for it to POST.

Then I gradually add rest of the components, attempt to turn it on, and then (often) it successfully boots. Last night after shutting it down before bed, I even waited around 5 mins and tried turning it back on...it did boot successfully. I went to bed. Next morning tried turning it on....problem returned.


I tried (almost) everything, so it'll be easier for me to say what I didn't try. I didn't try meddling with neither PSU nor MOBO because I don't know how to properly pull them out and put them back in without breaking something...I am officialy bamboozled as to what the problem could be. It's not overheating, I'm not sure about any short circuits because I unplugged and plugged everything at least million times for the last couple of days and I'm getting desperate. There is a chance I'll be able to use my PC every next day if unplugging and plugging back works, almost like a slot machine, but obviously something's wrong and I'd like to fix it. Unfortunately I'm not currently able to find any money for buying new components or testing my PC with spare ones as I don't have them so I really hope no component is faulty, and seeing how computer actually works my hopes are high.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Rachael]

This is a very tricky problem. It's clearly a hardware fault - but what exactly is the major issue. It could be literally anything. Loose CPU socket, loose memory sticks, or even a bad capacitor on the motherboard and/or power supply unit.

The only way to fix this issue is to have a spare computer with exactly the same parts, and swap them out one by one until you find the culprit.

[drfrag]

Most likely a problem with the PSU or mobo, look for bulged caps on the mobo. Then test with another PSU. Or call a technician.

[SHayden]

Hello,

I did think the problem is most likely with PSU, since all other components weren't faulty.
However I've been tinkering with it the whole night and managed to actually find a spare PSU (I thought I threw it away...) and there were no problems with it whatsoever. So it was faulty PSU all along.

Thank you very much for your help. I think this PSU will be able to power it just long enough for me to get an actual new PSU.