PC Suddenly Shut Off, Won't Turn Back On

Ilpav · September 23rd, 2009, 10:09 PM

I was just browsing the internet, when suddenly, my PC just shut off. I thought it was just a power outage, but all the lights and the TV in my house are still on.

Now, I can't start it at all; I press the power button, and it turns on for a fraction of a second, then dies again.

I tried switching the power plug from the surge protector to the normal socket, and resetting the PSU, but to no avail.

I open up my PC and there is a solid green LED light on my motherboard (which is normal).

What is going on? images/smilies/sad.gif

I hope it's not the PSU because it's not even a year old.

Vette Boss · September 23rd, 2009, 10:23 PM

Tear it down to just the bare minimum and see if it will switch on. Work your way through the various components until you find the faulty one.

What PSU does it have? You can probably send it back and get a warranty replacement.

johns13193 · September 23rd, 2009, 10:25 PM

My guess is something has shorted. I have no idea how that would've happened, except for something melting. If you're experienced, I'd try pulling it apart, and putting it back together. If not, look around the inside for exposed metal bits, or anything that looks melted.

narf · September 23rd, 2009, 10:26 PM

Turning on for a fraction, then going off may sound like a short/defect part somewhere. Unplug everything except the CPU and its cooler, see if it stays on. Re-plug piece by piece: RAM, graphics card, etc. to find the culprit.

Ilpav · September 23rd, 2009, 11:07 PM

Well, I pulled apart my pc. I looked at my CPU and it looks fine, nothing melted. I tried turning it on with only the CPU and its fan plugged in, but the same thing happened.

argatoga · September 23rd, 2009, 11:30 PM

90% chance it is the power supply. Buy a new one.

P5138 · September 23rd, 2009, 11:38 PM

When you say "just the CPU" did you remove the RAM too? This exact situation happened to me a couple years ago, I went through replacing everything with backups (including the PSU) until I found it was a blown RAM chip. But it really could be anything in the realm of things "attached to the motherboard that are accessed/checked before BIOS appears" including, but not limited to: CPU, RAM, PSU, etc, etc.

With RAM, some always has to be in the slots for the computer to turn on, but you can cycle them around to find if there's a bad chip.

Ilpav · September 23rd, 2009, 11:59 PM

Which if these is best for the price?

http://canadacomputers.com/index.php...t=0&numPages=2

Also, what if that green LED on the motherboard comes on whenever I turn the PSU on, doesn't that indicate it's working?

WillDAQ · September 24th, 2009, 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ilpav

Also, what if that green LED on the motherboard comes on whenever I turn the PSU on, doesn't that indicate it's working?

No, the PSU supplies multiple voltages at various currents. Running an LED is a far simpler job,

Ilpav · September 24th, 2009, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P5138

When you say "just the CPU" did you remove the RAM too? This exact situation happened to me a couple years ago, I went through replacing everything with backups (including the PSU) until I found it was a blown RAM chip. But it really could be anything in the realm of things "attached to the motherboard that are accessed/checked before BIOS appears" including, but not limited to: CPU, RAM, PSU, etc, etc.

With RAM, some always has to be in the slots for the computer to turn on, but you can cycle them around to find if there's a bad chip.

Checked both RAM sticks one by one and still the same thing.

Ilpav · September 24th, 2009, 12:38 AM

My local computer store closed half an hour ago, so I will have to go tomorrow.

http://canadacomputers.com/index.php...75&cid=PSU.731

That is the one I'm thinking of getting; I think it's pretty good for the price. Is "Cooler Master" a good brand?

BTW, my current PSU is a OCZ GameXstreme 600W. Will this new one's 500W be enough, even that amount is overkill on my system, I think.

johns13193 · September 24th, 2009, 12:42 AM

I had a cooler master, it was fine. And unless you have a really nice system 600w is overkill. But anyway, specs please?

narf · September 24th, 2009, 12:45 AM

Cooler Master is a decent, some may even say premium brand.

500W are enough for most PCs, as long as you have one CPU, one graphics card, not a million HDDs, etc.

Ilpav · September 24th, 2009, 12:45 AM

Specs:

Intel C2D 2.66 GHz
Kingston 2x2GB DDR2 RAM
Radeon HD 4670
WD Caviar Black 500GB

argatoga · September 24th, 2009, 12:48 AM

500W is plenty.

NecroJoe · September 24th, 2009, 12:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by narf

Cooler Master is a decent, some may even say premium brand.

I've heard the opposite...I've heard their cases are nice, but their PSU's are shit.

That said, I've had a Raidmax PSU running a car stereo shelf system at a fairly high volume for about 13 hours a day, all day, for months without so much as a hiccup. Most said that it would burst into flames within a week.

Ilpav · September 24th, 2009, 1:51 AM

Since I've been reading mixed reviews about the cooler master, what about this Thermaltake?

http://canadacomputers.com/index.php...37&cid=PSU.731

argatoga · September 24th, 2009, 2:01 AM

It shouldn't matter unless you really push it. When in doubt get an Antec.

thevictor390 · September 24th, 2009, 2:06 AM

Or Corsair or OCZ.

johns13193 · September 24th, 2009, 2:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by argatoga

It shouldn't matter unless you really push it. When in doubt get an Antec.

+1, my 500w earthwatts is fantastic.

September 23rd, 2009, 10:09 PM	#1
Ilpav Joined: Sep 3rd, 2006 Last Online: 7:24 AM Location: GTA, Ontario, Canada Age: 20 Posts: 1,730 Car: '96 Grand Voyager, '01 Grand Caravan, '05 Matrix LFS Status: Rep Power: 28	PC Suddenly Shut Off, Won't Turn Back On I was just browsing the internet, when suddenly, my PC just shut off. I thought it was just a power outage, but all the lights and the TV in my house are still on. Now, I can't start it at all; I press the power button, and it turns on for a fraction of a second, then dies again. I tried switching the power plug from the surge protector to the normal socket, and resetting the PSU, but to no avail. I open up my PC and there is a solid green LED light on my motherboard (which is normal). What is going on? I hope it's not the PSU because it's not even a year old. __________________ "The Ferrari 355. The best car...in the world...ever."- Jeremy Clarkson

September 23rd, 2009, 10:23 PM	#2
Vette Boss Joined: Nov 14th, 2004 Last Online: 9:16 AM Location: United States, Britain, in time Age: 23 Posts: 3,641 Car: 2006 Volkswagen Passat 2.0T Rep Power: 66	Tear it down to just the bare minimum and see if it will switch on. Work your way through the various components until you find the faulty one. What PSU does it have? You can probably send it back and get a warranty replacement. __________________ 2006 Volkswagen Passat 2.0T. Das Auto

September 23rd, 2009, 10:25 PM	#3
johns13193 Joined: Aug 15th, 2007 Last Online: 5:01 AM Location: Well, it's near Philadelphia, PA Age: 16 Posts: 300 Car: Dad's '06 Civic EX, Mom's '02 Toyota Sienna (woo!) Rep Power: 18	My guess is something has shorted. I have no idea how that would've happened, except for something melting. If you're experienced, I'd try pulling it apart, and putting it back together. If not, look around the inside for exposed metal bits, or anything that looks melted. __________________ C2Q q9550 2.83 @ 0.976v, GA-P35C-DS3R, 4gb DDR3-1333, 8600GT 512mb (702/900), 4.25tb of HDD, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit.

September 23rd, 2009, 11:07 PM	#5
Ilpav Joined: Sep 3rd, 2006 Last Online: 7:24 AM Location: GTA, Ontario, Canada Age: 20 Posts: 1,730 Car: '96 Grand Voyager, '01 Grand Caravan, '05 Matrix LFS Status: Rep Power: 28	Well, I pulled apart my pc. I looked at my CPU and it looks fine, nothing melted. I tried turning it on with only the CPU and its fan plugged in, but the same thing happened. __________________ "The Ferrari 355. The best car...in the world...ever."- Jeremy Clarkson

September 23rd, 2009, 11:30 PM	#6
argatoga Can't Start His Wank Joined: Oct 4th, 2005 Last Online: 6:43 AM Location: Washington State, USA Age: 26 Posts: 4,793 Car: '78 MG Midget, '78 Honda CB400t Rep Power: 164	90% chance it is the power supply. Buy a new one. __________________ "If you think about it breast implants aren't much different than braces. Their main purpose is to improve one's appearance, at least that's how it was in my case." - KaJun "Anyway, I'm off to eat my dick" - Austere

September 23rd, 2009, 10:26 PM	#4
narf Joined: Feb 1st, 2008 Last Online: 10:53 AM Location: Kiel, Germany Age: 23 Posts: 633 Car: VW Fox, Opel Astra Caravan Rep Power: 40	Turning on for a fraction, then going off may sound like a short/defect part somewhere. Unplug everything except the CPU and its cooler, see if it stays on. Re-plug piece by piece: RAM, graphics card, etc. to find the culprit.

September 23rd, 2009, 11:38 PM	#7
P5138 Joined: Nov 15th, 2006 Last Online: 1:28 AM Location: New Jersey, USA Posts: 293 Car: 2001 Impreza RS Rep Power: 23	When you say "just the CPU" did you remove the RAM too? This exact situation happened to me a couple years ago, I went through replacing everything with backups (including the PSU) until I found it was a blown RAM chip. But it really could be anything in the realm of things "attached to the motherboard that are accessed/checked before BIOS appears" including, but not limited to: CPU, RAM, PSU, etc, etc. With RAM, some always has to be in the slots for the computer to turn on, but you can cycle them around to find if there's a bad chip. Last edited by P5138; September 23rd, 2009 at 11:43 PM.

September 23rd, 2009, 11:59 PM	#8
Ilpav Joined: Sep 3rd, 2006 Last Online: 7:24 AM Location: GTA, Ontario, Canada Age: 20 Posts: 1,730 Car: '96 Grand Voyager, '01 Grand Caravan, '05 Matrix LFS Status: Rep Power: 28	Which if these is best for the price? http://canadacomputers.com/index.php...t=0&numPages=2 Also, what if that green LED on the motherboard comes on whenever I turn the PSU on, doesn't that indicate it's working? __________________ "The Ferrari 355. The best car...in the world...ever."- Jeremy Clarkson Last edited by Ilpav; September 24th, 2009 at 12:04 AM.

September 24th, 2009, 12:38 AM	#11
Ilpav Joined: Sep 3rd, 2006 Last Online: 7:24 AM Location: GTA, Ontario, Canada Age: 20 Posts: 1,730 Car: '96 Grand Voyager, '01 Grand Caravan, '05 Matrix LFS Status: Rep Power: 28	My local computer store closed half an hour ago, so I will have to go tomorrow. http://canadacomputers.com/index.php...75&cid=PSU.731 That is the one I'm thinking of getting; I think it's pretty good for the price. Is "Cooler Master" a good brand? BTW, my current PSU is a OCZ GameXstreme 600W. Will this new one's 500W be enough, even that amount is overkill on my system, I think. __________________ "The Ferrari 355. The best car...in the world...ever."- Jeremy Clarkson

September 24th, 2009, 12:42 AM	#12
johns13193 Joined: Aug 15th, 2007 Last Online: 5:01 AM Location: Well, it's near Philadelphia, PA Age: 16 Posts: 300 Car: Dad's '06 Civic EX, Mom's '02 Toyota Sienna (woo!) Rep Power: 18	I had a cooler master, it was fine. And unless you have a really nice system 600w is overkill. But anyway, specs please? __________________ C2Q q9550 2.83 @ 0.976v, GA-P35C-DS3R, 4gb DDR3-1333, 8600GT 512mb (702/900), 4.25tb of HDD, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit.

September 24th, 2009, 12:45 AM	#13
narf Joined: Feb 1st, 2008 Last Online: 10:53 AM Location: Kiel, Germany Age: 23 Posts: 633 Car: VW Fox, Opel Astra Caravan Rep Power: 40	Cooler Master is a decent, some may even say premium brand. 500W are enough for most PCs, as long as you have one CPU, one graphics card, not a million HDDs, etc.

September 24th, 2009, 12:48 AM	#15
argatoga Can't Start His Wank Joined: Oct 4th, 2005 Last Online: 6:43 AM Location: Washington State, USA Age: 26 Posts: 4,793 Car: '78 MG Midget, '78 Honda CB400t Rep Power: 164	500W is plenty. __________________ "If you think about it breast implants aren't much different than braces. Their main purpose is to improve one's appearance, at least that's how it was in my case." - KaJun "Anyway, I'm off to eat my dick" - Austere

September 24th, 2009, 1:51 AM	#17
Ilpav Joined: Sep 3rd, 2006 Last Online: 7:24 AM Location: GTA, Ontario, Canada Age: 20 Posts: 1,730 Car: '96 Grand Voyager, '01 Grand Caravan, '05 Matrix LFS Status: Rep Power: 28	Since I've been reading mixed reviews about the cooler master, what about this Thermaltake? http://canadacomputers.com/index.php...37&cid=PSU.731 __________________ "The Ferrari 355. The best car...in the world...ever."- Jeremy Clarkson

September 24th, 2009, 2:01 AM	#18
argatoga Can't Start His Wank Joined: Oct 4th, 2005 Last Online: 6:43 AM Location: Washington State, USA Age: 26 Posts: 4,793 Car: '78 MG Midget, '78 Honda CB400t Rep Power: 164	It shouldn't matter unless you really push it. When in doubt get an Antec. __________________ "If you think about it breast implants aren't much different than braces. Their main purpose is to improve one's appearance, at least that's how it was in my case." - KaJun "Anyway, I'm off to eat my dick" - Austere

September 24th, 2009, 2:06 AM	#19
thevictor390 Joined: Mar 9th, 2007 Last Online: Yesterday Location: Massachusetts Age: 19 Posts: 1,999 Car: 2006 RX-8 Rep Power: 65	Or Corsair or OCZ.

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