Mysterious power issues

M

Mashadaar

n00b
Joined
Mar 28, 2022
Messages
5
Hello,

I built this system about 7 years ago and only major problem was graphics card burnt out a few years back.

I’ll try to keep it brief. During the end of a regular day of use, my computer suddenly went to sleep. Woke it up, logged in and resumed activity. After a few minutes it shut down completely. Restart, loaded OS and let it sit at desktop while I monitored temp. Quickly shut down again with nothing obvious occurring beforehand. Restart again and loses power before reaching OS. Restart and enter BIOS to monitor temp and voltage. Nothing unusual before another failure. Continued in this way until power was literally flickering between on and off. I suspected the PSU and tested it (paper clip, seemed to function normally) and RMA’d it.

Got the replacement, installed, no power. The power button LED on the motherboard was flickering every 5 secs, as were the lights on my desk powered by USB slot on motherboard. Sent email to EVGA asking about the condition of the unit I returned and if the replacement was tested in a system before it was sent to me. They say the unit I returned consistently failed when put under a system load. The other question wasn’t answered so I am basically back where I started. One odd thing, when I did the paper clip test with the replacement unit (same results as first tests) afterwards, light on motherboard is solid on now. shrugs Any ideas?

I don’t have access to a known working PSU or another system to test my replacement. I’m trying to get more information before I start buying parts and also need to be certain this replacement unit isn’t DoA.
Specs:

CPU - Intel Core i7-6700k 4 GHz Quad Core
CPU Cooler - Swifttech H220-x
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA Z170x Gaming G1 ATX LGA1151
Memory - 2X Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB DDR4 3000 CL15
Storage - Samsung 950 PRO 512 GB M.2-2280 NVMe SSD
GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti GAMING Hybrid
PSU - EVGA SuperNOVA P2 1000W Fully Modular ATX

Thanks
 
Mashadaar said:
Hello,

I built this system about 7 years ago and only major problem was graphics card burnt out a few years back.

I’ll try to keep it brief. During the end of a regular day of use, my computer suddenly went to sleep. Woke it up, logged in and resumed activity. After a few minutes it shut down completely. Restart, loaded OS and let it sit at desktop while I monitored temp. Quickly shut down again with nothing obvious occurring beforehand. Restart again and loses power before reaching OS. Restart and enter BIOS to monitor temp and voltage. Nothing unusual before another failure. Continued in this way until power was literally flickering between on and off. I suspected the PSU and tested it (paper clip, seemed to function normally) and RMA’d it.

Got the replacement, installed, no power. The power button LED on the motherboard was flickering every 5 secs, as were the lights on my desk powered by USB slot on motherboard. Sent email to EVGA asking about the condition of the unit I returned and if the replacement was tested in a system before it was sent to me. They say the unit I returned consistently failed when put under a system load. The other question wasn’t answered so I am basically back where I started. One odd thing, when I did the paper clip test with the replacement unit (same results as first tests) afterwards, light on motherboard is solid on now. shrugs Any ideas?

I don’t have access to a known working PSU or another system to test my replacement. I’m trying to get more information before I start buying parts and also need to be certain this replacement unit isn’t DoA.
Specs:

CPU - Intel Core i7-6700k 4 GHz Quad Core
CPU Cooler - Swifttech H220-x
Motherboard - Gigabyte GA Z170x Gaming G1 ATX LGA1151
Memory - 2X Corsair Vengeance LPX 8GB DDR4 3000 CL15
Storage - Samsung 950 PRO 512 GB M.2-2280 NVMe SSD
GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 Ti GAMING Hybrid
PSU - EVGA SuperNOVA P2 1000W Fully Modular ATX

Thanks
Click to expand...
You should unplug anything you don't need from the motherboard. Mouse, KB only and see if it boots and is stable. Then add stuff back one at a time to see what is causing the issue. If you still have trouble the next likely culprit is the mobo. I'd even take the GPU out and use the iGPU to rule out the 1070 ti.
 
could also try disconnecting power and reset switches and jump starting it from the pins.
 
pendragon1 said:
could also try disconnecting power and reset switches and jump starting it from the pins.
Click to expand...
I’m sorry I’m new to this and don’t understand, are you referring to jumping the PSU using a paper clip in the 20/24 pin connector?
Furious_Styles said:
You should unplug anything you don't need from the motherboard. Mouse, KB only and see if it boots and is stable. Then add stuff back one at a time to see what is causing the issue. If you still have trouble the next likely culprit is the mobo. I'd even take the GPU out and use the iGPU to rule out the 1070 ti.
Click to expand...
Okay, I’ll give it a go and report later, thanks.
 
Mashadaar said:
I’m sorry I’m new to this and don’t understand, are you referring to jumping the PSU using a paper clip in the 20/24 pin connector?

Okay, I’ll give it a go and report later, thanks.
Click to expand...

He means remove the case connectors for the power and reset. Then simply short the two power pins with a screwdriver. This will turn the board on without using the case switch. This helps eliminate the case switch as being the issue.
 
Last edited:
jmilcher said:
He means remove the case connectors for the power and reset. Then simply short the two power pins with a screwdriver. This will turn the board on without using the case switch. This helps eliminate the case switch as being the issue.
Click to expand...
I understand, thank you for clarifying. I’ll add this to my list of things to try tomorrow.
Starfalcon said:
I almost thought this was another mgty23 thread....
Click to expand...
I looked at a few of those out of curiosity and must say I resent that a little. XD
 
It’s not looking good. I tested both the power and reset pins, nothing. Removed GPU, nothing. Pulled everything but CPU, still nothing.

I ordered a CORSAIR RMx Series RM650x PSU to serve as a test unit and to be certain the replacement unit wasn’t DOA. Guess I don’t have anything else to try until then.

I read somewhere that a dead CMOS battery could be a thing. Should I try replacing it?
 
Well, got the new PSU and nothing, so I guess that settles that… Someone on another forum suggested that as my first PSU was failing I may have inadvertently damaged other components with all the testing I did with it. I guess this is a cautionary tale for anyone who thinks they may PSU malfunction. Take it out!

I guess the question now is what do I try replacing first? Man, this whole thing is disheartening…
 
Honestly I would have spent the money on an ATX power supply tester before just buying more supplies. I havent used one personally but probably a better tool for ya.
There are a lot of things that could have gone wrong:

*a power surge at your house that the power supply didnt absorb and passed that to the motherboard.
*Static damage from touching parts of the motherboard without having yourself grounded.
*Dust and heat are electronics enemy, if components could not properly cool this results in higher resistance which in turn creates more heat.

If you have already tried everything removed then it sounds like it is your motherboard that took a crap.
 
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