Computer won't come back to life, help please. [SOLVED]

Grundlestiltskin · July 2015

Last night my desktop did something I've never seen it do before - was playing FFXIV and it just...shut down randomly. Started it up again, launched the game, shut down again immediately. Started it up again, and was able to play the remainder of the evening. I did keep an eye on my temps at that point, though, and noticed that in certain areas my CPU was rocketing up to the 80s/90s C. Not great.

Today I started playing again, it shut itself down again, and now it won't start back up again at all. I am getting nothing when I push the power button.

The lights on the mobo are on, so it seems to be getting some juice, but I am getting literally zero response from pushing the power button. Did I fry my CPU? Is my PSU finally giving up the ghost? Is there a good way for me to tell? Trying to figure out which parts I may need to replace and could use the help.

LD50 · July 2015

Unplug/remove everything that's not required to turn the computer on: All but one stick of ram, all the hard drives/ssds/dvd drives, and remove the gpu too if you can plug your monitor into your mainboard. See if it boots that way.

Aside from having another PSU to test with, there's not a lot else you can do.

Grundlestiltskin · July 2015

Tried it. Pulled the GPU and 3 sticks of RAM out, disconnected all the drives, still not so much as a click or whirr when I push the power button (though the power lights on the motherboard are on).

The PSU, mobo, and CPU are all almost 4 years old at this point, maybe it was just their time.

Trace · July 2015

This could be anything from a loose connection with the power button to a PSU or Motherboard that is on its last legs. I highly highly doubt it's your CPU itself.

take it to a shop. Let them check it out before you do anything too extreme.

Grundlestiltskin · July 2015

Maybe. I'd gotten in a 2-3 year upgrade cycle that I'd fallen out of because every time I look at CPU tier charts at tomshardware I second guess myself. The system currently:

Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO
CPU: i5 2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3 GHz Quad Core
GPU: GeForce GTX 770 (4 GB)
PSU: Corsair 650 TX 650W
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 4x 4GB

I've been looking for an excuse to upgrade and this may be it (it's not particularly easy for me to carve out time to take my desktop to a shop), but if there isn't anything there that's an obvious "replace me" I guess I'll try to make time.

Handgimp · July 2015

You cycled through each stick of ram?

wunderbar · July 2015

honestly your system is more than good enough. the 2500k is adequete for gaming still, the Devil's Canyon i7's aren't actually *that* much more powerful, especially if your 2500k is overclocked. 16GB of ram is.....excessive. 8GB is still the recommended norm unless you have needs outside of gaming that use it.

The only thing that stands out to upgrade is the GPU, the 770 is ok, but the 970 is better :biggrin:

As for what's actually broken with your machine, my first guess is power supply. Those are almost always the first thing to go. I'd see if you can borrow one or otherwise get your hands on another to test with.

tsmvengy · July 2015

My guess would be power supply as well - that's usually what goes when you get random shutdowns.

The other issue could be that your CPU cooler fan died and temps are getting high and shutting things off.

See if you can get a warranty replacement on the PSU.

wunderbar · July 2015

tsmvengy wrote: »

My guess would be power supply as well - that's usually what goes when you get random shutdowns.

The other issue could be that your CPU cooler fan died and temps are getting high and shutting things off.

See if you can get a warranty replacement on the PSU.

if the CPU was overheating the machine would still turn on after being left to cool down for 10 minutes or so. it'd just shut down again once the temperatures got high.

Grundlestiltskin · July 2015

wunderbar wrote: »

tsmvengy wrote: »

My guess would be power supply as well - that's usually what goes when you get random shutdowns.

The other issue could be that your CPU cooler fan died and temps are getting high and shutting things off.

See if you can get a warranty replacement on the PSU.

if the CPU was overheating the machine would still turn on after being left to cool down for 10 minutes or so. it'd just shut down again once the temperatures got high.

Yeah that's what I thought at first. It's just dead now though, even 12 hours later.

tsmvengy · July 2015

wunderbar wrote: »

tsmvengy wrote: »

My guess would be power supply as well - that's usually what goes when you get random shutdowns.

The other issue could be that your CPU cooler fan died and temps are getting high and shutting things off.

See if you can get a warranty replacement on the PSU.

if the CPU was overheating the machine would still turn on after being left to cool down for 10 minutes or so. it'd just shut down again once the temperatures got high.

Oh yeah, 10 minutes would definitely be enough to fix that. Reading comprehension on my part.

BouwsT · July 2015

Anecdotal, I know, but I had the same thing happen to mine. Playing Spec Ops: The Line a while back, PC froze briefly, shut itself off, then would not power back on again. I'm not sure how closely you watch your CPU temps, but I'd guess that is a secondary issue, not related to the shut down. My money is on PSU.

Grundlestiltskin · July 2015

I ordered a new PSU and cooler, we'll see if that does it in a few days.

Trace · July 2015

Grundlestiltskin wrote: »

I ordered a new PSU and cooler, we'll see if that does it in a few days.

fingers crossed.

Grundlestiltskin · July 2015

Update - I got home from my trip and my desktop was randomly on, which seems like it should have been impossible but certainly strange nonetheless.

Anyways, I installed the new PSU and was able to use the computer all evening without issue. Success! The CPU is still running super hot, but that should be resolved when I install the new cooler tonight. Thanks everyone for the help.

Grundlestiltskin · August 2015

Just a quick update for anyone interested - I replaced my cooler and the temps dropped from 90-95C on the active game areas to 35-40C. Pretty significant improvement. Funny story though, when I took my old cooler out:

So...that may have been at least partly responsible for my heat issues. Maybe I should clean that more often. Whoops.

tsmvengy · August 2015

:bigfrown:

:bigfrown: :bigfrown: :bigfrown: :bigfrown: :bigfrown:

EDIT:

How? How is that even possible? Isn't your cooler pulling air from INSIDE your case? What does the inside of your case look like?!

Grundlestiltskin · August 2015

tsmvengy wrote: »

:bigfrown:
:bigfrown: :bigfrown: :bigfrown: :bigfrown: :bigfrown:

EDIT:

How? How is that even possible? Isn't your cooler pulling air from INSIDE your case? What does the inside of your case look like?!

At the direction of the cooler instructions, the fan is set to blow into the case. It looks like it's sucking up dust (and cat hair/dander) from behind my case and into the cooler vent.

Descendant X · August 2015

Grundlestiltskin wrote: »

Just a quick update for anyone interested - I replaced my cooler and the temps dropped from 90-95C on the active game areas to 35-40C. Pretty significant improvement. Funny story though, when I took my old cooler out:

So...that may have been at least partly responsible for my heat issues. Maybe I should clean that more often. Whoops.

I had the same heat issues with my 4690K, with the temp jumping into the 80's while gaming. Threw on a cheapish cooler, now I max out in the high 50's. I have oc'd my CPU though, so that adds to the heat.

I suppose I'm fortunate that my cats don't come downstairs often, because my fan filter would probably look the same. As it is, I'm usually cleaning spiderwebs out of my case when I open it up.

tsmvengy · August 2015

Put something in between the case and the fan, or the fan and the radiator to catch dust. Even putting a pantyhose layer sandwiched in there and cutting around it will do wonders.

Or if you want to get fancy:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999249&cm_re=dust_filter-_-11-999-249-_-Product

Something that is removable and will catch the dust before it coats your fans and radiators.

Grundlestiltskin · August 2015

tsmvengy wrote: »

Or if you want to get fancy:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999249&cm_re=dust_filter-_-11-999-249-_-Product

Thanks for the suggestion, just put in an order for one of these.

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Computer won't come back to life, help please. [SOLVED]

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