[Reagen Lionel]

I went to sleep and woke to say to find my pc not coming on. This is an entirely new PC I built about 6 months ago.

I've had no issue with it since. My first guess is the connector is loose and need to be reseated as my drives and headset and speakers still have power and light up.

It's a hassle to go through and reseat everything. I'm wondering if it's the connector to the power button that needs reseating or the connector directly to the mother board?

I've had it come back on when opening it and pressing in the motherboard power connector to make sure it's fitted. But it comes off again after 30 mins or something. And pressing power doesn't bring it back up. Another potential thing is the power cord itself if it's possible if it has a short? Sometimes unplugging the big black cord from the PSU and replugging back in and PC turns on.

So I'm just trying to get a feel on possible things here where the problem likely is.
As I don't think it's a hardware or component issue and seems like it's something simple. Since other peripherals have power still most the time this happens and the PC itself works and works fine all this time.

 

[spunk.funk]

my drives and headset and speakers still have power and light up... Since other peripherals have power still most the time this happens

It sounds like your system went to sleep. Check the Power settings. How to adjust power and sleep settings in Windows - Microsoft Support

You can also test by replacing the Power Cable to the desktop.

 

[Reagen Lionel]

It sounds like your system went to sleep. Check the Power settings. How to adjust power and sleep settings in Windows - Microsoft Support

You can also test by replacing the Power Cable to the desktop.

It's definitely not sleep. Given I have unplugged the power and went to make sure the connector was pressed in twice already. And had a few times the PC just wouldn't turn back on. Until I unplugged the power cord from the PSU and put back in several times.

I do think could be power cable, I'll look and see if I have another if it does so again. I have it back on now.

 

[spunk.funk]

To Troubleshoot software issues, Try a Clean Boot, if this works you can keep it this way. Or you can add one Startup item or Service at a time until the computer starts acting up, then you will know the culprit.

 

[MPR]

You may have a mal-fitting connector or even a mis-soldered motherboard header. Even new hardware can come with defects. I had a boot problem for a long time until I finally found the culprit -- a new SSD data cable that I'd bought because it was supposed to be a "better" one than the cheap stock cables that came with my case. After about a month of heating and cooling cycles the connection would expand just enough to prevent a boot but not enough to actually notice it. It took me forever to discover the problem because the slight jar of my opening the case would re-connect it and the computer would then work for another month. Mains power cables can be found anywhere and are cheap so I'd replace this first.

 

[MPR]

I do think could be power cable

Also, it wouldn't hurt to get a table lamp and plug it into the outlet where you have your computer plugged in and wiggle the plug a bit. If the lamp flickers you've probably found the culprit. Try this for both sockets.

 

[Reagen Lionel]

Okay so I changed different power cables, tried different outlet ( the one I used also had other stuff plugged into the outlet, so they definitely work), and that doesn't seem to make a difference. So it's not the power cables itself.



USB peripherals turn on but the PC itself is the one that's having difficulty turning on. Could it be the something with the PSU itself? Just unplugging and replugging the black power cable several times seems to have it turn on everything. I've checked the motherboard power connector and the CPU power connector inside quite a few times and reseated them. And still have issues with the whole PC not powering on, just some peripherals of things that are plugged into the usbs slots like external hard drives and controllers by their lights turning on, but not the rest of the PC. But as I mentioned, unplugging and replugging the main power cable into the PSU several times seems to eventually have everything power on. Then some random time between 20 mins to an hour everything cuts off.

 

[spunk.funk]

Then the next culprit will be the PSU.
Boot into Setup (Bios) go to PC Health or some such and check the Voltages, or Download Hardware Monitor if they are off by more the .5 volts, it needs to be replaced
Here are some other diagnostics How to Test Power Supply

 

[Reagen Lionel]

Then the next culprit will be the PSU.
Boot into Setup (Bios) go to PC Health or some such and check the Voltages, or Download Hardware Monitor if they are off by more the .5 volts, it needs to be replaced
Here are some other diagnostics How to Test Power Supply

I just got off my pc. After I had it running for a bit. I think it may be the PSU. After running it, playing a game that's not that demanding for a bit. After a bit, I got a blue screen related to power. And I noticed a strong electronical smell as it was restarting. I turned it sleep mode for now, I'll boot it back up later to check your suggestion. But that does have me concerned it may be my PSU. Which I suppose makes sense. I've had it for about 5 years.

 

[MPR]

But that does have me concerned it may be my PSU. Which I suppose makes sense. I've had it for about 5 years.

It definitely sounds like a PSU problem. If you've smelled something coming from the computer, I'd not turn on the computer again until I performed a motherboard inspection and the PSU was replaced. I didn't realize that you had reused an old PSU as you originally stated that you built the system six months ago. Physically inspect the motherboard, back and front to see of you can find any burned spots on it but whatever you do don't even think about opening the PSU itself. The large capacitors inside it can hold a considerable charge. I have a degree in electronics and have seen several unwary and careless students give themselves dangerous shocks while working on PSUs.

Replace your PSU with a decent unit. You don't have go to top-of-the-line, unless you wish to. If you are on a limited budget, a mid-level 750W unit will suffice for nearly all builds.

Here are my recommendations from what's currently available on Amazon. You can easily spend $250 to $500 or more on a PSU but it's not necessary for most builders.

Thermaltake Smart BX1 750W -- $70

Pros: Builder, is CWT, a decent manufacturer. Good build quality. Japanese-made capacitors (Nichicon). Good value. Meets specs.
Cons: No overcurrent protection. No undervoltage protection. Not modular. Older fan technology. 5-year warranty.

Corsair RM750x, 750W -- $135

CWT-built. Not really any serious cons other than the compact size might make plugging in the modular cables a bit fiddly at the PSU end. 10-year warranty.

 

[Reagen Lionel]

It definitely sounds like a PSU problem. If you've smelled something coming from the computer, I'd not turn on the computer again until I performed a motherboard inspection and the PSU was replaced. I didn't realize that you had reused an old PSU as you originally stated that you built the system six months ago. Physically inspect the motherboard, back and front to see of you can find any burned spots on it but whatever you do don't even think about opening the PSU itself. The large capacitors inside it can hold a considerable charge. I have a degree in electronics and have seen several unwary and careless students give themselves dangerous shocks while working on PSUs.

Replace your PSU with a decent unit. You don't have go to top-of-the-line, unless you wish to. If you are on a limited budget, a mid-level 750W unit will suffice for nearly all builds.

Here are my recommendations from what's currently available on Amazon. You can easily spend $250 to $500 or more on a PSU but it's not necessary for most builders.

Thermaltake Smart BX1 750W -- $70

Pros: Builder, is CWT, a decent manufacturer. Good build quality. Japanese-made capacitors (Nichicon). Good value. Meets specs.
Cons: No overcurrent protection. No undervoltage protection. Not modular. Older fan technology. 5-year warranty.

Corsair RM750x, 750W -- $135

CWT-built. Not really any serious cons other than the compact size might make plugging in the modular cables a bit fiddly at the PSU end. 10-year warranty.

Thanks. The first PSU I'm looking at. The PSU and graphics card are the only things I carried over from my old PC. Not realizing how long I've had the PSU. It's a 725W. Yeah I'm gonna keep it off and have a look at it once replacement PSU comes in. Thanks for the recommendations.

 

[Reagen Lionel]

Finally got my new PSU in. Installed it. And haven't had the problem since. So this appears to have been solved. Thank you all for the input and help.