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Odd power button problem

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  • Hardware
  • Cases
  • Power
  • Components
Last response: in Components
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December 2, 2013 7:44:48 AM

My father's old PC had begun exhibiting an odd power button problem. It would take him 15-25 presses of the power button to get the computer started with a cold boot. I happened to have a spare case lying around and so transplanted the entire guts of the old PC (PSU included) into the new case checking that it was working with minimal hardware installed and then with the full hardware load. Thinking the problem was solved (I had assumed it was a faulty power button connection on the old case), I left it at that but he has just told me it took him 10 attempts to get it started this morning.
The PSU is a 700w Zalman that should easily cover the power requirements of an old core 2 CPU and a low-end solid-state cooled 5000 series GPU. The MB is an Asus P5N32-E SLI. I have checked the MB power connections and they are all seated correctly.

Any ideas what might be causing this and/or how to troubleshoot it?

The current rig has lasted him for at least 3 years before the above problems started.

More about : odd power button problem

December 2, 2013 7:52:08 AM

maybe it's the power cable up to the pc. i'm guessing you left the old one(s)

could also be the pins for the power switch on the mobo.
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December 2, 2013 8:49:01 AM

laviniuc said:
maybe it's the power cable up to the pc. i'm guessing you left the old one(s)

could also be the pins for the power switch on the mobo.


Will try a different power cable. Once it has been running for a while it seems to be fine starting and restarting; it is only a problem on cold boots after hours switched off.

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December 2, 2013 8:52:24 AM

psu could be the problem too.
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December 2, 2013 10:42:13 AM

My guess would be, if the cable to the power switch is corectly pluged to the mobo, that the problem is on the other side of the cable - the part that connects to the fron pannel/power switch. Otherwise the cable might be broken somewhere inside (probably because of an angle it was connected for the three years) - by broken I mean that the part that conducts energy signalls (probably copper, silver, gold) had a pressure on it and it got worn down and broke into two peaces (happens with headphones a lot).
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December 2, 2013 10:52:36 AM

laviniuc said:
psu could be the problem too.


If the PSU was the problem, then other components in the PC wouldnt work at all in normal usage.
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December 3, 2013 1:01:57 PM

OK, so I have swapped out the power cord and mains plug and the problem remains. Since I have disconnected and then reconnected the PSU to the MB and the MB to 2 different cases I don't think it is a problem with an incorrectly seated connector - that would be too much of a coincidence. To add further detail: when the power button is pushed it sounds like it is starting up (Fans start whooshing) but stops suddenly after around a second. It will keep doing this for 5 or 6 pushes of the power button before turning on fully and running without problem.
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