Computer Suddenly Shut Off. Won't Start Now

Ultron · Jan 28, 2014

Windows 7 64bit
Asus p9x79 pro
16gb of ram
x2 hd7970 gpus
Sound Blaster ZxR
Fractal 1000w PSU

I've been running all these parts for almost a year now with no problem, with only the PSU being somewhat new, at 2 or 3 months.

I was in the middle of a game of League of Legends when my computer suddenly shut off, i've not been able to get it to turn back on since. When I try the light just flicks on, the fans move a little and thats about it.

Searching google led me to believe my PSU was likely the problem, so i put in my old 850w PSU, but I still get the same result.

Weeshnaw · Jan 28, 2014

Hmm... What, exactly, is moving? GPU, CPU fans, regular fans, HDD, etc. Sounds like a mobo problem, but let's not be hasty. Is it possible that your CPU overheated?

Also, how long ago did it first shut off, because it may need some cooldown time.

Ultron · Jan 28, 2014

Weeshnaw :

Nothing is moving, the fans move a little bit when i press the power but they quickly stop, probably don't even do a full rotation.

I initially waited at least an hour, cause i thought it was the PSU and i was feeling too lazy to swap in my old one, which also took me a decent amount of time as im no expert. So i would think it would have cooled down in that amount of time, also i am running a Noctua heatsink which keeps it pretty cool, so i doubt the cpu overheated.

Also, forgot to mention, when i swapped in the old psu and tried to power on, it (not sure what) made a noise, followed by a smell. Same smell as when one of my video cards died, which made me think that had happened again, but even when i take both of them out, it still won't start.

Weeshnaw · Jan 28, 2014

Ultron :

Ouch. Yeah, that does sound like a PSU problem, but the fact that both of yours don't work is odd. Either both of them are faulty, or something bizarre happened with your motherboard. In any case, SOMETHING is going to need to be replaced. Contact your mobo manufacturer first, see if it's a known issue with them. If it's not, go ahead and contact your power supply manufacturer.

Ultron · Jan 28, 2014

Is there a way to test the Mobo to see if thats dead? With both PSU units, when plugged in, lights showed up on the mobo, don't know if that means anything.

Weeshnaw · Jan 28, 2014

Ultron :

It might, or it might not. I have a friend who ordered a bad mobo, even his CPU fan was running. And no, I doubt you could test it yourself. Try and take it to an expert. While advice on here is good, it can't compare to an expert sitting with your rig right in front of him.

Ultron · Jan 29, 2014

I actually had a Asrock p67 Extreme 4 mobo lying around, put that thing in, tried it with the old 850w seasonic PSU and i get the same thing, tried a different power cord to the psu, but that didn't change anything, now i really don't know WHAT to think.

Weeshnaw · Jan 29, 2014

Ultron :

Do you just have random, convenient parts laying around? lol

In all seriousness, either you have two defective PSUs, or something else had a critical problem, maybe your CPU. Really sounds like you should take this to someone in person, though.

Benevolence · Jan 29, 2014

Apocalyptically Romantic (Weeshnaw) is on the right track. From what I gather you did try two different PSU? That leaves the motherboard (assuming your Processor is OK)
I had a motherboard die not too long ago where it would get stuck in a reboot loop where the fans came on, then it would turn off. Here's some more steps that you can try:
1. FULL CMOS CLEAR: This means take the cmos battery out for a few hours, then put it back in and (with the power off) short your Clear CMOS jumpers for about 10 minutes. This would clear a corrupted CMOS issue that may be halting the POST boot-up. This fixed my motherboard's reboot loop for a little while even though the BIOS chip was completely corrupted.
2. Check that your heatsink is mounted properly and not loose. I had a reboot issue once where a friend had taken his desktop with him on a cross country trip (us video editors are a devoted bunch), and the vibrations from the trip caused all of his thermal paste to "vibrate" right out of the contact junction and onto the sides of the Proc. The processor would start up, heat up and shut down in about 1/3 of a second.

Other than that, it is likely that your motherboard is damaged. A professional could certainly do all of the diagnostic work for you if you don't have the time to tinker with it for a few hours.

Ultron · Jan 29, 2014

Weeshnaw :

I upgraded pretty much everything in my computer a year or so ago, and havn't been able to do much with most of the old parts.

Benevolence :

If it was the CMOS then why wouldn't a completely separate mobo work? One that has a different cpu and
heatsink?

Probably just end up taking it into a shop.

Benevolence · Jan 31, 2014

Seems like you ruled out the Mobo. You seem pretty computer savvy so I'm also going to assume you have tested ram modules as well. Assuming that BOTH of your PSU are OK...
That only leaves your Processor as the culprit.

Ultron · Jan 31, 2014

Well the 2nd mobo i tried had a different cpu, so that doesn't seem too likely, I phoned the computer shop i plan on taking it to, they said it sounded like there might be a short somewhere, which im really hoping is the case, and i don't have to replace and serious hardware. I'll update after i actually get the thing to them.

Ultron · Feb 14, 2014

Just thought I would give an update. I took my pc in, and after a day or so I got a call back. Turns out 2 of my hard drives are dead. I have 3 and he said that one was "grounding out" and that it likely damaged the other 2 as a result. Having had so much data on them, i dunno if this is actually worse then having to replace the mobo+cpu.

Anyone have more info on this "grounding out" and what I could have done to prevent it?

Dilan Gilluly · Apr 20, 2015

"Grounding out" means that the component is bridging the gap between it's supply current and ground with no resistance. Essentially the same result could be found if you took the +12v connector, and used a paper clip to connect it straight to a black connector. Any component with a defect or damage (overheat or water damage) could do it, but it is extremely rare. I've seen it just once in my career of building and maintaining rigs. It was on a video card.

Benevolence · Jun 19, 2015

Dilan Gilluly is a tech savvy Necromancer.

Andrew_60 · Jan 27, 2016

This isn't an answer but seeing your comment about the video card grounding out reminded me of something that happens to me about a month ago. I installed a new EVGA geforce 980 in my gaming rig. Which is a Asus maximus 6 hero, Intel i7 4770k, gskill ares 16 GB ram, Seagate barracuda 1TB and a cooler master liquid cooler for the CPU. I installed all drivers and halfway through loading my house on the sims 3 it shut off...like completely.. No blue screen, no errors no sounds just black. So I went and pushed the power button and the case lights came on, the fans that weren't connected directly to the case turned on and ran fine( connected to a fan controller on the case) the CPU cooler fan on the Radiator turned on at its lowest speed and the hard drive and disk drive power up and work as does the water block on the CPU. But it will not post no matter what I've done..using just one stick of ram at a time..re seating the CPU..cleared the cmos..nothing has worked and now I have a 1600 dollar pc that's just sitting on my table..please tell me what I should do next..I can't believe it would be the CPU..it is a gaming pc after all.

kNouva · Jun 23, 2017

Any solutions to this yet?

Computer Suddenly Shut Off. Won't Start Now

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