PC switches on, then switches itself off before the login screen - please help!

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xtobymc

xtobymc

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Jan 5, 2013
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System Info:
Just over a year old, built myself. Intel i5 3570k, Asrock Z77 Extreme4 Mobo, OCZ 650W PSU, Asus GTX 780, single 1TB SSHD, single 1TB HDD, 8GB RAM, Windows 8 64bit, Dual 1080p monitors


Today I went to turn on my computer only to find that after the Windows loading icon, the computer does nothing else except show a black screen before switching itself off. Sometimes the PC remains switched on and the screen flickers on and off (as though it receives an input, my monitor detects it, then the input disappears and my monitor asks for an input signal). Yesterday I did install a new driver for my GPU, but it worked fine afterwards. Last night (when I last used the PC), there was also a Windows update as the PC was shutting down, which I assume is the problem.

I am unable to load into safe mode, and I've tried mashing F8 / Shift + F8 but nothing ever happens. It's extremely hard to tell whether it's a software problem or a hardware issue. I've always looked after the PC and kept temperatures good and kept it clean, I don't believe it's a hardware issue, although I may be wrong.

Does anyone have any idea for what I can do? I'm fairly good with computers, but in this case I can't even use safe mode, so I have no idea how I can even go about diagnosing the problem...

Thanks
 
Solution
nukemaster
If you have onboard video, give it a shot(almost sure that board has onboard video and the cpu does for sure).

The new solid caps used across most boards do not have the leaking issues of the older ones.

Power supply caps can fail, but it takes a long time.

If you get everything working, then shut down and try the video card again. If it still does not work, you may want to enable the Windows boot menu so you can use safe move to try to remove the video drivers.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/212392-safe-mode-add-windows-boot-manager-screen-windows-7-a.html

If the video card does not work with other driver either it or the power supply would be my first guess. Testing the card in a friends system would be the next step if you...
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xtobymc

xtobymc

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I've opened up the case and everything seems healthy inside. Nothing seems to smell bad and all the capacitors are in tact and still shining gold. My GPU was also only purchased in November and its lights show green, so I can't imagine it's a GPU problem. Weirdly enough I just unplugged one of my monitors and booted the PC up with just 1 monitor. It's now showing a black screen with a cursor, and the PC doesn't keep switching off by itself anymore.
 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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Nov 23, 2004
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If you have onboard video, give it a shot(almost sure that board has onboard video and the cpu does for sure).

The new solid caps used across most boards do not have the leaking issues of the older ones.

Power supply caps can fail, but it takes a long time.

If you get everything working, then shut down and try the video card again. If it still does not work, you may want to enable the Windows boot menu so you can use safe move to try to remove the video drivers.
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/212392-safe-mode-add-windows-boot-manager-screen-windows-7-a.html

If the video card does not work with other driver either it or the power supply would be my first guess. Testing the card in a friends system would be the next step if you can to ensure it works.

It kind of sucks, but sometimes hardware just up and fails.
 
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Solution
xtobymc

xtobymc

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Jan 5, 2013
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I just took out my GPU and tried booting up using my on-board graphics, still the same problem. I even got my Windows 8 installation CD in an attempt to boot from the CD and access its troubleshooting feature, but my PC, despite me selecting 'boot from CD drive' in my BIOS is automatically just booting from my SSHD instead, I can't even use a disc. I've worked out that my monitors, hdmi cable and GPU don't seem to be the problem thus far.

 
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nukemaster

nukemaster

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Nov 23, 2004
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Well, that greatly reduces the chance that it is an issue with the power supply as well since removal of the video card should drop the load as well. If it has problems, my guess is the system would not have made to to post.

Can you burn a linux live cd/dvd(take a pick, they all have one) to see if it works. At least you will know the parts are still good.

If you have secure boot on, you may not be able to boot from other media.
 
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