Difficulties powering up PC

[P_H]

I'm not sure in what section to post this, as my problem isn't necessarily related to the PSU, but anyways:

My (four year old) PC has recently become very hard to start up. Essentially, I can press the power on button about 100 times (no exaggeration), until suddenly it boots up. The PC works great otherwise - it's just that I can't turn it on if it hasn't been turned on with a minute or more (with some static charge dissipating).

So the problem presumably is in one of three areas:
1. (Soft) reset button.
2. Motherboard.
3. Power supply.

What I would like help with is suggestions on how to proceed and find out exactly what component is causing the problem. It's bugging me to no end.

 

[acer0169]

Have you tried opening the case and making sure all front panel connections are correctly seated. Also make sure it's not a faulty power button buy taking one out of an old case, plugging that into the front panel and then firing it up.

A work around to this would be when you finally get the machine booted, load into your BIOS. From there you can set your computer to come on with either a set time, or by pressing any key on your keyboard (sometimes just space bar).

Turning a computer on with a press of the keyboard can be helpful, but also very annoying if you have children or stupid friends that come over and start pressing the space because it fires your machine up lol.

The fact your computer fires up eventually and then works without any issues points towards a faulty connection and not a failing power supply.

It might however be a problem with your motherboard, though I doubt it.

 

[P_H]

Thanks for the reply, much appreciated.

Addressing your points in order:

1. Yeah I've opened the case and checked the pins related to the power button. I haven't tried another power button yet, since it's somewhat impractical. I've run out of choices now though, so I'll probably try purchasing one (if those are sold separately...)

2. I've played around in BIOS. I found a PS/2 mouse/keyboard boot option, but no USB (old motherboard I guess). Though I think my USB keyboard has some adapter somewhere.. Ideally I would've loved a "always start on hard reset" option, but there doesn't seem to be any. Then again, I have never updated BIOS, could try that.

 

[jb6684]

As power supplies get older, the capacitors age and the supply can't output as much power (amps...) When the power is not sufficient the power supply attempts to start the system but can't .... (just like trying to start a car with an old weak battery....)

What's the brand & power rating of the supply currently in the computer?

Let us know what type of system you have and we can suggest a size. But if its a basic system without a powerful video card... get 400 watts.... (when I bought Dells & Microns they usually came with 250watt supplies, they would work for 3 or 4 years then fail... to weak)

 

[shovenose]

http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=5

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

I have seen this issue many times. In a good number of cases, the motherboard is at fault, the rest, the PSU. Rarely does the connection between the button and motherboard become faulty.

The cheapest way to test this is to buy a power supply tester. If you plug it in, it will show you if all the voltages are correct. These can be purchased at a local computer shop for 10$.

If it is the power supply, like jb6684 mentioned, its time to get a better one.

 

[jb6684]

I'd agree with CompTIA_rep those $10 power supply testers are handy for a quick test of all the voltages, but, they don't test the supply under load so you miss some of the story.

I just keep a spare power supply around, even the cheap 600watt supplies I'd NEVER use in a real system, will do... they cost like $20 on sale.