PC turns itself on and off repeatedly after installation of new PSU

zombie_reptar

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Recently my Corsair VX-550 died. I decided to replace it with a Corsair TX-650 but I've been encountering some very strange problems. During the RMA process I was running my PC with a spare power supply (ritmo force860) with no issues. The other day when I installed the new TX650 the system wouldn't boot, instead the fans, leds etc would turn on momentarily then turn themselves off then on a again repeatedly until I shut it off manually at the wall or the back of the PSU.

At first I assumed something was shorting the mother board (during the installation I had moved some cables and stuff around in the case a bit) so I opened it up and made a few adjustments and then it turned on just fine. Later that night I shut the computer down and then attempted to switch it back on again, just out of curiosity, only to encounter the same problem (refusing to boot fans starting and stopping ad infinitum). I was tired so I decided to go to bed and deal with it in the morning, when I got the PC booted normally but sure enough once I switched it off again it refused to turn back on until I let it 'cool down' for a while (not literally cool down, the unit doesn't appear to be overheating or anything).

The power supply's fan is also unusually loud. For the most part the noise just consists of that normal hum that computer fans make but it's amplified more than one would expect of a corsair. Additionally it emits a subtle rattling/vibrating noise every 30 seconds or so.

So here wheres stuff starts to get really bizarre. I tested the TX650 with a different computer and it worked, the rattling sound was still there but the PC turned on and stayed on the 5 or 6 times I tested it. What the hell is going on here? It's an old Acer machine that belongs to my parents (must be about 7 years old). The only explanation I can think of is perhaps this spare computer requires so little power that even a dying PSU can handle it, other than that I'm stumped.

The fact the my PC boots fine with a spare PSU but not with the new corsair obviously suggests that the corsair PSU is the problem but by the same token the fact that the spare PC works with the corsair seem to suggest the opposite. Why is this happening?

If the PSU is faulty, why would the computer boot up sometimes and not others?
Corsair is supposed to be an extremely reliable brand and yet this is the second faulty product I have received from them within the last few months. Is it possible that I'm doing something wrong? Am I killing these PSUs somehow? could the problem be my computer or am I just really unlucky?

I managed to dig up this thread describing the exact same problem:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/292983-31-computer-turns

The OP resolved the issue by replacing the PSU with a different model but it was rather unclear as to what caused the problem...something about a voltage incompatibility? How would I determine if this is the case? I'm worried that If it's incompatible instead of faulty I will be unable to return it to the store, in which case I'm kinda stuck :(

System specs:
Seagate Barracuda 1TB ST31000528AS
Samsung SH-S223C SATA DVDRW Drive
Powercolor Radeon HD5770
1GB Mushkin 996768 Silverline PC3-10666 (2x2GB)
DDR3 Intel Core i5 760
ASRock H55M-L Motherboard
Asus Xonar DG sound card

What do you guys make of all this?

Thank you so much for your time :)
 

g048989h

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Tuff one. After testing it on the other PC did you reinstall to Acer? If so did you have the same issue? I am wondering if 24 pin or 4/8 pin weren't fully seated in the Acer.
A PSU can have voltage issues randomly. I know that doesnt help, but if the store you bought it from has a PSU tester they might find it faulty. I know my loal Fry's can test PSU's.
 

zombie_reptar

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Thanks for replying!

After testing it on the other PC did you reinstall to Acer? If so did you have the same issue? I am wondering if 24 pin or 4/8 pin weren't fully seated in the Acer.

Sorry, I'm not quite sure what you mean. The acer is the spare and the custom pc is the one I'm having the problem with. If I understand what you're asking correctly then yes, after the PSU powered the spare acer machine I did indeed try it again with my main computer and yes, the problem persisted. I checked the connections multiple times.

A PSU can have voltage issues randomly. I know that doesnt help, but if the store you bought it from has a PSU tester they might find it faulty. I know my loal Fry's can test PSU's.

I bought it online so I guess I'd have to take it to my local repair store which is sort I've what I'm trying to avoid (thought I might have some luck here fist).
 

durkin555

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having same EXACT problem with my HX850.

I'm not even pressing the power button on and my pc keeps randomly turning on and off until I unplug a cable.

Should I replace?
 

internetlad

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Is it possible you bumped the heatsink and it came unseated on one corner or something of the nature.

I was pulling my hair out over a similar issue and it turned out that the plastic mount on one corner had snapped off from tension and the heatsink wasn't making proper contact with the CPU. the sink was ice cold and the cpu was burning up.

It would work for a couple minutes and then display very similar symptoms to what you're describing. I was wondering why it would crash in linux distros, safe mode windows AND a UBCD lol.
 

zombie_reptar

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Thanks for responding guys.

having same EXACT problem with my HX850.

I'm not even pressing the power button on and my pc keeps randomly turning on and off until I unplug a cable.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one, I've googled til can't google no more and there's barely any information on our problem (except the thread I linked in which the issue was identical but the solution was frustratingly vague)

Is it possible you bumped the heatsink and it came unseated on one corner or something of the nature.

I was pulling my hair out over a similar issue and it turned out that the plastic mount on one corner had snapped off from tension and the heatsink wasn't making proper contact with the CPU. the sink was ice cold and the cpu was burning up.

It would work for a couple minutes and then display very similar symptoms to what you're describing. I was wondering why it would crash in linux distros, safe mode windows AND a UBCD lol.

The heatsink appears to be attached firmly and when I can get the system running the temperature seems normal. Also it's not really crashing it just seems to have a lot of trouble getting started, once I get to turn on (either with the spare psu or after lettering the new one sit for a while) I can let run all day without any issues.

Any other ideas? If I don't get this figured out soon I'm going to go crazy. It just doesn't make any sense!
 

zombie_reptar

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urgh! I asked a local repair store if they could test the PSU, they said they don't test things on the spot like that, he wanted me to leave the whole computer there for a couple of days. When I told them I wanted to know what the problem was and then fix it myself, they said that they charge a diagnostic fee of $88!

Should I just buy a PSU tester?

One thing I forgot to add in the original post: my motherboard has a 24 pin connection while the acer I tested the psu with has a 20 pin one. Could there possibly be a problem with the last 4 pins on the 24 pin connector of my power supply?
 

internetlad

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weird I thought i left a comment last night

It'll be hard to say definitively without testing it what the issue is.

20 bucks plus shipping gets you this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16899706001

Which, if you're fine with waiting for shipping, will work fine for you. 88 bucks to test a PSU is outrageous. considering it takes 10 seconds to take a bare PSU and to plug it into a PSU tester and see if the thing beeps at you, 88 bucks is a little high.

You could see if they have a psu tester for sale at that store if you really can't wait.

Don't blame you for wanting to avoid that store btw, sounds like a total hose job just waiting to happen.

However, if you're having no issue with one PSU and issues with a second one, that's a pretty clear indicator if what your problem is.

IIRC the extra 4 pin just supplies addition power to the board, nothing specialized. Not like it goes directly to (x) component that would be causing your problem. in theory the issue could be in the extra 4 pin but it could also be in the other 20 pin as well lol.

Most likely the issue is that the PSU isn't supplying a stable amount of power and the motherboard is shutting down to protect itself.

Note: in my experience a psu can test fine on a tester but if you swap it out the new psu solves the whole problem. Just because it doesn't test bad doesn't mean it's fine 100%
 

zombie_reptar

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Hey guys, I thought it would be best to resurrect my old post instead of starting a new one. Shortly after my last post I took my computer into a repair store, they couldn't say for sure but concluded the PSU was probably faulty as we suspected, I RMA'd it and received a replacement about a month later. I procrastinated for quite a while before installing it as I was busy with college and my spare was working just fine.

About an hour ago, I finally got around to installing the new Power Supply and believe it or not, I'm having the same problem! Unable to boot, fans starting and stopping repeatedly as if I'm still using the old one! (my spare continues to work)

At this point I just have absolutely no idea what to do, there's no way I could have been sent two PSU's with the exact same fault (Given that I waited a few months between ordering them, they'd be from a bad batch or something) and yet the problem persists. I don't feel like I can call the store and ask to exchange the Power Supply yet again but at the same time I don't feel comfortable selling it on ebay and buying a different one on the off chance it really is faulty. There must be something I'm doing wrong, either that or it's some kind of weird compatibility issue.

I don't think I've ever encountered a computer issue so frustrating, I'm about ready to just give up. Any ideas?

Once again, thanks for your time.
 
hmmm, I'm not sure, I guess make sure the power connectors on your mobo are securely connected? also run Furmark for atleast 10-15 minutes if it turns off, check the gpu temp (its in the same program) if not then run Prime95 for atleast 10 - 15 mins Check temps with HWmonitor or something similar

Sorry if you already tried those I didn't have time to read the thread D:
 

zombie_reptar

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Thanks but I've already tried all that.
 
Ok, I now read the thread, and it seems like the only factor left is the motherboard, but just to make sure its not installation fault, take out the mobo (simply unscrew it and put it out (be wary of the backplate hooked into the case, so you cant just yank straight up on it, you must slide it to the side first) and just make sure there are brass standoffs (things jutting out from the case so it doesn't make contact with it)

or maybe you can bribe the guy at the repair store to do it on his down time with a spare working mobo at the repair store? explain the problem and see if he will do a quick mobo swap for like 25 bucks or somthin (it takes not even 30mins so 25bucks is more then reasonable, thats 50 bucks an hour)

explain you might want to purchase from him if it indeed works?

bribery rocks guys, seriously.