Multiple failure symptoms

andregoujon

Distinguished
Sep 2, 2007
47
0
18,540
Hello,
I'm experiencing more and more rare issues with my computer:
-ASUS M4A79 Deluxe latest bios
-AMD PHENOM II 965 @3.9
-2X4 GB RAM DDR2 KINGSTON HYPER X @1067
-RADEON 6950 2 GB
-CORSAIR TX750W V2

1) Some months ago my PC started with the following symptom: if it remained connected to electricity but off for about a month or later, it wasn't able to turn on. If I tried to turn it on, it simply turned on for 2 seconds and then shut downs. If I tried to turn on it again it was completely died. Unplugging and reconnecting it to electricity "solves" the problem.
2) About two months ago PC started experiencing random screen flash. Its like the screen turn off for less than a second and then it light up again. It's becoming more frequent. No crash, BSOD or free problems!
All RAM, CPU and GPU test are passed without issues and games work OK.
3) Some days ago I had my HTC ONE X connected to USB port charging it. All OK until I connected my XBOX 360 game pad. Windows recognized the controller but smartphone stopped being recognized. I unplugged and reconnected and all worked.
4) Today reseating GPU had not effect on screen flash problem. But today also started a new problem: I hear interference in speakers (connected to rear port). It's a new issue!

Or my PSU is dying or motherboard. What I think? mobo because it's not only about 4 years old but when it was new, I accidentally connected firewire to USB and viceversa and I saw an spark. Fortunately mobo worked OK but the only damage I observed were the frontal USB ports. They works for charging and transferring data at slow speeds but at higher speed and data size PC crash. Rear ports performs perfectly.

What do you think guys? I need to know what is the bad component in order to replace it. At this moment I can't get too much hardware to test. Help!
 

storm slider

Distinguished
Feb 3, 2012
224
0
18,690


I would go with the motherboard. The PSU is just what allows your PC to boot and run, by giving it electricity. You have a dieing or potentially damaged motherboard.
 
the first issue sounds like the cmos battery going bad. some mb need a good battery to post. if it not the battery i may be a bad cap on the mb or in the power supply. (have your power supply check..load tested).
2. sounds like the power board in the lcd is going bad or the back light. if you have another monitor or pc..swap the monitor to another pc and see if the error follows or stays on the pc.
3. game pad issue. could be a bios issue...need a bios patch or do to you shorting the mb out years ago. that the usb chipset is damaged and can only output x amount of power. (some older mb and older iphones had the same issue with power draw of the old iphones).
4. pull power from the wall...let the mb drain..reseat the video card and power cables..make sure the cd-rom..audio cables dont go near any fans or power plugs. wire can pick up electrical field and hum..crosstalk. make sure that none of the wires sitting near or next to the audio chipset of the mb.
 

andregoujon

Distinguished
Sep 2, 2007
47
0
18,540
Thanks for the comments guys!
Commenting in the screen flash I can add that two days ago screen started flashing very frequently about one per minute. I restarted PC and the flashing gone. I think that if it was the screen VX2453 connected via HDMI the flash problem continued.
About CMOS battery I can comment (although sensors can be wrong) that mobo reads 3.392V in VBAT using some programs.
 

andregoujon

Distinguished
Sep 2, 2007
47
0
18,540
Guys, please help.
As noted before, my PC started with some problems like the screen turning off for less than a second and so on randomly. Also if PC stays off but connected for a while I can't turn it on as it turn off quickly. The only solution was unplugging PSU and then pluggin it again.
Well, I though it was motherboard so I bought a brand new ASUS Sabertooth R2.0 990FX and 8 gb DDR3 Kingston.
Well... system worked except that screen turning off started again!!!
Ruling out most components there are GPU, PSU or screen going bad.
What do you think considering all symtpoms? PSU? If so it lasted less than a year.