PC turning on then off repeatedly

[ColonelMustard]

Hello,
I have a PC that I built little more than 5 months ago that I tried and failed to turn on this morning. When I press the power button, the fans and lights turn on for less than a second, then turns off and waits for about 2 seconds, then tries again. It does this until I flip the back power switch. Upon doing this, my surge protector beeps once a few seconds after. The only troubleshooting I have tried so far is to check for shortages. I will continue to troubleshoot and occasionally check this forum. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[cbxbiker61]

I accidentally forgot to unplug my power supply when I was removing ram from one of my motherboard. I got one of my ram modules cocked a bit when removing it and it shorted out the motherboard. The end result was that I killed my motherboard. It did the same thing as yours is doing (attempt to start, fail, power off ...attempt to start ...).

 

[ColonelMustard]

I suppose I should mention that I haven't opened up my PC in over a month and it has been doing completely fine recently. Does the surge protector beeping mean anything?

 

[AdioKIP]

Try plugging the computer directly into the wall. This will tell you if the issue is the surge protector or not.

 

[ColonelMustard]

Tried this and got the same result

 

[NV88]

Last time this happened to me, the motherboard was dying. If its working fine for a month and now starts to act up, its either the mobo, PSU, or CPU. The CPU is highly unlikely, so I'd swap out the PSU with a working spare. If that doesn't do it, its the mobo.

 

[ColonelMustard]

wish i had a working spare. Is there any way to test it without a multimeter?

 

[ColonelMustard]

My issue is that if it were the mobo or the PSU then why did the surge protector beep?

 

[NV88]

What happens plugged directly into the wall?

 

[ColonelMustard]

When plugged directly into the wall, it does the exact same thing as otherwise. I have narrowed down the problem to the core components.

Biostar TZ77B
OCZ Modular 700 Watt
GSkill Ripjaws 8gb dual stick
intel core i5 2500

 

[ColonelMustard]

Tested the power supply with a friend's computer and it ran fine. So now it has to be the motherboard, the ram, or the CPU. Could a RAM issue cause this?

 

[youssef 2010]

Please provide the full specs of your PC so we can help you better. About the issue at hand,it happened to my older computer. The problem was that the graphics card wasn't seated properly. Try removing the graphics card, cleaning the gold contacts from dust using an old toothbrush and put it in again. Make sure it's seated in properly and don't be afraid of applying a little bit of pressure on it. If your card's external power plugs are identical i.e.2 6-pin connectors, then switch their places when you're re-seating the card.

Hope that works

 

[ColonelMustard]

Sorry. I guess I wasn't very clear. The specs I gave we're the possible sources of the issue. The same on/off cycle occurred when I removed everything but those four components. I have eliminated the PSU, as mentioned from the list. Based on this, I don't think the graphics card is the issue. Thanks for your suggestion though, I truly appreciate it.

 

[youssef 2010]

Based on my experience with PCs, I'd say this board is done for. According to Newegg customer reviews, you're not the only one with that problem.
But, just for the sake of being optimistic, test the CPU and the ram in a different PC. Also, check for signs of any burns or signs of blown capacitors on the motherboard.

 

[ColonelMustard]

Yeah I sent out an RMA so I should be getting a replacement. I'll see if I can test out the RAM but I highly doubt it's the processor and my friend said he didn't want to go through the trouble with the processor. Hopefully I can get a replacement mobo soon.

 

[ColonelMustard]

Best answer selected by ColonelMustard.