Problems with i5 computer build

Hardware Hub Build a PC
1

Hey guys,

So I have been custom building computers for friends and a few others by word of mouth here and there, including my personal build I have built at least 10 computers at this point. All of them have worked flawlessly (with the exception of my current PC which has VRM heatsink overheating problems) and the current PC I just built for a friend of someone I built a computer for before.

Apparently, the computer randomly refuses to start. She also indicated that it has been giving some kind of boot error message. Every time I go over to her house, it starts up fine and I have no problems. I ran and stress tested the machine for 10 days before delivering it, and it worked flawlessly.

Upon delivery and setup at her house, I plugged in an old PS2 keyboard (she apparently doesn't want a newer keyboard, she likes her current one as its an ergonomic) Upon plugging it in It broke the mouse and keyboard drivers in Windows to the point where I had to do a complete Windows reinstall (yes, it was that bad) The keyboard however, worked in the BIOS. No amount of fiddling with the BIOS helped.

After reinstalling Windows, I got the mouse and keyboard working. Everything seemed fine until she indicated that it stopped turning on.

I have it back at my house (running perfectly fine for three hours at this point) running Memtest86. So far, two passes have completed with no errors. The computer once again, appears to be running flawlessly. I am completely at a loss. I believe that the issue is somehow related to either dirty power in her house (its on a surge protector) or the keyboard making it act up again.

One other strange issues, the 24 pin connector on the Corsair CX430 PSU doesn't want to go into the plug on the motherboard. It plugs in, but it doesn't feel secure. Nothing I could to could get it to snap in. My friend has a CX550 and has the same problem, although his system works fine.

I will post the complete system specs below, but any advice (at all) is appreciated. I have built several computers and never had issues like this before.

System specs:
Gigabyte LGA 1150 Intel H81 [GA-H81M-HD3]
Intel Core i5-4690K
Kingston HyperX FURY 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 RAM
Nvidia GeForce GTX 750 Ti FTW (EVGA)
Corsair CX 430
Crucial MX100 512GB SSD
Asus DVD-RW [24B1ST]

2

Did you try a different keyboard while at her house? Might have to look into a different keyboard as the issue seems to be once that is used. Try a different surge protector.

Double check the front I/O, what type of case is being using? Are you able to turn the PC on with a flat head and not using the case power buttons, while everything else is plugged in?

3

I'm going to say that it's a power issue with her house. How old is the house? Does she live in the sticks? In such cases, I have seen power supplies exhibit issues where if there is too much or too little voltage coming from the outlet, it will not power on the computer.

I've seen the same issues where the computer will bench-test fine at a shop with 20A circuits and proper surge protection, but not work in a home that is 60 years old and has old or lower grade wiring.

Surge protectors do not correct dirty power situations, only a power conditioner will do that.

4

What @datsquirrel said. It's rare nowadays, but some places out in the boonies or homes with a really old grid might have issues.

5

Her house isn't really "out in the sticks" in fact it is smack dab in the middle of the city (Albuquerque, NM) However, her house is appears to be a bit older (maybe 80's or 90's) She said she didn't have a problem with her old dinosaur computer, however I have noticed a trend where modern systems (including my desktop) are highly sensitive to power fluctuations. I noticed this when my desktop would randomly shut off in my dorm room in school when someone on my floor would use a microwave etc.

In addition, looking through Windows Event Viewer, it appears that there are a few kernel power failures (obvious considering the random shutdowns) but also several recurring WMI errors (WMI Event ID 10) Any idea what a WMI error is? I have never seen one before.

6

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2545227/

It's an error that gets reproduced due to WMI calls being registered in the Windows 7 SP1 installation media. Those errors can be removed with a hotfix using the link above.

7

Thanks a lot for the link, I will apply the hotfix. The computer finally blue screened today at my house (after 4 days of running fine), so I guess its not a problem with power (my house has clean power plus it was on an APC) After rebooting, the computer pretty much completely forgot that the boot drive was even plugged in. I opened up the case and fiddled with the SATA connector, and upon turning it on again, it still couldn't find it. I then disabled the SATA controller in the BIOS, rebooted and then enabled the SATA controller in the BIOS and it found the drive again.

At this point, I am thinking about RMA'ing the board, as I believe it is the source of the issues (although I haven't completely ruled out Windows weirdness yet.)

Any thoughts?