Request For Help - Troubleshooting Repeated Boot Issues

Level1Techs
1

Greetings,

Not sure if there’s a specific category this needs placing in, let me know if I need to move/remake this.

Having some issues finding relevant info on this (you’ll see why shortly), so figured I’d get it all written out and hope for some advise.

A family member is having issues with a PC I built them a while back.
It’s a scrap build made mostly of used parts, and has recently developed a boot problem:

  • Randomly, on the pressing the power button, nothing happens.
  • No lights, sounds, or fan spins. Nothing.
  • Every time this occurs, it’s fixed by doing a full power reset (turn off, unplug, hold power for 30 seconds), after which point the system boots up without issue.

The problem doesn’t occur frequently (around every 2-3 months), but it’s difficult to diagnose, especially given the age of the parts. I’ve tried researching in a few places so far, but as you can imagine, “PC doesn’t turn on” is a bit too generic without this wall of text to provide context.

The system shows no other signs of trouble, and everything works fine aside from this minor hiccup every couple months. It was built around a year ago, and these symptoms only started up a few months ago.

Specs (that matter) are as follows:

  • CPU: i5-6500 (used, bought off eBay)
  • Mobo: MSI B150i Gaming Pro (used, bought off eBay)
  • RAM: 8GB generic DDR4 (unknown, can’t find how or where I got it, but believe it was new)
  • PSU: Silverstone Strider 500W (used, bought new years ago for a spare build)
  • SSD: Crucial MX500 (new, bought off Amazon)

I don’t have many (if any) spare parts available for this rig, and getting extra Skylake gear just to test is not only tricky, but potentially expensive.
I’ve seen some sites and forums suggesting an issue like this could be things the cables, or motherboard, or CMOS battery, but I’m not sure where best to check for an issue that is random, easily fixed, and could be caused by almost anything in the system.

I’ve experienced similar issues with client laptops at work, and also seen the exact same fix get them up and running without trouble. Which leads me to my ultimate question(s):

  1. Where do you all recommend to start with this? Or is it worth just replacing the entire core set?
  2. Should I even be worried about this “issue”? Or is it a normal part of operation for some PCs?

Let me know if you need any more details.
Any and all help is appreciated.

Regards,
Lord of Time

2

i dont think that psu is compliant with the cpu’s advanced low power states.
and the design is 2013 for the 500w essentials. so it could just be showing its age and is holding a static charge.
you can try cleaning out the dust if there’s any bunnies.
but it sounds like something in the psu is or soon will be an issue.

also try disabling the advanced low powerstates for the cpu in eufi.

2 Likes
3

Power supply or motherboard… maybe the capacitors are swelling somewhere, maybe a cold solder joint.
Maybe a very high humidity in the room?

Dust clean if present. Replaceable battery because it is the cheapest and quick test.
Without replacing the parts and eliminating the culprit, it can be difficult to know what is to blame.

2 Likes
4

I had a motherboard many years ago that would (erratically) refuse to boot (on the first attempt) whenever it got cold. Booted (consistently) fine in a warm room. Rebooted (consistently) fine after being used for a while. Just didn’t want to reliably get up and at 'em first thing in the morning. Ended up being a dry/cold/cracked solder joint. Worked around the problem by moving the mini-tower from the floor, up 70cm, to sit on a desk where it was usually a couple of degrees warmer.

5

I have a 2016 (2015 model) Gigabyte motherboard that has gone through a few periods like this, at its worst every few days, but each period is only one or two months. The first such period was in about 2017. Sometimes the CMOS battery has to be popped to bring the board back to life.

1 Like
6

I’ve had a similar situation. The old PC in the basement stood for a few years. Refused to turn on, only when got 10-15m of warm air from the heater, he got up. Although in this case it was more the fault of the power supply.

Another time I had a geforce 256 which displayed stripes on the screen in a cold room and disappeared when heated. You could hear the squeaking of the coils / capacitors, even though none of them opened.

Sometimes electronics do such miracles that the head hurts… :slight_smile:

7

Cold solder joints can be a bear to find.
Moving components and a powerful magnifying glass (I use a 12 power jewelers loupe) can help a lot.
But poorly crimped pins in cable connections can give you fits trying to track down.

Repairing an older system can give you lots of great learning experience but you have to weigh the pros and cons.
Productivity vs nostalgia is a tricky problem, the question is, Is it worth the expense of both components and your time?

With my own systems many i have built using pre owned hardware, and performance was not a key issue.
But a customers machine is an all together different kettle of fish.

8

Thanks for all the suggestions.
I’ve got some replacement CMOS batteries to see if that helps, and will take a look in the BIOS for those advanced power states.
Given how random it is, this post will likely get locked/archived by the time any results are evident.
Will report back if there’s any issues that crop up immediately.