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PC sometimes won't turn on until I unplug it from the wall for a 30 seconds or so. Faulty PSU? (lemmy.world)

submitted 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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Just like in the title my PC has an issue when it won't turn on. Power button does nothing, fans do not spin, PC is completely dead. First time it happened was when I put it to sleep, sometimes it wouldn't wake up so I just avoided putting it to sleep as a temporary solution that become quite permanent... Simple power off worked well enough but recently it won't start even when I turn it off. If that happens I need to flip the power button on the PSU for a 30 or so seconds then it turn it back on and I can start PC no problems.

From what I read on the Internet people suggest faulty PSU. Is there a way to confirm that? I don't want to buy a new PSU if the old one is still good. It has little over 5 years so it's not exactly new but certainly not too old.

I also had one crash that looked like PSU fault since PC just shut down suddenly but I blamed it on some power drop in the grid at the time.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Cutting the power for 30 seconds drains capacitors. The most likely culprit is in the PSU, but I've also seen it be the motherboard or GPU.

Desktop PSUs have been pretty standardized for 25 years. The odds are pretty good that you still have an old one, or know someone that you could borrow from long enough to test.

Failing that, just get one from a place with a decent return policy. I like Micro Center, if you're near one of those.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

It's always the damn caps!

[–] [email protected] 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The question is which one on which component :P

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

At least you can see blown capacitors sometimes.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago (2 children)

I might try to disassemble PSU at some point to check since I don't see any on GPU or Motherboard.

(Also I know it can be dangerous but I know my way around high voltage from previous work so I should be fine)

[–] [email protected] 6 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Please don't disassemble your PSU....touch the wrong part and it can literally kill you

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

True, usually when you work with high voltage you make sure that everything is unplugged and safe. It's common sense and that's why even though you should call an electrician to change the light bulb nobody will tell you to not do it yourself. PSU is not that simple though. Capacitors can still hold a charge. Unless you got trained for working with high voltage you definitely shouldn't tinker with the PSU.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

To add to what others have said. Since your computer runs fine when it's on I wonder if you'll see anything off but I suppose it's worth a shot as it's easy to test. Look up a 24pin diagram and use a multimeter to test if the pins are outputting the correct voltages.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

In that weird can't power on PC state or it doesn't matter?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

Try the weird state and the seemingly proper on state

[–] [email protected] 2 points 4 months ago

I have some very old no name PSU but it's like 250W. Now GPU can draw this much power alone so my best bet would be buying new. With the option to return it might be worth a shot. Thanks!