Power Supply HELP!: Power Supply Acting Up... replaced it with a new one and it's still doing the same!?

[artbywaqas]

So I'm back again. After quite a while with almost the same problem

My computer is shutting down randomly. Often it will start up again on it's own right away, in a few minutes or even a hour later!?

This happens not only randomly but whether or not I'm even actively using it!

There are many times it will not power on at all ~!?

I replaced the power supply with an identical new one and even used a new power cable. It's still doing the same.

Sometimes it will stay on for a very long time without any issue at all!?

How do I troubleshoot and figure out the cause and how to fix this?

I've tried checking for dust and cleaning, checking to make sure all connections are made properly and even changing various settings recommended on youtube.

 

[Gilles3000]

What power supply is it? also what GPU/CPU?

 

[GuilleAcoustic]

As Gilles asked, some details on your hardware would help. Also, did you try to remove all unnecessary hardware ? Maybe you have a defective SSD/HDD, RAM module, etc.

 

[duynguyenle]

This might be a silly suggestion, but you should also check if your power button isn't defective (perhaps disconnect the power button entirely from the motherboard, and wire the reset switch in and use that temporarily instead)

A few years ago I had similar issues (PC turning off randomly and occasionally turning on by itself) and it turns out it was a defective power button that sporadically shorts out

 

[DASBOOT]

Artbywaqas,​

You have not said what voltage source is 110 or 220? I would definetly start at souce and replace the wall outlet with a quality version. Not the 50 cent Leviton quality. Then are you using a surge protector or a powerline conditioner? Cheap surge protector could be the problem. Check the pc in a differnt outlet for turn off to narrow it down to the PS or the switch. What PS are you using??? Does the board have power on on the board itself?
Here is a 110 outlet that has quality parts inside: Furutech 110 outlet There are 220V versions on Ali and ebay as well.

 

[artbywaqas]

@Gilles3000 Oops sorry here's my system info

My 1st Custom Build - Cerberus 3D Workstation

Hi Everyone, So after my laptop ( of 7 yrs!) finally died I decided I should try to build my own smaller portable 3d workstation. This was my first time ever building a computer from scratch. I'm definitely no expert but hopefully this post will help out other first time builders and give...

smallformfactor.net

The power supply is the Corsair SF750.

Intel Core i9-9900K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor

Asus GeForce RTX 2080 8 GB ROG Strix Gaming OC Video Card

MSI MPG Z390M GAMING EDGE AC Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard

Corsair Vengeance LPX 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory


@GuilleAcoustic so unplug one component at a time run the computer for a while and see what happens? oh boy ok I will try this. I wish there was some way to directly see if a component is faulty.

@duynguyenle Ok so set the wire going to the power connector on the MB to the reset connector instead? Maybe I'll start with this.

@DASBOOT I'm in the US so it's 110. I have my computer connected to a

CyberPower ST625U Standby UPS System,​

 

[Overtek]

Sound most likely to be motherboard or power switch, as pointed out earlier.

Start with the switch unplug it an just short the 2 pins on the header to power on. See how it gets on. If no ongoing issue occurs replace power switch.

 

[artbywaqas]

@Overtek Ok before I cause more damage how exactly do I short the 2 pins? Do I just connect them by touching both ends with a paper clip ?

 

[Overtek]

@Overtek Ok before I cause more damage how exactly do I short the 2 pins? Do I just connect them by touching both ends with a paper clip ?

yes or screw driver.

 

[DASBOOT]

You should buy yourself a good vandal test switch (with a LED for harddrive activity) as You should always test a machine on a bench (or cardboard box) before shoving it in the case.
This is where you can pull or switch RAM or switch out processors that require a bios update, or wifi cards that will not work in CNvi slots, or drives, to narrow down a diagnosis.
Reducing a board down to minimum components is the way to pinpoint a problem(s). Cheap test Vandal

 

[artbywaqas]

@DASBOOT Ok Dumb question so this is a replacement power switch you recommend? Why do you refer to it as test switch?

@Overtek Ok I got the PC powered on the way you suggested. I guess maybe wait a week and see what happens?

 

[DASBOOT]

Personally, I would keep this as a test switch although it could be used as a real case switch if the length of the wires worked for a particular build.
1. When one first builds a new machine the motherboard should be placed on a suitable stand(the original MB box) or test bench and the components tested before it is placed in the case. This means you will need at least a heatsink, RAM, and possibly a GPU if the processor is not an APU, a power supply, and a test power switch unless the board is high-end and it has built-in power and reset switches on the board.
2. more often than not these boards come with bent or damaged pins, if Intel you should inspect the CPU socket for damage before placing it in the processor.
3. If Amd you should check the processor itself for bent or broken pins.
4. This test is only to see if the bios screen appears and the temps look good. You can make sure the Cmos clock and date are set properly before you install your OIS which can be done on the test bed or in the case now that you know everything works and you do not have to send the board or processor back for an RMA.
5. One can skip the test, play Russian Roulet, and build in the case, and hope and pray all your wiring is right and components are good and it fires up without you having to pull the board out to diagnose and make fixes. Most SFF cases use vandal switches which are pretty infallible and are not usually a source of problems unless they have bad soldering or crimp connectors.
But these low-line plastic power switches in most cases are crap plastic. PC power is delivered to the motherboard by the current load generated by the board. All boards have a power-good circuit which is in the processor. The PC power switch is momentary ie the circuit to the PS is closed when the button is pushed but it is broken when you release the button if the power-good circuit is not initiated within a period of between 0.1 seconds and 0.5 seconds after turning on the power supply. If the power supply cannot initiate the PG circuit within the time interval the fans will spin up and the board will light up but not post from the bios. This means your power supply is bad and needs to be replaced. This best test is a power supply tester that has a power good test built-in. A bad supply will beep when you use a tester like this. If you push a power supply button after a board has posted properly reclosing the circuit by holding the button down will tell the bios to shut down the post. If no power supply is connected and you hold a power supply button pushed down most extraneous held bios information will be cleared from the last post. This is not normally needed on most enthusiast bios boards.
Note: once a machine has posted you could literally pull the power button off the board and it should remain running until you shut down from software. The button is only there to momentarily close the circuit to trigger the power supply, the the motherboard load takes over to keep the supply fully on and the circuit at the power button is not closed anymore once you release the button.

 

[artbywaqas]

Ok so its been about a week since I disconnected the Power on/off button from the Motherboard. Unfortunately the computer still randomly shuts down or and restarts regardless of whether I'm actually actively using it or not. it gotten to the point I cannot do any work on it.

@DASBOOT This computer was totally fine for the longest time. I did have some trouble in 2019 with same exact components.

Power Supply - My Corsair SF750 Power Supply died on my again! Recommendations for Replacement?

Hey Guys, This now my 2nd SF750 that died on me. Hopefully they'll replace it again. Is there not any better option for a small form factor computer ? I have the cerberus case.

smallformfactor.net

Up til just recently Mid Oct 2023 I didn't have any issues at all.

I'm going to try disconnecting stuff and see what happens. I'll start with the hard drives I guess.

Would there not be some kind of Event Log I can check that may give an error when it shuts down to give me some clue?

Also when I first built this computer I did have to have the RTX 2080 replaced twice. But that was a different type of error where the graphics card would go in turbo mode or something with all the fans running on high and the screen would go black but the computer would still be on. This is not what's happening this time.

I was really hoping it was the power button that would have been an easy fix.

 

[DASBOOT]

I would invest in a Power supply tester such as this: Power Supply Tester There are cheaper versions but it is nice to have a buzzer that trips when there is low voltage or your power-good circuit is bad. This will eliminate the PS as being the culprit as this is the heart of your build. You can test with a multimeter but you must be well-versed in the PS pinouts, and unless you build your own cables I would not suggest this method
The same thing can happen if your ram is bad, not seated properly, or has built-up dielectric cast on the gold pins. You can clean off the the cast with a clean pencil eraser gently rubbing off the gold Ram pins, do not touch the gold pins with your hands on anything, Ram, PCIE cards, NVME drives ect. You should also download HWinfo64 and check or monitor voltages, fan speeds, and temps of processor, GPU and NVME drives. If the motherboard is bad you will have a tough time diagnosing that as being the cause.

 

[Overtek]

Ok so its been about a week since I disconnected the Power on/off button from the Motherboard. Unfortunately the computer still randomly shuts down or and restarts regardless of whether I'm actually actively using it or not. it gotten to the point I cannot do any work on it.

@DASBOOT This computer was totally fine for the longest time. I did have some trouble in 2019 with same exact components.

Power Supply - My Corsair SF750 Power Supply died on my again! Recommendations for Replacement?

Hey Guys, This now my 2nd SF750 that died on me. Hopefully they'll replace it again. Is there not any better option for a small form factor computer ? I have the cerberus case.

smallformfactor.net

Up til just recently Mid Oct 2023 I didn't have any issues at all.

I'm going to try disconnecting stuff and see what happens. I'll start with the hard drives I guess.

Would there not be some kind of Event Log I can check that may give an error when it shuts down to give me some clue?

Also when I first built this computer I did have to have the RTX 2080 replaced twice. But that was a different type of error where the graphics card would go in turbo mode or something with all the fans running on high and the screen would go black but the computer would still be on. This is not what's happening this time.

I was really hoping it was the power button that would have been an easy fix.

Well easy fixes we'd all like, but just keep going with your planned pragmatic approach and hopefully you'll get there and identify if it's attached devices or the mobo.