PC Issues

[Andrew]

Got a problem with a PC, it is taking about 5 or 6 and even more presses of the power button to turn the computer on. I'm baffled as to what it could be?

My first thought was it could of been the power supply? But could it have the motherboard?

 

I don't quite know the specs of the machine as it is my girlfriends pc.

 

[yoječ]

This might be related to PSU. Plug in another PSU and check if anything's improved.

[Wolf68k]

Would need to know the specs/make&model and age.

But other wise I would do yojo's suggestion of testing with another PSU. If you get the same result with a good PSU then the problem is likely the mobo

[dog_day_sunrise]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's a problem with the button itself, or the connector between case and motherboard. If it was a PSU related issue there'd be constant crashing and other issues.

[yoječ]

Faulty PSU can have many issues, most of them being connected to - what else - supplying power. PC draws much power on startup and that might be the root of this problem. Not to mention PSU issues are commonly related to problems with PC's startup.

 

Also notice it's a girl's PC - I'm pretty sure it's not stressed very often, not giving the PSU really chance to crash the PC.

[Andrew]

Stressed? far from it, the only specs I can gather is that is is an AMD Athlon X2 processor. When I'm next over there I'll get the specs of the machine and swap out the power supply for one of my spares I've got.

[Star-Lord]

 

Stressed? far from it, the only specs I can gather is that is is an AMD Athlon X2 processor. When I'm next over there I'll get the specs of the machine and swap out the power supply for one of my spares I've got.

And if that doesn't resolve your issue? Try this: Swap the power button with the reset switch -- if it works then you have yourself a bad power button.

[AmyJones]

 

I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's a problem with the button itself, or the connector between case and motherboard. If it was a PSU related issue there'd be constant crashing and other issues.

I agree on this post, you may have have a loose engagement on the power pad itself. You would have to take off the front panel and inspect that part. I had a Dell machine years ago I had to power it on with a screwdriver end.

[SyphonPayne]

I've dealt with at least two PC's that had issues with starting up the first time. Both were PSU-related problems. First one I replaced the PSU immediately and remedied the problem. Second one I kept using until finally the PSU wouldn't power up the computer at all.

 

So I would check the PSU first.

 

You can use a multimeter, set on 20v DC, check the 5v and 12v rails, when the machine finally powers on, to see the issue. Grab a molex connector, yellow plus black equals 12v rail, red plus black equals 5v rail. Can also test the 3.3v by pushing the probes into the back of the 24-pin mobo connector, using orange plus black. All should be within 5% of specified volts (3.135-3.465v, 4.75-5.25v, 11.4-12.6v respectively.) You will want to test the voltage in idle conditions as well as under load.

 

Or simply replace the PSU with a known-good one.

 

There is a chance that it is the button as well, though.

[Andrew]

I figured it maybe the PSU or motherboard, next time I'm around with some time spare, I'll swap out the PSU and see if that's any better, the spares I have are unbranded, so I'd definitely look at picking an decent one up if that is the case.