System won't turn on. Is it the Mobo? PSU?

[estevancarlos]

I need a little help troubleshooting I believe. My system randomly turned off the other night. When I turn it off in the back and unplug it then turn it all back on again it turns on for half a second. That is it.

I later went ahead and cleaned the cpu fan. Turned it back on and it stayed on longer. Long enough for me to almost type in my password.

I am not positive how to troubleshoot this. Although I suspect I'm dealing with the PSU, my motherboard or just the power strip this is plugged into.

Any suggestions on how to better verify what the problem is? I'm not sure how to check if my PSU is faulty or not.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Lexluethar]

Check the voltage coming out of the main PSU connector. Use a multimeter to do this or havce someone test it for you. That will help you determine if this is a PSU issue.

I agree with you, either your computer is overheating (CPU, GPU, PSU) or your PSU is failing.

 

[estevancarlos]

Check the voltage coming out of the main PSU connector. Use a multimeter to do this or havce someone test it for you. That will help you determine if this is a PSU issue.

I agree with you, either your computer is overheating (CPU, GPU, PSU) or your PSU is failing.

So my video card overheating will effect whether or not the machine even turns on? Well, if that's the case any suggestions on how to troubleshoot or verify the stability of my GPU?

 

[Ste]

A machine not turning on is most likely a bad/dead power supply or a bad motherboard.

I would replace the power supply first, refer to the guide linked in my signature for recommendations.

 

[memory]

You said you cleaned your CPU fan. Do you mean the fan itself or the did you reapply new thermal paste?

If you reapplied thermal paste, It sounds like it could be a heat problem.

 

[Ste]

an overheating problem wouldn't cause the computer not to turn on.

The computer should still turn on, but it could turn off after x amount of time.

 

[Lexluethar]

an overheating problem wouldn't cause the computer not to turn on.

The computer should still turn on, but it could turn off after x amount of time.

THe user did same that it boots to windows sometimes then turns off.

 

[Ste]

Now he says it won't turn on at all.

 

[estevancarlos]

I have not reapplied thermal paste. I'll have to get some. It turns on for a millisecond when I unplug and then attempt to start it up again. the light inside more or less blinks. Earlier I was able to actually login once I changed my power strip. It turned off momentarily as soon as I attempted to run an app. Nothing has changed since then.

 

[Ste]

That sounds more like a bad motherboard or a grounding issue.

Lets do a bare bone test.

Take out all but one stick or RAM, disconnect everything except cpu heatsink fan, video card power connectors and power connections to motherboard, take motherboard out of case and place on a non-conductive surface.

Attempt to turn it on.

If it still only stays on for a split second its probably a bad motherboard or a bad power supply.

Might have to try another power supply just to be sure.