Computer doesn't power up immediately

[sukhraj]

Hi guys,

I've had this problem with my PC now for the last few weeks. When I power up my computer, it doesn't switch on immediately and didn't come on until around 15 mins later. This 15 mins then became 30 mins. When the computer did power on however, everythign was fine and I could access all my files etc properly.

I suspected that it may be the PSU or MB. I opened it up, and first took the MB's battery out, and then put it back in again after 5 mins. This didn't do anything. At this point I had brought the computer downstairs. Then I decided to make sure the whole tower was free of dust etc and then try it. All of a sudden, it started to work correctly i.e. I could switch it off and then when I switch it on again, it would come on right away.

I took it upstairs again and the same problem started again. During all this however, the motherboards green power light is always on and I can't see any warning lights or obvious areas of damage to it. My dad then took the battery of the MB out again and put it back in again and then it started coming on immediately again. However, I went to try it again, and guess what, it's not powering up at all now again.

What do you think may be the cause of this? Is a new PSU in order? When I manage to get into BIOS, In the 'Hardware Monitor' section, the voltages are all indicated as being correct i.e. where it says it should be 5, it is, and where it says 12, it is etc.. The CPU's temp is around 43C and the motherboards is 30C.

I havent installed any new software etc and dont think I have any viruses as I hardly have anything on my computer as it is. But I installed a Netgear USB Wireless device which kept hanging, forcing me to keep on having to switch my computer off from the power button, as opposed to shutting it down through windows. I have since uninstalled this.

Your ideas/suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thanks

Sukhraj

Intel P4 2.4GHz
Asus P4S8X MB
768MB RAM
Windows XP
IDE 80Gb HDD

 

[SNGX1275]

There is a jumper you can reset so you don't have to remove the battery for 5 minutes every time.

I don't know what the problem would be, but it is easier to replace or try another PSU than it is to replace the motherboard.

 

[sukhraj]

Hi, Thank you very much for your response. I'm not sure what a jumper is so not sure I'll be able to do that.

But, I'm going to buy another PSU and see what happens. Worst comes to worst, I'll re-sell it on ebay!

The only other things that I think it could be are the Motherboard battery, or I;ve heard somewhere that a CMOS chip (?) may be wrecked.

Do you think it could be any of the those things just mentioned above?

 

[SNGX1275]

I highly doubt its either of those. What motherboard is it? You could check for a BIOS update.

The jumper is usually nearby the battery and just clears your CMOS, it does what removing the battery does, except quicker.

 

[sukhraj]

Oh right, thanks.

The motherboard is an Asus p4s8x (around 4 years old so not sure if it'll have a BIOS update - I'm not sure how I'd install the update etc anyway!). Like I said before, the green power light of the motherboard is always on no matter what, and I can't see any obvious damage to it, but on the other hand I dont want to spend £50 on a PSU only to find out that that isnt the problem.

How likely do you think that it is the PSU?

 

[SNGX1275]

Really I don't know, is there any chance you could borrow one from someone else or another computer?

The green light on motherboards is worthless at best, and misleading at worst. That thing really doesn't tell you anything at all besides that there is power getting to the board. It doesn't tell you anything about how strong that power is, or anything about the various voltages the power supply is supposed to give.

 

[sukhraj]

Ok. What I'll do is, because I can't borrow one from anyone as yet, I'll go out and buy a cheap PSU for around £15, just so that I can see whether it is the problem, and that way, if it is the PSU, I'll go and purchase a more better one afterwards. I guess for that amount I could also buy one of those Antec PSU Testers, but how effective would you say they are?

 

[sukhraj]

Hi everyone,

Looks as if the problem has been solved. I bought a new cheapo PSU for £15 and it now powers up correctly and immediately. Will see it out for the rest of the day just to make sure it doesnt happen again but I have been powering up several times today and it seems fine.

Now, the only thing is whether I should take this cheap PSU out and go out and buy a decent one. This seems to be doing the job and it's not as if I'm doing too much intensive work on my PC.

Thanks to everyone for their replies etc and I hope that next time someone has a prboelm like this in the future we can see if this solves the problem

Sukhraj