PSU failure

[Puhlease]

Hi guys, I'm new here and I'm also a noob but I built a new PC about a year ago, it worked fine for first 4-5 months and then the PC developed a restart problem. it's totally random, not periodic, sometimes happens quite frequently and sometimes doesn't happen at all. So since my PSU was in warranty, I got it replaced and in the meantime I switched it with another psu, I wanted to check if it was the psu gone bad and as soon as I switched to the new one, the problem stopped for about a month this time and now again I have a pc that keeps restarting. I have the fresh power supply with me (Corsair VS 450) I don't want to switch it just yet without solving this problem first, if anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate it.
Things I already tried- Re-applied thermal paste(cooler master), cleaned the system of dust, did rewiring, got the UPS checked(Intex), tried putting it on another UPS just incase, monitored the pc temp (it restarts well before over heating). I'm stumped now!
PS- The problem started after 2-3 months of moving into a new house.

MB- Gigabyte H81M-S
GPU-Nvidia GeForce GT 730
RAM-Kingston Hyper X (4gb)
Processor- core i3 4150 (3.5 gigz)
OS -Windows 10 64 bit

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Could be so many things...

Monitor range of voltage on +5v and +12v - less than 97% of nominal could be the problem.

Is UPS 'pure sine wave' or is it fighting the PSU during temporary power dips? ( http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/352692-28-will-corsair-work-sinwave-square-wave )

Restart problem... error reports in Event Viewer? ... beep code? .. led code?

Restart problem... disable 'auto-restart' and examine for error condition report on next failure.

Malware?...scans..results?

House power outlet ground .. check with circuit tester ( http://www.amazon.com/ELECTRICAL-RECEPTACLE-TESTER-OUTLET-PRONG/dp/B002Q3R7HI )

Further afield.... House ground? house electrical service should have a solid connection to ground (2' metal rod tied to main fuse board where I am) - and a ground loop or faulty ground might produce the issue.


Unless you are knowledgeable, I would use an electrician for repairs to anything above 24 volts.

 

[Puhlease]

Okay so my computer is squeaky clean and softoware is not the problem because I have rebooted the computer once with windows 7 when initially the problem started and then once again with windows 10, there was no change and I regularly do malware checks. There is no blue screen also that could indicate anything. Already disabled auto restart, no other error reports either. Secondly, I live in an apartment building with the same electrical supply as 50 other flats and no one else seems to be having any problems(plus none of the other appliances are malfunctioning). From the discussion you point at, it is advised to not let the system work on ups for longer than 5 min that could cause it damage but my apartment has power back and my system is almost never on the UPS supply (less than 2 min/month). Power in the socket I would have to check! Thanks for the reply, if there's anything else you think might be the problem, do share.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

If your UPS generates a square wave it may harm your PSU if it expects smooth sine wave electricity. Re-read the discussion - it is complicated and I do not feel like doing more research. You have the model numbers.

Draining battery in a UPS is a bad idea. Overloading it is a bad idea.

"Monitor range of voltage on +5v and +12v - less than 97% of nominal could be the problem." I use HWInfo...

"error reports in Event Viewer?" Any?

 

[Puhlease]

There are 2 recurring errors in the event viewer.
Event ID:454 Source:ESENT
Event ID:517 Source:ESENT
Database recovery failed with unexpected error- 515.
My UPS is a modified sine wave(so as good as a square wave) so that might be the problem?
And what voltage are you referring to?

 

[Cycloid Torus]

Voltages are reported in various utilities you can run - like HWInfo. Once the utility is installed and running, let it run as you use the computer, then check it to see what the range of voltage is. +5v and +12v are the ones likely to dip if there is an internal electric problem - a good PSU will keep voltages less than 3% below 'nominal'.

Modified sine is a blocky wave - better than square, but not as good as pure sine. Now check to find what your PSU wants... if it requires pure sine then you need to change your UPS, and if not, then this is not the source of your problem.

So, there seems to be some kind of corrupt software. Please read http://www.howtogeek.com/school/using-windows-admin-tools-like-a-pro/lesson3/ in order to interpret these confusing messages from Redmond. ESENT is a key part of the OS and it should not have errors.

I'm not a 'software geek', so I hope someone who is can pitch in. Otherwise, google is your best research tool.

Keep continuing watch on errors in event viewer.

 

[Puhlease]

Alright, I will continue to watch for errors in event viewer and monitor voltage for internal electrical problems. Neither the Corsair website nor the box of the PSU has any mention of what ouput wave UPS to use but from that discussion you linked, it turns out my PSU is susceptible to damage from non sine wave UPS. I will be sure to change my UPS but that isn't necessarily where the problem lies. I should mention that I worked an old PC for over a year on the same UPS without any problems. I'm also using the same cabinet and hard drive as before which used to work just fine with the old PC. My hard drive is about 7 years old doh can that cause PSU failure?

 

[Puhlease]

So while I was staring at the graphs for +12V and +5V and +3.3V, my computer restarted but there was no change in the these voltages. They are maintained at +12.024V and +5.03 V and +3.02V. Does this mean anything? No new errors in event viewer either.

 

[Cycloid Torus]

An 'older' PSU might not be harmed by non-sine wave UPS since they do not have Active Power Factor Correction circuits. Some are more sensitive to problems than others.

The fact that you had a restart without a drop in +5v and +12v voltages means that the PSU is probably 'ok' (without a failing component). The +3.3v should be the coin battery which keeps CMOS intact.

I hate it when troubleshooting bogs down like this. There are no easy answers on this one. It reminds me of a bad ground situation where the outlet was not properly grounded to main ground, but floated - so static fed into the computer from its 'ground'. Might be a good idea to test that.

Go back over everything - look for a pattern to the restart - I found the bad ground when I realized that the problem occurred when someone walked by and brushed the computer case (static from carpet). Maybe it's the cat....

If nothing gets clearer and it were mine to do, I would remove everything from the case and do a rebuild on the bench.. oh, that's a thought - have you tested memory? If 2 sticks run test overnight with just one then the next night the other. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/diagnosing-memory-problems-on-your-computer - while you should have had errors reported there is a slight possibility that it is in the 'hidden' section of memory.

 

[Puhlease]

I only have a single stick of RAM and no replacement to check it with. It's in warranty so I'll see what I can do with it. I'm going to buy a new sine wave UPS, get the RAM exchanged, re-assemble the PC with the fresh PSU and a fresh Hard drive (WD Blue 1TB 7200 rpm). I might even buy a new case and hope I don't run into the problem again. What else would you suggest I change?

 

[Cycloid Torus]

I would delay buying until I had run memory test on advanced overnight. Use the 'surge protection only' side of the UPS.