Comp stopped working then worked then stopped...

B

BIWMirage

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 16, 2006
Messages
240
Hi everyone,

I have a question about the computer in my sig. I built it almost a year ago and it has worked fantastic up until a couple weeks or so ago. At that time, the computer decided it didn't want to post when I tried to start it. All the lights would light up (both case and MOBO) and fans spin (except for the cpu fan, which seems to spin up after post for some reason). After some searching, I saw that resetting the cmos fixed this, so I did and it did. Now, last night, I ironically was at my comp and went downstairs to fix my parents computer and when I came back up, my computer had frozen solid and the speakers were letting out some intermittent static. I performed a hard shutdown and tried to restart. The computer again wouldn't post and would turn itself off then back on around every 10 sec or so. I tried a cmos reset and after a bit of fiddling it worked again. Now, as I was putting the side back on, I shifted the computer slightly and again it did the same freeze with weird sounds and I had to again perform a hard shutdown. This time the cmos reset did nothing and I messed around with it for a while. I came back to it an hour later, did another cmos reset and it started fine. It gave me a cmos checksum error on startup. I have not done anything to the computer in a few weeks (I installed a new drive and Windows 7 the day after it came out but the first problems had arisen a week or so before that). Any ideas as to what it is? It sounds like something may be loose but I checked my HSF, PSU connections and RAM and it was all okay. Thanks in advance and sorry about the long post!

-Abe
 
Do you have a UPS? The PSU could be going out. Also, try replacing the CMOS battery. It could also be a short, so make sure nothing is loose inside there, or if you're using a backplate, that it doesn't touch the mobo tray of the case.
 
What do you mean by UPS (guess that means no lol)? Nothing seemed loose but the shake and then freezing makes me wonder. Would a bad cmos battery cause that kind of issue or would it just not work at all? I kinda wondered about the psu as well. I thought I purchased a good one, but it is a few years old, so who knows. Thanks for the reply!
 
A bad CMOS battery could corrupt the BIOS. Try a new one.

I would suggest getting a UPS, as it minimizes the power fluctuations from the wall outlet. Such fluctuations aren't good for computers.

The Corsair is a great PSU, but its not "bulletproof"... it can go bad. If you're adventurous, you could get a multi-meter and check the power output of the different rails to make sure they're within spec. Otherwise, you can RMA it with Corsair if you suspect it to be the problem.

To rule out a short, you can do a barebones bench test, with everything outside of the case and on a cardboard box. Check out the Basic Troubleshooting Guide sticky thread for more details. Oh, and multimeter instructions are linked in there as well.
 
Yea, I may do that. It just seems weird that something would happen to short it. I didn't move it at all. When I reset the cmos, it resets the bios too? I didn't change the settings back to what I had. Thanks for your help though! I will look into a UPS.
 
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