Have to press on button loads of times...

[Philster]

My PC developed a problem where I had to press the power button twice to get it to come on.

This has got worse and now I can press it up to 50 times or more before it powers up.

As I press the button the fans on the mobo and in the PSU come on periodically, as if it is warming up and then eventually they stay on and the PC boots.

If I unplug the power cable from the PSU and plug it back in, it goes completely dead and I have to leave it for ages to get warmed up before I try to switch it on, via the multiple power button presses as above.

I've tried making sure all cables are OK, tried it with minimum components plugged in to the mobo, but the same thing happens.

I dont have a spare PSU at the moment to try, but I am thinking it is a PSU prob as opposed to a mobo issue or anything else.

Can anyone confirm my suspicions or does anyone have or have had a similar prob?

My PSU is an Antec NeoPower 480w
Cheers

phil.

[scrandman]

You can disconnect the power button from the motherboard and use a small screwdriver or paper-clip to short the two pins. This will confirm whether or not it is the power button itself at fault.

[Philster]

Scrandman, how do i do this, I'm not up on my electronics!

[Philster]

I just managed to do as you asked and short the power switch pins on the mobo and the same thing happens so I can rule out the power switch.

[Giraffe]

Possibly PSU - how old is it?

[Philster]

I just managed to borrow a mates PSU and attached it and I get the same issue, so now thinking it is a motherboard problem. I've just ordered a load of new kit yesterday (cpu, mobo, ram etc) so I'll be using the same PSU (hopefully), will see how I get on when it arrives.

[Philster]

Actually, when i first plugged the other PSU in I had the same problem, then it came on eventually after many presses of the on button. Now I can shut it down and switch it back on again with only one press of the button for the first time in ages..... so maybe it is a PSU issue after all?!

[scrandman]

Possibly. Could also be a bad connection somewhere, or perhaps the motherboard is shorting out on a standoff in the wrong place.

[adam1701]

i had a similar problem to this, where the pc would just not power on for agies, then after pressing the button randomly it would turn on.
I later found the cause of this to be, the capacitors on my motherboard had exploded

[Lourdes]

I've had this when I was overloading the PSU or one of its rails. Disconnect everything from the PSU and start again making sure everything is securely connected.

[Philster]

Seeing as my friends PSU enabled me to switch the PC on with one press of the power button I am blaming the PSU, Antec NeoPower 480, so will see if Antec will let me RMA it......

[scrandman]

You didn't say what your motherboard was.

The reason I ask is that some of the early Antec Neo PSUs had a design fault that made them sort of incompatible with nForce4 motherboards - evidently they didn't have enough amps on one of the rails to allow it to start up (or else one of the rails just wasn't there anymore).

[Philster]

It's a DFI Infinity nForce 4 mobo, so maybe you have a point.

It did work fine for a long time until the problem developed though.

I just received a whole stack of new kit today as I am upgrading, I was planning on using the same PSU, so it will be interesting to see what happens when I plug it all in....! Fingers crossed.

[s_kinton]

This sounds very similar to the cold boot issues people have. Its always due to the capacitors on the mobo or in the PSU.

As you've tried a new PSU, it sounds like the mobo is the culprit. Open your case and give your board a very good inspection. You might notice one of the capacitors has gone.