Results 1 to 15 of 15

Thread: PC shutting down after five seconds

  1. #1
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    London
    Posts
    81
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    PC shutting down after five seconds

    Grateful for any advice or thoughts on a PC problem. Apologies for the long post.

    One of our PCs started to fail about couple of weeks ago. At switch on the fans would spin, the power light and HDD light on the front of the case would illuminate and after less than a minute it would shut down, It would then restart which would have the same result, ie into a cycle. As the PC had, for a few months, intermittently BSOD'd with 'Page fault in a non paged area', I decided a rebuild was needed.

    I replaced the motherboard, cpu, RAM and hard drive, all bought new in the last couple of weeks. The only bits from the old machine were the PSU, DVD, case and graphics card. I put it together, installed a copy of Windows 7 and for about a week it worked without a problem.

    It then started to shut down for no obvious reason. Sometimes this would happen after a hour or so, but over the course of a few days the shut down was happening within about 10-15 seconds of switch on. During the time the PC was working, there was no BSOD and the shut down was not temperature related – monitoring software showed the temperatures to be OK, simply all power would be lost.

    As this was a similar problem to that in the old PC I thought the PSU could be the cause, so I replaced it.


    With the replacement PSU, when I switch on all the fans (PSU, cpu, front, back and graphics card) spin for about five seconds and then the PC shuts down.

    The replacement PSU is an old one (I've had it for a few years but it has not been used) and of lower power(450w) than the original one(750w) but it is a Corsair whereas original is a Win Power (not a name I'd heard of).

    I have unplugged the hard drive and the DVD (I also removed the graphics card and plugged the monitor into the motherboard) to see if I could get it to POST, but the result is the same – fans spin for about five seconds then it shuts down. The new components are nowhere near high spec – a dual core 3.2GHz G2130 cpu in a 1155 motherboard with 4 Gig of RAM, so I think 450w would be enough to get it started, at least.

    Over the last few days I have tried,

    clearing the CMOS,
    another new PSU,
    each stick of RAM individually, and
    removing the motherboard from the case and trying to switch it on.

    The result is always the same - fans on for five seconds and then shut down.

    One thing I did notice was the fans start to spin immediately I press the switch on the PSU, I do not have to press the on/off switch on the front panel. I wondered if this could be the problem so disconnected all the front panel wires but the result was the same. I then wondered if a PC needs the front panel switches to be connected for it to work.

    Grateful for any advice. I'm a bit worried that a problem with the original PSU may have killed the new motherboard/cpu or the new hard drive.

    Thanks

    Dave

  2. #2
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Posts
    527
    Thanks
    12
    Thanked
    92 times in 74 posts
    • Macadee's system
      • Motherboard:
      • Asus ROG Maximus VI Hero
      • CPU:
      • Haswell 4770K @ 4.7Ghz
      • Memory:
      • 16GB Samsung Green @ 2133Mhz
      • Storage:
      • Intel 520 120GB, Samsung 840 250GB, WD Caviar Black 1TB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • Tri-Fire 7990 / 7970
      • PSU:
      • EVGA Supernova 1300-G2
      • Case:
      • Lian Li PC-75
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 7
      • Monitor(s):
      • Dell U2713HM
      • Internet:
      • VM

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    Could be a short between the mobo/case if it's switching on with the main power switch, try building it outside of the case.

  3. #3
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    London
    Posts
    81
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    Thanks for the reply, Macadee. I have built it outside the case on a non-conductive surface but the result is the same.

    Dave

  4. #4
    Supermarket Generic Brand AETAaAS's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Merseyside
    Posts
    654
    Thanks
    79
    Thanked
    147 times in 129 posts
    • AETAaAS's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI B450M Gaming Plus
      • CPU:
      • AMD Ryzen 2600
      • Memory:
      • 16GB Vengeance 3000
      • Storage:
      • Intel 660p 1TB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • EVGA 1080TI SC2
      • PSU:
      • Seasonic Focus 850W
      • Case:
      • Fractal Design Focus G
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 10 x64
      • Monitor(s):
      • HP Envy 32
      • Internet:
      • 17mbps

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    You've done a lot, one thing I can recommend trying is reseating the CPU. I had a problem when I shipped a PC which sounds similar, tried almost everything and was about to write the CPU/mobo off. I tried reseating and all of a sudden it went back to normal.

  5. #5
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    London
    Posts
    81
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    Thanks AETAaAS, I'll give it a try.

    Dave

  6. #6
    Registered+
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    24
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts
    • F2K8's system
      • Motherboard:
      • MSI 970A-G46
      • CPU:
      • AMD FX-6300
      • Memory:
      • 8GB Crucial Ballistix
      • Storage:
      • Samsung Spinpoint 500GB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • MSI Radeon HD 6870
      • PSU:
      • XFX Pro Series 550W
      • Case:
      • AeroCool 6th Element
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 8.1

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    You say you left your PSU from your old system, that's already showing me a sign of danger. Usually when PC's act funny like that, people immediately know that it's either the PSU or the mobo, since your mobo is brand new, I'm willing to bet it's your PSU (but it could still be your mobo). If you have a free PSU lying around, hook up your motherboard, RAM, CPU and GPU and give it a quick test and see if it carries on running. If not, it could in fact be your mobo.

  7. #7
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    London
    Posts
    81
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    Thanks for the reply, F2K8. When I rebuilt the PC I did use the old PSU but have since used two other PSUs, one of these was bought new in the last few days.

    Over the last week/two weeks I have used three PSUs, two of which show exactly the same result.

    Dave

  8. #8
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    London
    Posts
    81
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    This morning I've removed the motherboard from the case (again) and stripped it down -

    taken out both RAM chips,
    removed the cpu heatsink,
    removed the old thermal paste from heatsink and cpu,
    and the removed the cpu.

    I've visually checked the lot and reinstalled the cpu, applied some new thermal paste and reinstalled the heatsink and the RAM, and cleared the CMOS again by removing the battery for about 15 minutes.


    Tried powering up with the motherboard out of the case.

    The only connections were the 24 pin power connector and the 8 pin connector for the cpu.
    The only components were the cpu and the RAM sticks.

    Tried the above with each of the RAM sticks individually again, but the result was the same - cpu fan spins for 5 seconds and then it shuts down.

    To check the PSU, I've also tried connecting the green wire on the 24 pin connector to a black wire with a paper clip and the PSU fan runs with no problem.

    I'm coming to the idea that the motherboard (and or the cpu) is the problem and that the original PSU has somehow caused it as when I first put this set up together, using the original PSU, it worked perfectly for about as week.

    Any ideas will be gratefully received.

    Thanks

    Dave

  9. #9
    Registered User
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    14
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts
    • edoubleu's system
      • Motherboard:
      • ASUS P8Z77-V
      • CPU:
      • Intel Core i7 2700
      • Memory:
      • Corsair Vengence 24GB
      • Graphics card(s):
      • GTX 660 SC 3GB
      • Operating System:
      • Windows 8
      • Internet:
      • 80Mbs/20Mbs

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    Quote Originally Posted by Tringa View Post
    This morning I've removed the motherboard from the case (again) and stripped it down -

    taken out both RAM chips,
    removed the cpu heatsink,
    removed the old thermal paste from heatsink and cpu,
    and the removed the cpu.

    I've visually checked the lot and reinstalled the cpu, applied some new thermal paste and reinstalled the heatsink and the RAM, and cleared the CMOS again by removing the battery for about 15 minutes.


    Tried powering up with the motherboard out of the case.

    The only connections were the 24 pin power connector and the 8 pin connector for the cpu.
    The only components were the cpu and the RAM sticks.

    Tried the above with each of the RAM sticks individually again, but the result was the same - cpu fan spins for 5 seconds and then it shuts down.

    To check the PSU, I've also tried connecting the green wire on the 24 pin connector to a black wire with a paper clip and the PSU fan runs with no problem.

    I'm coming to the idea that the motherboard (and or the cpu) is the problem and that the original PSU has somehow caused it as when I first put this set up together, using the original PSU, it worked perfectly for about as week.

    Any ideas will be gratefully received.

    Thanks

    Dave
    I've had a very similar problem. I had a dodgy PSU. I later ended up with random shutdowns with my mobo reporting power surges. I thought it was a mobo problem so bought a new mobo. This was a mistake as the PSU eventually caused the same fault on the brand new motherboard. Turns out that my PSU fried some power management circuitry on the mobo.

  10. #10
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    London
    Posts
    81
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    Thanks for the reply Edoubleu. Sounds as if I have a similar problem. I'll try a new motherboard. As I now have a new PSU I hope the same problem won't occur again.

    Dave

  11. #11
    psi
    psi is offline
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Mar 2014
    Posts
    21
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    1 time in 1 post

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    Could be a built in USB port with a shorted pin, I had this on an old gateway, after spreading out the pin it stayed on as normal instead of shutting down after a few seconds.

  12. #12
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Oct 2013
    Posts
    5
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    Might be an overheating case. Check you fans. They should be working properly.

    Thanks.

  13. #13
    Registered User
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Posts
    6
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    Perhaps a good dusting is in order?

  14. #14
    Registered+
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    London
    Posts
    81
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked
    0 times in 0 posts

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    Thanks for the further comments all. Almost by accident I solved the problem. Eventually the only component that I had not either swapped for another or taken out of the build to try to simplify the problem, was the case.
    I put everything into an old case I had lying around and immediately everything worked perfectly. I don't know if the original case had started shorting out some where or the on/off switch was faulty but a different case solved the problem.

    Thanks to all who took the time to help.

    Dave

  15. #15
    The late but legendary peterb - Onward and Upward peterb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Looking down & checking on swearing
    Posts
    19,378
    Thanks
    2,892
    Thanked
    3,403 times in 2,693 posts

    Re: PC shutting down after five seconds

    My guess is a faulty switch - although not something I'd have thought of as switches are so simple - but if you hold the switch down for typically 4 seconds - the PU shuts down - so if the switch is not breaking immediately (its a push on momentary action) then it would cause the PSU to shut down. Worth checking the switch - if only for peace of mind to confirm the diagnosis.
    (\__/)
    (='.'=)
    (")_(")

    Been helped or just 'Like' a post? Use the Thanks button!
    My broadband speed - 750 Meganibbles/minute

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •