Please Help: computer will not start after power outage

*jamescooley1* · 06-07-2012

Hello, I had a power outage that lasted for 36 hrs. The power has been restored. My computer was off when we lost power. I just tried to start it and all I got was the blue LED's on all of the cooling fans flashed and fans spun and everything shut down. I tried a different receptacle and same thing happened. I switched to a different power strip and nothing changed. I cleared eeprom and no help. Do I have a dead PSU or MB? The reset and cycle power buttons on the MB are lite up but nothing happens when I press reset. If I turn off the power switch on the PSU and turn it back on and hit cycle power on the case or MB I get the same blue LEDs flash and then nothing. PSU and MB types are listed in my sig. Hardware is about 18 mos. old.
TIA
Jim

*bean55* · 06-07-2012

Even though the computer was off it may still have gotten a spike if it was connected. My vote would be the PSU it is also the cheaper of the 2 to replace and check.

*jamescooley1* · 06-07-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by bean55

Even though the computer was off it may still have gotten a spike if it was connected. My vote would be the PSU it is also the cheaper of the 2 to replace and check.

thanks

**Seán** · 06-07-2012

Similar thought here - when the electricity comes on after a power cut, it tends to cause a surge, especially when motors, pumps, etc. all come on simultaneously the moment the power is restored. During one power outage caused by our previous chest freezer developing a ground-short, a mobile phone plugged in to charge along with the display of our microwave both stopped working once we switched the RCD back on.

I also remember reading an article a while back warning to unplug all electronic items during a power-outage.

*eric93se* · 08-07-2012

A tripp lite surge suppressor should be a minimum on all PC's.

I would swap the PSU with a good one before buying if you can.

*coolcolors* · 08-07-2012

I would have to agree with the other poster sounds like you got a spike and the PS took it hard. Did you have some kinda surge suppression or protection on your computer side? If you didn't before it might be a good time to get or invest in a expensive protection and not get hit the next time. I have a 40 surge suppression and even with power outages it weathers the situation very good and my printers and computers have weathered it very good. If it wasn't your PS the other would be the Motherboard this part will be more expensive to fix as if the board went out it most likely did some damages to other components attached to it.

*bigmike7* · 08-07-2012

Yo Jim-

Why not test the PSU with the ole' paperclip trick (bridging the black and green wires with an open paper clip).

Pull power plug from wall. Pull the 20/24 power cable from the motherboard - open a paperclip "U" and insert into the connector where the black and green wires go - then briefly turn the power back on - If the fan goes on = the PSU is working and hunt for another culprit

http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...0&aqi=g4&pbx=1

(pretty pictures for oldfarts)

*jamescooley1* · 10-07-2012

Hey thanks,
OCZ just instructed me to try the paperclip test. So after I insert the paperclip and turn on the power I should stick my tongue on the clip, correct?

*bigmike7* · 10-07-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamescooley1

Hey thanks,
OCZ just instructed me to try the paperclip test. So after I insert the paperclip and turn on the power I should stick my tongue on the clip, correct?

Yo Jim-

Yup - that'll really complete the test..........

..............because you won't be alive to turn the friggin' computer on-eh yahoser!

**platinumsword** · 10-07-2012

Electric shock therapy.

*jamescooley1* · 10-07-2012

OK seriously. I tested the PSU with a paperclip and the PSU passed, cooling fans started and ODDs were able to open/close the trays. I pulled the GPU and it's power supplies from the MB and the computer was able to start! While I had it disconnected from the MB I connected the power supplies on the GPU and the computer will not start. I am getting some warning beeps when starting but I am not sure what they are because I have no onboard video on the MB. I do have troubleshooting code readout on the MB as soon as I can find the owners manual

I will check to see if it is starting correctly

. I am thinking it is indeed a GPU failure. Called EVGA and they started a RMA request. A big thank you to all.
Jim

macnavarra · 10-07-2012

maybe these can help: http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm

*bean55* · 10-07-2012

Sounds like the spike made it through the PSU and got the GPU, that's a real bummer.

PSU's are cheaper than GPU's

*G_Ivan Awfulitch* · 10-07-2012

Sounds like you need to contact your Homeowners insurance company. They replaced a computer, two printers, a computerized sewing machine and a refrigerator on a surge from lighting.

*jamescooley1* · 10-07-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by G_Ivan Awfulitch

Sounds like you need to contact your Homeowners insurance company. They replaced a computer, two printers, a computerized sewing machine and a refrigerator on a surge from lighting.

I will do so. Thank you very much for the suggestion.

StormJumper · 10-07-2012

http://www.thewindowsplanet.com/1295...-windows-7.htm

*jamescooley1* · 10-07-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by StormJumper

http://www.thewindowsplanet.com/1295...-windows-7.htm

Hey thanks Tim, I am purdy sure the problem is with the video card.

StormJumper · 10-07-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamescooley1

Hey thanks Tim, I am purdy sure the problem is with the video card.

*SubZero* · 10-07-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by bean55

Sounds like the spike made it through the PSU and got the GPU, that's a real bummer.

PSU's are cheaper than GPU's

I have high quality UPS with over and under AVR but in new house have some very bad problems anyway. I think it may be some sort of grounding issue but am just not sure. Electricians looked at it early on just after build when we were losing light-bulbs (incandescent) and they did a bunch of thing to the system and most problems are gone but there are still problems.

I have lost 3 laser printers since moving. Every time we have power outages and it comes back on I worry. Fuser in printers / CCD in scanner seem to have been the issue.

No problems with either CIS (led) scanners or ink jet printer.

Laser printers were plugged into surge protector but not UPS.

But even my computer that is in a quality UPS seem to have been damaged by power outage / restart. I have Gigabyte X58A-UD3R and it has various sort of extra "power" related feature and after problem, system would only work stable after I disabled most of those (usb power charge, etc) and also had to flash bios back one revision (to Fg1) because the Dolby stuff enabled in next bios flash did no longer work.

I have heard of houses having bad power before but not experienced it until we bought newly built home and moved in. Very frustrating and expensive. I have given up on laser printers and now use Epson Artisan 837 instead, which seems to have no problems at all so far.

*_chef_* · 11-07-2012

Hey Jim,

did you already replace the CMOS battery??

*jamescooley1* · 11-07-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by _chef_

Hey Jim,

did you already replace the CMOS battery??

Thank you
No, I am getting 1 long and 3 short beeps during boot up, that indicates Video/VGA problem. I will probably down load the owners manual so I can look up the code given on the mother board.

*jamescooley1* · 11-07-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by macnavarra

maybe these can help: http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm

Thanks! I am getting 1 long and 3 short=Video/VGA problem

StormJumper · 13-07-2012

Hi jamescooley1

Have you checked what I suggested in the PM ? I really believe the problem is between the video card and your monitor.

*jamescooley1* · 23-07-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by StormJumper

Hi jamescooley1

Have you checked what I suggested in the PM ? I really believe the problem is between the video card and your monitor.

oops, I just saw your post. I checked the ps cables and sniffed the GPU

but it all looks and smells normal. When the GPU is disconnected the computer seems to boot up normal. I contacted EVGA tech support and they issued a RMA

. Thanks.
Jim

StormJumper · 29-07-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by jamescooley1

oops, I just saw your post. I checked the ps cables and sniffed the GPU

but it all looks and smells normal. When the GPU is disconnected the computer seems to boot up normal. I contacted EVGA tech support and they issued a RMA

. Thanks.
Jim

No problem on the delay just happy to hear you got it sorted.

SJ

06-07-2012	#1
jamescooley1 MyCE Resident Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Rock and Roll Capital of Planet Earth-Detroit Mi. Posts: 8,945	computer will not start after power outage Hello, I had a power outage that lasted for 36 hrs. The power has been restored. My computer was off when we lost power. I just tried to start it and all I got was the blue LED's on all of the cooling fans flashed and fans spun and everything shut down. I tried a different receptacle and same thing happened. I switched to a different power strip and nothing changed. I cleared eeprom and no help. Do I have a dead PSU or MB? The reset and cycle power buttons on the MB are lite up but nothing happens when I press reset. If I turn off the power switch on the PSU and turn it back on and hit cycle power on the case or MB I get the same blue LEDs flash and then nothing. PSU and MB types are listed in my sig. Hardware is about 18 mos. old. TIA Jim __________________ Best Burn-http://club.cdfreaks.com/2074894-post6.html Best DL Burn~ media is 2.4 rated- http://club.cdfreaks.com/2250843-post205.html Best 20x Burn-http://club.cdfreaks.com/2069260-post586.html Best CD Burn-http://club.cdfreaks.com/2238578-post264.html Best 24x Burn(new 10/3/2010)-http://club.myce.com/f105/samsung-sh-s243-results-discussion-304840/index9.html#post2500346 Best BD-R Burn- http://club.myce.com/f33/tdk-bd-r-sl...ml#post2627675 You're Never Alone When You Are A Schizophrenic Honor Thy Music! CPU:i7-2600K@4635MHz~24 hrs. Prime 95-VCore 1.376 PSU:OCZ-ZX1250W CPU Cooler:CORSAIR CWCH60 Push/Pull MoBo:ASUS P8Z68-Deluxe SSD:OCZ RevoDrive 3 240GB http://club.myce.com/f138/post-your-ssd-hdd-result-here-310873/index4.html#post2625786 HDDs:SATA III. 7200RPM~2TB WD Black Cav and 2TB Seagate Barracuda GPU:EVGA GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 Sound:ASUS Xonar D2X 7.1 RAM:G.SKILL Ripjaws X 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000)@2208MHz ODDs:10 Monitor:Hanns·G Black 24.6" HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor Case: AZZA Solano 1000 Black

06-07-2012	#2
bean55 MyCE Resident Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Chicago Land Area Posts: 6,324	Even though the computer was off it may still have gotten a spike if it was connected. My vote would be the PSU it is also the cheaper of the 2 to replace and check. __________________ My Signature: I use Taiyo Yuden and Verbatim media mainly. DVDFab : http://club.cdfreaks.com/f116/ http://www.cdfreaks.com/software/Cop...-Platinum.html Removal of new protections may not be available yet in the free version of DVDFab (HD Decrypter) I use ImgBurn as my main burning engine http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download Free Media Player VLC http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ GO TEAM GO Fold for team 13505 http://folding.stanford.edu/ Help us save some lives by joining the Distributed Computing Teams : F@H or WGC or BOTH

08-07-2012	#7
bigmike7 MyCE Resident Old Fart Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Diehard Old CDFreak Lurking In The Back Of Your Mind Posts: 10,046	Yo Jim- Why not test the PSU with the ole' paperclip trick (bridging the black and green wires with an open paper clip). Pull power plug from wall. Pull the 20/24 power cable from the motherboard - open a paperclip "U" and insert into the connector where the black and green wires go - then briefly turn the power back on - If the fan goes on = the PSU is working and hunt for another culprit http://www.google.com/search?sourcei...0&aqi=g4&pbx=1 (pretty pictures for oldfarts) __________________ Mike (Y) <- - - (a tribute to someone) Brayden & Lil Burnits Proud Cyber Grampie - 'CERCA, TROVA' - 'NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM' Work Computer = ZT Systems i7-2600 CPU w/16GB DDR3-1333 RAM/ Win7 Pro-sp1 /Intel 510 120GB SSD @ SATA3 /Western Digital VelociRaptor 500GB Workstation HDD @ SATA3 /Corsair 650 watt PSU /Pioneer BDR-2207 as BD burner /Lite-On iHBS-112-04 as Reader/Ripper and BD Disc Quality Tester /AOC i2757fh 27 inch S-IPS monitor w/LED backlight /XFX Radeon HD6870 w/2GB GDDR5RAM /Ashampoo Burning Studio 2012 /DVDFab 8QT Burning Computer = HP xw8400 workstation w/ Two Xeon 5160, dual core, 3.0 mhz CPU's w/ 16gb PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM /Win7 Pro-sp1 /Intel X25-M G2 160GB SSD /Western Digital Caviar Black 640gb w/64mb cache HDD /Corsair 850 watt psu / Optiarc AD-5280S-CB-PLUS w/v1.Z7 fw as Disc Burner and Disc Quality Tester /Optiarc AD-5280S-CB-PLUS w/v1.Z7 fw as Disc Reader/Ripper /ATi Radeon HD 5770 w/1gb GDDR5 Ram Videocard /HP 24" LCD /Ashampoo Burning Studio 6 /DVDFab 8QT On The Shelf: (1) Benq 1640, (1)BenQ 1640 @EW168, Pioneer (2) 115D, (3) Optiarc 7200A, Optiarc 7260A, Asus DRW-24b1ST

10-07-2012	#8
jamescooley1 MyCE Resident Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Rock and Roll Capital of Planet Earth-Detroit Mi. Posts: 8,945	Hey thanks, OCZ just instructed me to try the paperclip test. So after I insert the paperclip and turn on the power I should stick my tongue on the clip, correct? __________________ Best Burn-http://club.cdfreaks.com/2074894-post6.html Best DL Burn~ media is 2.4 rated- http://club.cdfreaks.com/2250843-post205.html Best 20x Burn-http://club.cdfreaks.com/2069260-post586.html Best CD Burn-http://club.cdfreaks.com/2238578-post264.html Best 24x Burn(new 10/3/2010)-http://club.myce.com/f105/samsung-sh-s243-results-discussion-304840/index9.html#post2500346 Best BD-R Burn- http://club.myce.com/f33/tdk-bd-r-sl...ml#post2627675 You're Never Alone When You Are A Schizophrenic Honor Thy Music! CPU:i7-2600K@4635MHz~24 hrs. Prime 95-VCore 1.376 PSU:OCZ-ZX1250W CPU Cooler:CORSAIR CWCH60 Push/Pull MoBo:ASUS P8Z68-Deluxe SSD:OCZ RevoDrive 3 240GB http://club.myce.com/f138/post-your-ssd-hdd-result-here-310873/index4.html#post2625786 HDDs:SATA III. 7200RPM~2TB WD Black Cav and 2TB Seagate Barracuda GPU:EVGA GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 Sound:ASUS Xonar D2X 7.1 RAM:G.SKILL Ripjaws X 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000)@2208MHz ODDs:10 Monitor:Hanns·G Black 24.6" HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor Case: AZZA Solano 1000 Black

10-07-2012	#10
platinumsword Senior Moderator Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 5,367	Electric shock therapy. __________________ Monster HDP 2500 / Toshiba 55UL610U / Onkyo TX-NR818 / Energy RC-70,RC-LCR,CF-70 / Velodyne EQ-Max 12 / Oppo BDP-83 / LG LDA-831 Three simple rules: 1. Never Change the Deal 2. No Names. 3. Never Open the Package.

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06-07-2012	#4
Seán Senior Administrator & Reviewer Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Republic of Ireland (North West) Posts: 9,654	Similar thought here - when the electricity comes on after a power cut, it tends to cause a surge, especially when motors, pumps, etc. all come on simultaneously the moment the power is restored. During one power outage caused by our previous chest freezer developing a ground-short, a mobile phone plugged in to charge along with the display of our microwave both stopped working once we switched the RCD back on. I also remember reading an article a while back warning to unplug all electronic items during a power-outage.

08-07-2012	#5
eric93se MyCE Resident Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 3,622	A tripp lite surge suppressor should be a minimum on all PC's. I would swap the PSU with a good one before buying if you can.

08-07-2012	#6
coolcolors MyCE Resident Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 6,497	I would have to agree with the other poster sounds like you got a spike and the PS took it hard. Did you have some kinda surge suppression or protection on your computer side? If you didn't before it might be a good time to get or invest in a expensive protection and not get hit the next time. I have a 40 surge suppression and even with power outages it weathers the situation very good and my printers and computers have weathered it very good. If it wasn't your PS the other would be the Motherboard this part will be more expensive to fix as if the board went out it most likely did some damages to other components attached to it.

10-07-2012	#12
macnavarra MyCE Junior Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 75	maybe these can help: http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm

10-07-2012	#14
G_Ivan Awfulitch MyCE Resident Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Cowtown,Texas YeeHawwww Posts: 1,082	Sounds like you need to contact your Homeowners insurance company. They replaced a computer, two printers, a computerized sewing machine and a refrigerator on a surge from lighting. __________________ It is better to have loved a short, than never have loved a tall! NEW BUILD 10/09 Intel MB BOXDG43NB CPU Slot 775 CPU IntelC2Q Q9650 3G 3.1GHZ Dual-Quad Memory Patriot 4GB 2x2 OS Win 7 Home Premium 64 Bit HDDs 1 Hitachi 640 GB and 1 TB SATA, External 1.5 TB, Two 2TB external and 1 250 GB external fire wire. Burners Internal-Ide Lit-on IHAP 422-98,Pioneer DVR 117---Sata Lite-on IHAS 324-9, Optiarc 7240 and Samsung 243, IHAS 124 Y. External Mad Dog (NEC3500) to burn old 4X media. PSU Antec 550W true power Computers can burn up when shut off if they are still plugged in even when using a UPS. 2nd 'Puter (On line use) Dell Power Edge 700, Pentium 4E 520 Prescott @ 2.8GHz Windows XP Pro SP3 2.5 GB DDR 3200, WD 160GB ATA HD, 4 SCSI HD in raid for 500GB, 250 GB Hd on a firewire port. Samsung 223 DVD burner, Plextor 48/24/48U Printers 1-Canon 820 and 1-Epson R300 6 Usb and 3 Firewire ports in the rear and 10 port powered Rosewill Usb hub in the front along with Rosewill card reader +1 Usb port in the floppy slot 3rd 'Puter Compaq CQ-50 Laptop,Vista 32Bit Celeron 575 @2GHZ, 3GB DDR2 5300, 160GB HD and 1-250GB WD passport HD, 2.6 amp powered USB hub. Optiarc 7200 in external case Epson NX 415 Printer. (Wall-Mart $299) Vista 32 bit

10-07-2012	#16
StormJumper Retired Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Aloha, OREGON Posts: 12,734	http://www.thewindowsplanet.com/1295...-windows-7.htm

11-07-2012	#20
_chef_ MyCE Resident Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: @FX labs .de ...playing LLAMATRON :-] Posts: 30,613	Hey Jim, did you already replace the CMOS battery?? __________________ Enable DMA with micrAp$0ft Enable DMA free at your will busTRACE => Upper/Lower Filters Util DevCon *HOW TO ... Delete the Upper & Lower Filters!* If you expect help then please use the powerful SEARCH. Try ThreatFire I am looking for DVD-R for Authoring & HD DVD media. Please PM me if you can help me. Vamos Tribbles! V-a-m-o-s!!

13-07-2012	#23
StormJumper Retired Moderator Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Aloha, OREGON Posts: 12,734	Hi jamescooley1 Have you checked what I suggested in the PM ? I really believe the problem is between the video card and your monitor. __________________ I have left MyCE and will never return

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