I'm having an issue where my computer shuts down abruptly and then doesn't turn back on again until you unplug it, wait for the mobo lights to turn off, then plug it back in. This happened right after I took the computer apart and cleaned it. I made sure to use an ESD strap while working on it. The computer runs fine in most situations.
Edit: I've found out that when the front case door (the one that allows access to the top of the motherboard and all the main components) is off, the computer is completely fine. I can use NVIDIA 3D Vision, I can wake the computer up from sleep using the keyboard, and plug in things into the front USB ports without shorting anything out.
System specs (with purchase times):
Case: Antec 1200 [picture] (2016)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 600W [picture] (2014)
Cooler: Corsair H60 [picture] (2013)
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 [picture] (2014)
CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1075T (6 core, 3.00 GHz) (2010)
Motherboard: ASUS m4a87td EVO (2010)
Wireless Card: Ralink branded 2-antenna internal card (everything but Wireless G) (2016)
OS: Windows 10 Education
RAM: 8 GB (Memcheck done, seems fine)
- 2x 2GB (Kingston, 2010)
- 1x 4GB (Unknown brand, 2015)
HDD/SSD:
- 240 GB SSD (Crucial, 2013)
- 128 GB SSD (Crucial, 2013)
- 500 GB HDD (Western Digital, 2010)
Fans currently running:
- 1x Top (Antec Big Boy 200) Exhaust
- 1x Back (connected to H60 radiator) Intake
- 1x Front Intake
Ways I've managed to cause the computer to shut down abruptly and not turn on again until you unplug it:
- Using NVIDIA 3D Vision glasses with games (it has worked fine before)
- Plugging something into the front USB ports before grounding myself (this happened once in a while with a different case, as well)
- Playing a game with an XBOX One controller plugged into a front USB port with a long HDMI cable hooked up to a TV across the room (this only happened once)
- Waking the computer from sleep using the keyboard or mouse (both plugged into back USB ports); it will turn on for a second and then abruptly shut down. Waking it from sleep using the power button works fine.
What I did that might have screwed something up:
- New cable management; a lot more cables are behind the motherboard now. Tried to make sure no connections were touching the back of the board/the case.
- Cleaned it out using a DataVac (should have been fine, just a compressed air machine).
- Cleaned fans using general purpose cleaner and a toothbrush (made sure they were dry before installing them) - this made one fan not able to "get going" without first manually turning a blade. I removed it in case this was the culprit (sadly, it wasn't).
- Took apart the video card; the fan is working fine, however. I didn't take it apart to the point where I had to replace thermal paste.
- Took the entire case apart (multiple screwed-in parts; the Antec 1200 is huge and heavy). Made sure that the ground wire at the top was screwed in, though. A few areas don't have screws in them now, but it holds fine.
- Working on a carpet in the middle of winter. Also, my house is so dry that I need to lotion my hands daily or they start to crack, and I'm constantly getting zapped. Never had these problems before I moved here.
- I have the computer sitting on some cut-out poster board so it slides easier (far too heavy to slide without it). The poster board sits on the carpet, so part of the computer touches the ground (carpet) directly.
- I have an SSD just resting on my HDD, with no support besides the cables its connected to. I also have an SSD and a laptop-sized HDD really close to each other using a bracket mount.
- I forgot to put all the motherboard screws in, and one was loose. Usually I never did that, I would just put enough screws in to keep it on there.
- I don't have an I/O shield. I lost it. I also broke off the little metal pieces that come over the legacy mouse & keyboard connectors - I heard they help ground the computer
- I removed an external HDD and just put the drive right in the computer. It's disconnected right now, though, because I thought it might have been the culprit (but still in there).
What I've done to attempt to fix it:
- Put electrical tape over the fan adapter hub and multiple unused SATA/MOLEX connector ends
- Switching USB ports for the keyboard and mouse
- Moving the NVIDIA 3D Vision receiver box from the front ports to the back (now I just unplugged it entirely)
- Putting all the motherboard screws in and making sure they were tight enough
- Checking for loose connections
- Checking my memory (no problems found)
- Looking for malfunctioning devices in Device Manager
- Unplugging the WiFi card
Other info
- Most of the time, it seems like waking the computer from sleep using the keyboard doesn't crash the system. However, every time with all door panels on, it does.
- The case has wires for the front panel that have the very large USB 3.0 onboard connectors, but also split into the normal USB 2.0 connectors (I use the 2.0 since my mobo doesn't have the connections for USB 3.0, besides in the back).
- USB 3.0 has glitched out (random disconnecting, unable to see device plugged into it until you shut the computer down) since this computer was running Windows 8 and beyond.
- I don't have access to any extra parts to test other parts against. I have an ESD mat that I could barebones test it on, though.
- This computer has never had any issues software-wise, and is confirmed virus/malware free.
- I do not/have never overclocked my computer despite having a liquid cooler on it.
Thank you in advance to anyone who can help me out. I know it's a lot of info but even being in computer science, I still have no clue how to fix this issue.
Edited by zakdwyer, 07 February 2017 - 08:00 AM.
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