Solved!! (I think)-- On startup, fan spins and stops, have to unplug.

[Ike0069]

Ok, so I've had a few issues lately but not sure if any or all are related.

First is that when idle, my monitor goes blank and desktop will not come back on by normal means (moving mouse, keyboard press, etc.). I press Windows-L and the logon screen appears. I've changed to different screen savers with the same result. This has been going on for a few weeks.

Second, my mouse stopped working out of the blue. I ended up moving it to a different USB port and that worked, but I found three that did not. Weird thing is that other items work in those ports including my keyboard. Probably not related to above issue, but still weird.

On one startup about a week ago, the screen was completley artifacted, but went back to normal when I moved the mouse and hasn't happened since.

I updated my graphics drivers thinking this might be a problem, but I still get the blank screen issue.

Now I came home today and hit the pwr button and my pc will not start. The fans spin up and stop, over and over. I ended up removing the power cord and reconnecting after ~15 sec and it started up perfectly.

I installed Windows updates just now, and on the restart, same thing with the fans. Unplugged the cord and reconnected and it started up fine.


At this point, i'm not sure if this is hardware or software related and I'm looking for troubleshooting ideas.

I have Malwayrebytes real-time protection along with anti-virus and both scan clean.

Windows 7 64bit
2500K @ 4.3
Asrock P68 Extreme3
HD7850
Antec 650W

 

[denis280]

I ended up removing the power cord and reconnecting after ~15 sec and it started up

Looks like psu problems. did you try moving the plug on the psu when it's on. this sounds like hd failure

 

[Fardringle]

It sounds like a power problem to me.

 

[Ike0069]

Looks like psu problems. did you try moving the plug on the psu when it's on. this sounds like hd failure

Why do you say it sounds like HD failure?

 

[denis280]

Hd failure starts like that. but in your case i would take a good look for loose wires from psu. that power cord is weird.

 

[Ike0069]

I still don't know what to make of this "power" isue, but I defintely hav HDD issues.

HDD is a 750GB WD Black purchased Sep 2011.

WD utility fails. Seagate utility fails. 3rd party chkdsk finds errors. I then unplugged the HDD and still did the start/stop cycle. I also checked connections and everything seems good. So I'm ordering a new drive, but the power issue has to be separate, right?

 

[Ike0069]

NM, 2nd drive came unplugged when I was messing with the main drive to be sure it was fully connected. :$

Still not sure if this is a MB or PSU issue, but I'm leaning towards MB.

 

[Steltek]

Have you tried dropping your overclock back to standard clocks? It is usually very difficult to troubleshoot an overclocked system.

 

[Ike0069]

Have you tried dropping your overclock back to standard clocks? It is usually very difficult to troubleshoot an overclocked system.

I have reset back to default BIOS settings and same thing.

Another thing I found is that instead of unplugging, simply pressing the CMOS reset button on back of case restarts the PC normally also.

Discussing with Asrock suppost and they want me to remove from case and go with barebones setup and see if I get same results. Trying that next.

 

[Ike0069]

Ok, I'm fairly confident I found the problem. I say "fairly" only because I still have a few odd issues and I will wait on my HDD drive swap to see if they disappear also.

After going completely barebones and then connecting things one at a time, every restart was working fine until my final connections which was the case HD/PWR LED and PWR/Reset buttons cluster. Then I started having the same on/off issue.

I then connected one at a time and found that the reste switch connector to be the culprit. Have left it disconnected and no issues for now.

Strange thing though with reset connected: When I am at BIOS default, it will not start, ever. Load my saved OC settings in BIOS and it starts perfectly, then next start is 3 on/off cycles and a then it starts, then normal start, then 3 on/off cycles and starts, then normal start.............. Always exactly 3 on/off's before it starts on every other start.

I tried this about a dozen times with the same result. Default will not start (just repeated on/off cycles), OC settings works exactly as explained above. This one has me really baffled.

 

[denis280]

well my friend you found it. don't have to tell you to test the reset switch.just buy a new one.
and glad for you.the nightmare is over.

 

[Steltek]

Ok, I'm fairly confident I found the problem. I say "fairly" only because I still have a few odd issues and I will wait on my HDD drive swap to see if they disappear also.

After going completely barebones and then connecting things one at a time, every restart was working fine until my final connections which was the case HD/PWR LED and PWR/Reset buttons cluster. Then I started having the same on/off issue.

I then connected one at a time and found that the reste switch connector to be the culprit. Have left it disconnected and no issues for now.

Strange thing though with reset connected: When I am at BIOS default, it will not start, ever. Load my saved OC settings in BIOS and it starts perfectly, then next start is 3 on/off cycles and a then it starts, then normal start, then 3 on/off cycles and starts, then normal start.............. Always exactly 3 on/off's before it starts on every other start.

I tried this about a dozen times with the same result. Default will not start (just repeated on/off cycles), OC settings works exactly as explained above. This one has me really baffled.

Are you running the most recent available BIOS? It might also be worth replacing the CMOS battery in case you have one that is defective.

 

[Ike0069]

Are you running the most recent available BIOS? It might also be worth replacing the CMOS battery in case you have one that is defective.

First BIOS rev I think. I don't typically change BIOS unless I have issues and this board ran 100% stable with a moderate OC for over a year. That battery idea is interesting though, I had not evey thought of that.

I'm currently running with the same OC settings I had previously and have gone thru several restarts since yesterday without issue. No issues with mouse either and I even plugged it back into the port I orginally had it in.

I'm going to wait until after my HD swap and then see if any issues pop up, but so far everything seems back to normal. :knocks on wood:

 

[Vinwiesel]

Is a reset switch really that essential that you would need to replace it? I never hooked one up on my last build and haven't missed it. Back with the original asus p67 bios when it had bluescreens, I could just hit the power button and it would reset.

 

[Ike0069]

Is a reset switch really that essential that you would need to replace it? I never hooked one up on my last build and haven't missed it. Back with the original asus p67 bios when it had bluescreens, I could just hit the power button and it would reset.

I don't plan to replace it, just leave it unhooked.