System works but is acting weird.

[Haxomatic]

I'm not sure if this is the proper forum for this but here goes. My current rig (its posted on my profile) works fine after it starts up but something has been happening lately that has me quite worried. When I start it up my monitor stays on standby (not the computer, the monitor like when it has a video signal but the comp is powered down). Now this problem doesn't seem to big since after 8-15 seconds I hear either my hard drive spin up finally or my video card fan turn on and the monitor finally shows the video card page then the bios screen.

When my computer is on it works fine after it starts up. No BSOD's, no crashes of software ever. My computer is stable as can be but the delayed power on really worries me.

Here is exactly what happens as a timeline so its fairly clear.
I press power button.
Case fans turn on, LED lights turn on, CPU Fan turns on.
Monitor stays off for 8-15 seconds with no sounds of any extra hardware working.
I hear something that sounds like the HD begin to spin up (or the video card fan not sure)
The monitor exits standby mode and displays video card intro screen (it just says the model 9600GT PNY Vertigo)
Displays bios screen
windows 7 starts up
Done.

I'm worried because I've changed nothing hardware wise and I don't have any backup parts here. Has anyone here experienced their rig doing this? After the 15 seconds of inactivity the comp is as fast as it was to start up but that 8-15 seconds it sits there didnt happen before.

I've ran HD Tune to see if theres any SMART errors and all works fine. I flashed the bios to ver 2005 hoping that would fix it and it remained the same. I never overclocked it much except for overvolting the ram just a bit to get it stable at 800mhz.

Could it be the graphic card dying perhaps or can be motherboard be faulty or showing some possible signs of early death? The mobo and CPU are only a few months old the hard drive is like 5-6 years old but wouldn't the bios still boot up fast no matter if the hard drive was broken or not?

Hoping someone out there can help me out since I don't wanna spend 300$ replacing a part I "think" is broken.

I can post a video of its slow bootup if anyone thinks it'll help.

I've done some benchmarking to see if the system will buckle and it seems fine but its really odd that it went from booting the second i power it up to taking a quarter of a minute just to get to the post screen...Really worrying me.

EDIT: Also my keyboard lights won't turn on until the 8-15 seconds passed as well which usually turn on (Its a MERC Stealth gaming keyboard)

 

[Haxomatic]

New information, My LED lights have flickered a bit when its powered on... I think I realized what it is... It's my PSU.

This sucks because I threw away the box for it and its still under warranty I think.

To test it I switched off my PSU for a day then turned it back on and hit the power button. When I turned it on the thing acted like a darn time machine attempting to power up. The lights flickered wildly the case fans didn't even turn on fast. I guess that explains the slow bootup. It's so weird that the comp is stable though despite the psu going crazy on startup. Could this odd behavior be dangerous to the rest of the computer parts? I can't afford to fry my mobo because of a faulty PSU.

Anyone know if the odd powerup will mean my PSU is gonna asplode soon? Im assuming these signs cannot be good at all.

Also could a mod move this to general hardware since I think it may be a more suited there

 

[Asylum]

There could be a number of reasons for this to be happening.

As you guessed maybe your PSU. Could also be your mobo or bios settings.

Does it just act up when coming out of sleep mode?

Try shutting it down in start menu like normal then starting it back up. Does it do the same thing?

Change sleep mode in bios (S1 or S3 i think) and change your display sleep setting and see if that makes a difference.

Then give us more info.

 

[Haxomatic]

I put it in sleep mode (I NEVER use standby really) and then reawakened it with the keyboard and it started up fine. Right away in fact. I turned it off like you said and counted to 15 then turned it back on and it didn't display the same problem.

This only occurs when the cpu has been off (completely off) for a few hours. I haven't tried changing sleep modes but why would it matter if I never use standby? I thought sleep mode only effects the way in which the cpu enters a low power state (standby).

I turn on my computer when i wake up and off when i go to sleep.

It's only when its been powered off that it does this really odd poltergeist-like behavior (Lights flickering and comp not powering on for a quarter of a minute.

Also I used stock motherboard settings when i built this computer and it didnt do this. Later I changed 2 things. Changed the HT Width from 8bit to 16bit, switched from unganged mode to ganged, and overvolted my ram from 1.5 to 1.7 i believe (Its OCZ it supports up to 1.9). A very mild change of course. Mind you the problems didnt happen then. I've not touched my bios since then and then even tried to flash it to a newer version (2005).

I guess I'd say I havent touched my bios settings for 2 months and about 3 weeks ago it started doing this.

 

[zaqwsx]

Its probebly the asus board not likeing the +5 volt supply of the ocz. I have a 1000watt thermaltake and since the +5v rails are so thight any offset messes up my pc. I know becuase I have 3 1000watt power supply from thermaltake in my room all with similar problems. I put a 750watt thermaltake and all my problems were gone thats how I found out when I caled them and asked so you might be having the same problem i do.

Edit: My system specs are also old I actuly have a new computer but have been to lazy to update.

 

[Haxomatic]

So will continuing to use this power supply damage the motherboard or will it just continue to just startup on you think? I mean wouldn't the motherboard be acting odd instead of my case lights flickering and my other hardware being slow at startup not be normally effected?

Like I said my system is 100% stable when and after it starts up but that extended boot time and flickering lights are making me nervous.

Maybe I left out one other important thing... The cooling fan and lights in my PSU are flickering as well and the fan didnt start up for a second.

 

[Asylum]

Really sounds like your PSU is taking a crap on you.

Have you opened up your computer and checked all your cables to see if there fully seated.

Do you have another CMOS battery you could pop in and see if that fixes your problem.

 

[zaqwsx]

I have the same same thing where once its on its stable and I dont know if it will damage anything becuase I have had the same problem for 2 years on one computer and it still works but I am RMA'ing the board becuase I might get a better board and as far as the flikering It is probebly becuase it is getting affected from the board.

Like my computer will work fine like 1 week or a few days without having startup issude and sometime it will be fine. This was after replacing every sinlge component except for the power supply. Know on my older asus board I have the problem and simetimes couldnt even get my pc to boot right for 10min till i pulled everything out and put it back together.

Know my issue was everything would turn on but I know when my pc is messed up becuase my video card fans spin up really loud.

If I where you RMA the power supply and If your problems are gone then your ok if not them its your motherboard.

BTW i just relized i have the same mobo as you atm.

 

[Haxomatic]

Really sounds like your PSU is taking a crap on you.

Have you opened up your computer and checked all your cables to see if there fully seated.

Do you have another CMOS battery you could pop in and see if that fixes your problem.

I suppose I could check again. When I build I sit for like 4 hours rechecking everything then I never reopen the case again.

As far as the CMOS, no I don't have an extra unfortunately but this mobo is less then 3 months old can they die that fast occasionally? I'm not really a mass computer builder I just build a few and help build some for my friends.

If I have to buy a new PSU I'll probably get this.

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 ...

I hear it can run up to a GTX 480 and has a hell of a good feedback rating. Sucks though because I don't really have the money to replace it right now.

 

[zaqwsx]

My current spaces are:

1000 watt Thermaltake thoughpower
Asus m4a785td-v evo
AMD Phenom II 965
Sapphire HD4890
4gb DDR 3 Dominator 1600mhz
2 500gb segate drives

And i also havent overcloked my computer

 

[Asylum]

I suppose I could check again. When I build I sit for like 4 hours rechecking everything then I never reopen the case again.

As far as the CMOS, no I don't have an extra unfortunately but this mobo is less then 3 months old can they die that fast occasionally? I'm not really a mass computer builder I just build a few and help build some for my friends.

If I have to buy a new PSU I'll probably get this.

CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 ...

I hear it can run up to a GTX 480 and has a hell of a good feedback rating. Sucks though because I don't really have the money to replace it right now.

Still could be other things besides your PSU.

Really hard to tell...I would tear it back down and just hook up what was needed to boot and see if you have the same problem.

 

[Haxomatic]

I have the same same thing where once its on its stable and I dont know if it will damage anything becuase I have had the same problem for 2 years on one computer and it still works but I am RMA'ing the board becuase I might get a better board and as far as the flikering It is probebly becuase it is getting affected from the board.

Like my computer will work fine like 1 week or a few days without having startup issude and sometime it will be fine. This was after replacing every sinlge component except for the power supply. Know on my older asus board I have the problem and simetimes vould even get my pc to boot right for 10min till i pulled everything out and put it back together.

Know my issue was everything would turn on but I know when my pc is messed up becuase my video card fans spin up really loud.

If I where you RMA the power supply and If your problems are gone then your ok if not them its your motherboard.

BTW i just relized i have the same mobo as you atm.

I love the mobo its a real beast. I got a real quandry here about the PSU though... It's within warranty but a friend bought me it and I threw away the box (or lost it can't remember). I might be up $%#% creek .

 

[zaqwsx]

I can help you more if you have aim?

All you need is the sales slip and you should be fine or tell them you got it as a gift and they will go by the serial number.

Know I can say for a fact that a 750watt thermaltake toughpower worked with no problems for me so you could lookinto that ill send you the link. It is a powerfull power supply.

Btw this has been an on going problem with me and could never explain it on the forum till know.

Im 100% positive its your board and powersupply being retarded. If you get a new powersupply all your problems sould be gone. I would also go with a power supply with only one +12v rail. If your still having problems then get a board from a diffrent manufacturer.

 

[zaqwsx]

That corsair powersupply should work fine.

This power supply worked for me with no problems

Thermaltake Toughpower XT W0229RU 750W ATX12V V2.3...

 

[Haxomatic]

I can help you more if you have aim?

All you need is the sales slip and you should be fine or tell them you got it as a gift and they will go by the serial number.

Know I can say for a fact that a 750watt thermaltake toughpower worked with no problems for me so you could lookinto that ill send you the link. It is a powerfull power supply.

Btw this has been an on going problem with me and could never explain it on the forum till know.

Im 100% positive its your board and powersupply being retarded. If you get a new powersupply all your problems sould be gone. I would also go with a power supply with only one +12v rail. If your still having problems then get a board from a diffrent manufacturer.

I sent ya a pm of my aim

 

[Haxomatic]

A bump just for reference if anyone has a problem much like my own. I did something faily simple that my psu did something not normal by most standards.

I powered off my computer and switched it off in the back for 30 minutes so all power flow escaped the circuit. (I didnt realize psu's held some residual electricity for about 20~ minutes.) Well anyways I flipped the switch then powered it on within a few seconds, the lights flickered wildly and fans stuttered and struggled to start. The mobo's (All's good light) that shows the motherboards status was green when i turned it on yet it took 45 seconds before my hard drive spun up and my video card turned on. I'd assume that whatever is controlling the power in the psu is failing because when it starts up it cannot supply the necessary amperage/wattage/volts (whatever) to start up but after enough power has coursed through it finally starts up.

This whole assessment is based off my limited knowledge so sorry if it appears a bit juvenile as my knowledge of what happens inside/on the motherboard and psu is beyond me.

I'll try to send in my power supply but as I said I don't have a receipt as it was a gift nor do I have the box. Wish me luck!

One last important question I have here is this...Are these "cold" boot ups hurting my motherboard? Should I just send in the RMA and power it down until I get a new one because if this irregular powerflow is damaging my motherboard I'd be really really screwed. However if my computer stays on it seems fine, its just powering it up after 30+ minutes where my power supply screws up majorly. (I also noticed sleepmode allows it to turn off (pseudo power off) and on without those odd episodes.)

What I'm trying to say is that the low current of the psu's initial state gonna damage my motherboard or can low current due to faulty psu's damage them? I heard that low voltage is just as bad as too much as it can stress certain parts of a part.

Times like this I wish I would of taken a electric engineering degree so I could just rip open this junker power supply and fix it... ><

 

[JrRacinFan]

To me it sounds like it's failing to post. Which could potentially be anything causing it. Wish I had an extra power supply, I would send it to you to test. Try clearing your cmos as it may even just be bad settings in your bios. Maybe forgot to disable onboard video/init PCIe video first? Something like that would be what to look for.

 

[Haxomatic]

To me it sounds like it's failing to post. Which could potentially be anything causing it. Wish I had an extra power supply, I would send it to you to test. Try clearing your cmos as it may even just be bad settings in your bios. Maybe forgot to disable onboard video/init PCIe video first? Something like that would be what to look for.

Well as I've said the only "weird thing" that was happening was when it powered on it took 15~ seconds before the hard drives and monitor even turned on. The power supply LED's flickering gave it away though because if it was the motherboard's problem the LED's and fan in the power supply wouldn't fail since they aren't controlled by the mobo.

It's just insanely weird that my computer is still stable despite my psu (or whatever this is) is bugging out. Like I said I boot it up and it acts all odd then starts up like normal and it stable as can be. I played call of duty: MW2 for 6-8 hours yesterday all was fine, same since the problem arose but i don't wanna deal with a psu that could blow up at any second if its acting this peculiar. I also don't want my psu to finally die and fry my board, hard drives, and gpu. If its struggling to get power flow constant whats stopping it from pushing too much power through and melting my board due to a faulty psu if it shorts out.

Either way I'm gonna try to send it in via warranty and if that doesnt work ill buy that corsair 850w psu for 120$ and call it good. I guess I'm glad its my psu because my current one isnt really made for these new beastmode cards getting released so I guess some good will come of this... ><

EDIT: I haven't reset the CMOS but I will as a precaution because I do anything hasty. However I flashed my bios twice between these problems and it didn't solve or exacerbate the problem. It boots and everything and I can change all the bios things. Post shows all devices working properly after the insanely long time it takes for my monitor to get a signal from my videocard ><.

 

[Cybrnook]

My vote would go to PSU. But for giggles, I would try swapping the MB battery.

 

[Haxomatic]

Corsair is having a promo 10% off and 10$ rebate (lol 6 months to get 10$ back) but yeah it'll end up netting me a 850w 70amp single rail beast for like 114.99 so I'm just gonna buy the psu and if its my mobo ill figure it out from there...either way I made a giant mistake buying ocz because many of their psu's are double/quad railed and after reading up on it I have no idea why I would stick with this thing. This motherboard was renown for being an overclockers delight and could withstand immense punishment without failing so I'll put some faith in Asus as it has never failed me so far.

I also checked the feedback at newegg on my psu and i was shocked...look at the 7+ pages of 1/5 votes and people saying their psu started smoking/wouldnt work/(heres the real awesome one)FRIED THEIR MOTHERBOARD...Don't get me wrong I looooove ocz memory but I think maybe their power supply department isn't exactly all that grand. I had a ocz modstream previously and it lasted 3-4 years before i replaced it but I may have just been lucky.

In fact I checked all the ocz psu's and like 50% of the feedback was over smoking psu's and exploding psu's...I dont know what I was smoking when I ask my friend to buy me that power supply. Well heres hoping that corsair doesn't fail me since my income is rather stagnant atm .

On the upside if I have anymore graphic card problems in the future I won't get some idiotic tech talking about low amperage on rails despite that not really attributing to much half the time