My PC worked perfectly fine yesterday, but today when I tried to power it on, it immediately shuts off and then keeps turning on and off in a loop. I'm wondering what might be the cause—could it be a short circuit or an issue with the power supply, motherboard, or CPU? I've already tried resetting the RAM and the CMOS, but that didn't help. All the cables look fine too. Here are my specs: Fractal Design Integra M 550W, Intel Core i5 4690K, Gigabyte GeForce GTX 960, and Gigabyte GA-Z97P-D3.
1 Answer
It sounds like a power issue is likely causing your PC to cycle on and off like that. I've noticed that older power supplies can do this when one of the rails starts acting up. A good first step is to unplug all non-essential components and try booting up with just the CPU and one stick of RAM—skip the GPU if your motherboard supports integrated graphics. Also, check for any loose screws or standoffs that could be shorting out the motherboard, especially if the case has been bumped recently. If you still have the same issue, I’d suspect the PSU first, with the motherboard being the next possibility.
I actually tried removing everything except for the CPU, and the issue persisted. Should I go ahead and remove the CPU as well and just test the board with the PSU? I’m starting to think it could be a faulty motherboard because I’ve had previous issues where my screen wouldn’t show anything even though the PC was running. Resetting the RAM helped that time, but I'm unsure of what’s happening this time.