I've been having some frustrating issues with my PC that I built back in March 2020. It was running perfectly until recently when various problems started cropping up. The main issue happens when I shut down the PC and turn off the kill switch. When I try to boot it back up, the computer powers on, turns off, then turns on again by itself before working normally. However, if I don't flip the switch and just press the power button, it fails to boot, showing an orange light on the motherboard indicating a RAM issue. I have to hard reset it by holding down the power button, and then it boots up just fine. I've already cleaned the internals and reseated the RAM, which helped for a couple of days but the issues returned. I've also run Memtest86 with no errors, and updated the BIOS multiple times without any improvement. Any suggestions on what might be going on?
2 Answers
It sounds like your power supply could be on its way out. If you can, try swapping it with a different one to see if that resolves the issue. If you don't have a spare, consider looking into an RMA or replacement for your current PSU.
You might want to try disconnecting the power switch from the motherboard header and using a screwdriver to bridge the power pins to see if it changes anything. This could help determine if the power button is faulty.
I suspect the motherboard could be failing too. If I decide to swap it for another AM4 motherboard, will I need to reinstall Windows?