I'm having trouble getting my PC to boot when I set the AC Power Back option to 'On' in the BIOS. I've disabled ERP and initially, it worked fine—I could power on my PC through a smart plug after completely cutting the power. However, after a while, the system stopped booting correctly. The fans and GPU spin up, but the monitor either stays off or just shows the Gigabyte logo without progressing to Windows 11. I even had to reinstall Windows because startup repair didn't fix the issue. Now, after performing some tests, the system runs smoothly once booted, but booting from a cold start is hit or miss. Here are my specs: Gigabyte Aorus X870E Elite WiFi7 motherboard, AMD 9950X3D CPU, Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 cooler, Kingston Fury Beast 64GB RAM, Gigabyte RTX5090 GPU, and Samsung 9100 Pro NVMe drive with a 1300W MSI PSU. Any advice would be appreciated!
4 Answers
To diagnose further, could you grab the dump files from the C:WindowsMinidump folder? These crash logs really help pinpoint what’s going wrong during boot. If you find any, zip them up and share via a file host. More dump files will give a clearer picture of the issue.
Have you checked if your smart plug can handle the current your PC draws? A lot of smart plugs are rated for 8 amps or less, but your setup might need more—especially under load. If it’s rated for up to 12 amps, it should be fine, but it’s worth testing by plugging the PC directly into the wall to see if that changes anything.
It sounds like your BIOS settings might be causing some corruption due to how you're powering off your PC. If you're switching off the plug instead of properly shutting down Windows, it can lead to issues over time. Always make sure to do a proper shutdown—it can make a big difference!
I always shut down Windows properly! I only switch off the plug after it's fully shut down.
Just a heads up! Keep backups of your data. Making changes in BIOS can sometimes lead to data loss or corruption. Always test your backups before making system changes like this.
The plug is rated for 12 amps, and I’ve had no issues when the PC is booted. I’ve also reflashed the motherboard multiple times, but the issues persist.