Why does my new PC only boot successfully on the second attempt?
Asked by
MellowCedar42
My PC fails to boot almost every time I power it on, so I have to force it off and try again. The second attempt starts normally. The motherboard is about four months old, the M.2 drive is new, and every component is new except the GPU. BIOS settings are otherwise at their defaults, including the RAM running at JEDEC 4800 MHz with EXPO disabled. Interestingly, enabling EXPO makes the PC boot successfully on the first attempt. I have also had occasional blue screens when closing Valorant, shutting down, or starting the computer. Could the CMOS battery be causing this, or is something else more likely?
Answers
A weak CMOS battery is possible, but it seems less likely on a four-month-old motherboard. The fact that enabling EXPO changes the behavior points more toward memory training, BIOS compatibility, or a marginal hardware connection. Check whether the motherboard has a newer stable BIOS, reseat the RAM and GPU, and test with one memory stick at a time. Also make sure the 24-pin motherboard and CPU power cables are fully seated.
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The blue screens are important here, especially since they happen during shutdown and when launching or closing a game. Run a memory test, check the system event logs for the exact stop code, and reinstall or clean-install the GPU driver. Updating the chipset and motherboard drivers may help too. If the crashes continue at completely default settings, test the GPU and RAM separately rather than assuming the CMOS battery is responsible.
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