After a few hours, my new PC build decides to stop coming on

Teekay · 23 Jul 2013

So here's the deal... I'm relatively new to PC building and this is the first PC I've built from the ground up. I spent a very long time researching which parts I was going to get, so I feel awful that it's no longer working. I have a few guesses as to what's causing the problem, but I'd love to hear some helpful ideas prior to trying anything on my own.

So, let's start with my build:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 922
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LGA 1155 Intel Z77
CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz
Video Card: EVGA SuperClocked Geforce GTX 770 2GB
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600
CPU Fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Hard Drive: Seagate Constellation 1TB
SSD: Samsung 840 Series 120GB
PSU: Corsair HX Series 850W

Now, I spent a great deal of time ensuring that everything was plugged in correctly... and after a grueling and exhausting night, I got it to work on my first try. Everything seemed to go well - I installed Windows 7 64 bit, updated as many drivers as I could find, installed all of my favorite programs, added all of my personal stuff to the hard drives... and then, immediately after finishing a game of Slender: The Arrival, the PC just shuts down on me. I turned it back on and received no error messages or anything, so I assumed it was a fluke... till about a minute later it happens again while I'm making a Skype call. At that point, it wouldn't turn back on at all. When power is plugged in, one green LED glows on the MB... yet it won't POST or anything.

So... I'm assuming the problem is either with my motherboard or PSU, and I plan to test that theory with a second PSU I have laying around. That said, I'd really appreciate some ideas as to what's causing this. I gotta admit, it really brought me down tonight... so I'm really hoping for some clarity.

I should note however that one odd thing happened while the PC was still working. I kept trying to do the Windows Experience Index thing to see how it was rated, and it kept failing for some reason. I don't remember exactly how the error was worded, though it mentioned that it might have to do with a malfunctioning driver, OS or device.

Dude · 23 Jul 2013

Teekay, sorry to hear about the troubles. Take your time, and go through and check all connectors again (reseat them) I would make sure you have nothing shorting the mb too, it's a pain but make sure you have the correct standoffs placed. Same with your video card. If that allows you to reboot, take a snap shot of your device manager

Teekay · 23 Jul 2013

Dude said:

Teekay, sorry to hear about the troubles. Take your time, and go through and check all connectors again (reseat them) I would make sure you have nothing shorting the mb too, it's a pain but make sure you have the correct standoffs placed. Same with your video card. If that allows you to reboot, take a snap shot of your device manager

I shall try that tomorrow and report on how that goes. Right now I'm in too much of a pissy mood to do anything

.

Dude · 23 Jul 2013

Teekay said:

Dude said:

Teekay, sorry to hear about the troubles. Take your time, and go through and check all connectors again (reseat them) I would make sure you have nothing shorting the mb too, it's a pain but make sure you have the correct standoffs placed. Same with your video card. If that allows you to reboot, take a snap shot of your device manager

I shall try that tomorrow and report on how that goes. Right now I'm in too much of a pissy mood to do anything

.

Yes that is understandable. Building a nice rig like you have takes time, and if you get tired you can make mistakes. When building you should do a bench test with parts to verify all hardware. Check out this link, relax and take a fresh start again

How to Bench Test / Troubleshoot Your System - Tech Support Forum

Teekay · 23 Jul 2013

Dude said:

Teekay said:

Dude said:

Teekay, sorry to hear about the troubles. Take your time, and go through and check all connectors again (reseat them) I would make sure you have nothing shorting the mb too, it's a pain but make sure you have the correct standoffs placed. Same with your video card. If that allows you to reboot, take a snap shot of your device manager

I shall try that tomorrow and report on how that goes. Right now I'm in too much of a pissy mood to do anything

.

Yes that is understandable. Building a nice rig like you have takes time, and if you get tired you can make mistakes. When building you should do a bench test with parts to verify all hardware. Check out this link, relax and take a fresh start again

How to Bench Test / Troubleshoot Your System - Tech Support Forum

Tell me about it...

Also, thanks for that link, though I did try a bench test prior to installing everything in my case... it all worked fine at the time.

Dude · 23 Jul 2013

You're welcome. That is a really nice build you have, take your time and you will get it sorted.

Teekay · 24 Jul 2013

Well today was interesting...

I unplugged everything and tied another bench test, and to my surprise everything came on. I plugged everything back in, one by one, and it still worked. I finally got it all back into the case, and I decided to turn it on as a quick test. It booted fine, no problems or errors, and all of my devices were detected... but it shut off after about a minute or so.

I unplugged everything AGAIN, and it STILL wouldn't turn on. I tried numerous times and was able to receive a POST screen once, but it shut off once again after about a minute. I've since been unsuccessful in getting it to POST.

I did try to plugin another power supply and it made no difference. As before, the stanby LED turns green on the MB, but nothing boots. I also tried my new power supply on another PC and it works fine over there.

madcratebuilder · 24 Jul 2013

Try starting with a single stick of memory installed. Try each stick individually. Is it getting hot? Did you add any fans to that 922? It came with a single 200 in front and you can add two more 200's, a 120 and a 80.

Teekay · 24 Jul 2013

I have only one stick and nothing happens to it.

I think I was able to boot the PC earlier without the RAM stick, but now it does nothing with or without it. Also, I've now tried my PSU on two separate PCs: both work just fine with it.

As for the fans, no I didn't add any.

keebsuk · 24 Jul 2013

I'm sorry to hear of your problems. Don't worry, you will get it sorted.

I am no expert and there are far more knowledgeable folk using these boards. However I have built a number of systems from scratch and have had similar problems in the past. This sounds like either a heat or memory problem to me. Try the following suggestions but do it one at a time.

When your PC actually works, how long is it before it shuts down?

Do you get any error code?

How hot is your PC getting prior to shut down?

Check the event viewer and under "Custom Views-"Administrative Events" what error codes do you get?

Some motherboards are notoriously difficult when only 1 stick of RAM is used. From experience I have always found a pair of matching RAM modules is far better. Can you exchange your 1 stick for a pair of 4GB modules?

If you cannot exchange, try your stick of RAM in each slot and see what happens.

Come back after you have tried these suggestions and we can look into this further.

Good luck.

Andy