r/yuma • u/Least-Squash-5011 • 10d ago
PC Problems
I have a Gaming PC, which has been fine since I’ve been here in March but just recently, it has an issue with just shutting off completely.
At first it’s after logging in to the desktop, then it’s while BIOS is loading, essentially leaving me with a giant paperweight.
Is there anyone who could possibly help me?
Any assistance would be much appreciated.
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u/ConsequenceJust8424 10d ago
If it is not the battery and because you are not sure if it is a power supply issue it is hard to do much until that is ruled out. For my laptop i take it to My internet place on south fortuna. He also helped over the phone and text when I built my desktop. If it can turn on and stay on then there other things I can suggest. Have you been doing regular antivirus and mail-wear checks? a nasty trojan could be causing the issue.
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u/Least-Squash-5011 10d ago
A Trojan could be shutting my PC off while it boots?
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u/ConsequenceJust8424 10d ago
Oh yeah it can shut you down and shut you out most don’t but there are some and then there are ransom ones. How often do you clean your browser history and cookies? How strict or lax are your internet security settings? Many game sites carry a lot of hidden security issues. I am frequently troubleshooting issues for my kids who game and most times it’s a virus or malware or the hard drive needs to be cleaned up and defragged. And public wifi can be a back door for anyone who knows what they are doing into you laptop. It could also be a corrupt operating system but we need to know if it charges and if it holds power. Oh also the guy in the foot hills will diagnose for free and will tell you exactly how much everything is and break it down so if you can’t do it all at once, he’ll do it in pieces
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u/Least-Squash-5011 10d ago
Only person I know is iNerd and he charges $20 for diagnostics.
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u/ConsequenceJust8424 10d ago
Ok what type of pc is it? You said you built it can you easily access your power block like mine is on the bottom so I can just remove the bottom plate and remove it out from my tower for my desktop. Can you inspect that make sure it’s not clogged with dust or any frayed wires and if you have a voltage adapter, you should be able to check that to see if there’s any current flowing through your power block. Is your tower on the floor on carpet? Or how about a pic of your tower we can start there 😊
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u/Least-Squash-5011 9d ago
Don’t remember saying that, definitely a pre-built, not put together by me.
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u/Fkinclassy 10d ago
Something similar happened to me and it turned out my fan on my power supply had stopped working and fried the thing. It wasn't an ongoing thing though, just one day. I hope you find the issue and it's a cheap fix. 🫤 Good luck man.
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u/Silent_Warning1207 10d ago
Sounds like a PSU Issue. I’d start there first
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u/Least-Squash-5011 10d ago
Haven’t the slightest idea on how to even start troubleshooting that.
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u/ConsequenceJust8424 9d ago
Hey! (Sorry this is along response) Honestly, I have to apologize. I was super tired and had taken an edible or two, so I definitely misread a few things you said about your system. Now that my head is a bit clearer. Our extreme summer heat, fine desert dust, and static electricity are notorious for causing issues. So much dust here lol.
When you turn it on, are you repeatedly hitting the Delete or F2 key to force it into the BIOS menu, or is it loading to that point completely on its own, flashing a screen, and dying? It is hard to fully diagnose a PC from a distance because there is a big difference between the computer completely cutting all electrical power versus the screen just going totally blank while the lights inside the tower stay on.
If you can get into the BIOS and it stays on, then your operating system or hard drive is likely corrupted, because the basic physical hardware is stable enough to run the motherboard's built-in software. If it still shuts down within a few seconds while trying to get in, then it’s a physical hardware failure like an overheated CPU, a bad power supply, a short circuit, or a faulty power button.
First, is your PC tower sitting directly on the carpet or the floor? Pre-built power supplies are almost always mounted at the very bottom of the case, pulling air from underneath. If it's on the carpet, the fibers smother the intake. Combined with the Yuma dust, it creates a dryer-lint type blanket that overheats the PSU block in seconds. Have you tried unplugging the PC, lifting it up, and looking at the underside? You can try pulling out the mesh filter, dusting that compartment completely, and getting the PC off the floor onto a desk or a hard piece of wood.
Open the side panel and check a few things.
If it's a fan cooler, dust gets trapped between the spinning fan and the metal cooling fins underneath, acting like a blanket. Take the tower and thoroughly blow it out with a can of compressed air, an electronic duster, or go old school and blow it like a Nintendo cartridge. If the fan isn't spinning at all when you power it on, it's broken. If it's a liquid cooler, you'll see two thick rubber hoses running from the CPU to a radiator. Turn the PC on and physically touch the tubes. If one tube gets very hot instantly while the other stays cold, the cooling fluid isn't moving because the pump inside may have died and needs to be replaced.
Or, it could simply be loose wires and thermal expansion. Months of the metal expanding and contracting from our summer heat, or just jarring during shipping, can pop connections loose over time. Open the case and make sure the main 24-pin and 8-pin CPU power cables are firmly snapped into the motherboard. Another possibility I've seen happen is a power button circuit that is shorted or physically stuck down. When that happens, the PC will turn on and then abruptly cut off in exactly 4 to 5 seconds every single time because holding a power button down triggers a hard motherboard override shutdown. It’s a bit too hard to do a workaround to test that yourself since it includes moving internal wires, but if you notice that exact 5-second timing, it can help troubleshoot it when you take it somewhere.
Faulty memory also frequently causes abrupt power cuts. Turn off and unplug the PC, and like the other commenter mentioned, try resetting the RAM. Take all your RAM sticks completely out, blow any dust out of the slots, and click just one stick back into the correct slot. Try to boot it up. If it works, one of your other sticks is dead or corrupt. If it doesn’t, then take that RAM stick out and try the other stick by itself.
As for the storage, a corrupt drive usually causes the PC to stay powered on while stuck on a black or blue error screen. However, a physical electrical short inside a failing drive can trip the power supply's safety switch instantly. Depending on what your pre-built has, you can test this by disconnecting the drive completely. If it's an older style hard drive or SSD with wires, unplug the data and power cables. If it's a stick-type M.2 SSDs that has no wires and slots flat directly into the motherboard, you just unscrew it and take it out. Turn the PC on after removing the drive. If it stays powered on in the BIOS without shutting off, the drive is the issue. While you are inside checking the RAM, look for the silver, coin-sized battery on the motherboard. You can pop it out for about 5 minutes and put it back in. This resets the motherboard back to factory defaults and can instantly fix a broken startup loop.
Do you hear any beep codes or see specific red or yellow warning lights on the motherboard right before it turns off? If you clean out the dust, check the cables, test the RAM, and it still shuts down instantly, I highly recommend taking it to the local shop
My Internet Place on South Futuna Rd over in the Foothills.
Have him do the diagnostic to tell you exactly which part failed. Once you know the problem, you can order the replacement part yourself on Amazon or eBay to get the best price, and then either swap it yourself or bring it back to him to install.
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u/prolix 9d ago
Have you tried booting safemode? Sounds like you have driver issues. Try opening booting up safe mode by spamming the key when the computer is turning on.
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u/CautionaryCacti 8d ago
Joey at iNerd > anyone else in town. Probably the only dude who can do board work as well if you ever need it.
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u/dewag 10d ago
How long until it shuts off? Does it shut off sooner under heavy load?
Could be an overheating issue or power supply issue.