PC Hardware Issue

[Apey]

I've had a few ongoing issues with some of the hardware in my PC. Hoping someone around here is quite tech-savvy and can help me out.

It hasn't happened in a few months now but randomly and maybe once every few weeks, while I was using the computer, my monitor would go black, a buzzing would come from the speakers and the keyboard would no longer be responsive. The computer would still be on and hadn't shut down. It seemed like either some PSU problem where the components weren't getting enough power all of a sudden or a connection problem where something was a bit loose.

Usually after this happened, I would turn the computer off and on again and it was as if the computer was starting in sleep mode; the computer would turn on, the monitor light would flash as if it was waiting for the signal but never receives it, and the keyboard would do a similar thing but then be unresponsive. The only thing I could do was turn it off but when I turned it off it'd turn off as if it was sleep mode, i.e it'd shut down instantly not take a few seconds to stop processes and shut down.

Anyway, even though it hasn't turned off randomly in quite some time, the latter problem is still occurring and only intermittently which makes it quite difficult to work out what the problem is. Each time I've got it working again it has been by opening the tower up and fiddling with a few connections - most notably reseating the RAM, which seems to be what is fixing it.

In my comp I have 2x 8gb RAM sticks. It happened again today and I tested both sticks by reseating one at a time, and it only turned back on after reseating one of them. Is it really possible that this is the cause? I don't get why it's causing problems when I have another 8gb stick in there that is seemingly working fine. I've tried swapping the sticks over in the past too which also fixed it.

So... can RAM not seated properly alone cause this issue, why is it causing issues when I have another RAM stick in there that is working fine, if it is just the RAM reader (?) on the motherboard, can it be replaced individually or do I need to replace the whole motherboard and finally could this still be a motherboard or PSU problem?

 

[OVP]

Doesn't sound like its a RAM problem to me, if it hasn't been seated properly your computer won't start at all. You will get a series of three beeps at start up and it simply won't start until you seat it properly.

Sound more like power supply or even some lose wires on your motherboard. Check to see that your usb/other slots like sound are connected to the motherboard properly.

EDIT : Just remembered that many years ago (around the time halflife 2 came out) i had faulty ram installed on my pc and didn't know it. The pc would start ok, but when i played halflife 2 or random other things like browsing, my pc would get random connection problems and just lock up with a ram related error message. It's possible your RAM maybe faulty too, but the only way to test it is to borrow some off a friend and test new ram and see if it still happens. Are you getting error messages ? If not, it may not be the ram.

 

[Apey]

Not getting any error messages at all. Everything else seems to be connected to the motherboard properly.

 

[thorson1987]

Too much porn Apey.

 

[OVP]

Not getting any error messages at all. Everything else seems to be connected to the motherboard properly.

Well i don't even know if you get error messages anymore on operating systems higher than win 7 for faulty ram ... i was getting those messages on xp. Have you got a mate you can borrow some ram from to test it out ? Because i dont really recommend buying some new ram and then testing it ... it may not be the problem.

Maybe you might want to ring a local computer shop and ask them first if you can do some testing of ram. But i guess that means you have to buy it off them then if it is the problem.

Make sure new ram is compatible with your motherboard too. I take it you have already downloaded your mboard's manual to check what sort of ram you need.

 

[Apey]

Well I'm at a bit of a loss. It hadn't had any issues for weeks until I made this thread and now today, despite trying many different things, it won't turn on at all. Every other time re-seating the RAM has worked but it hasn't today. I checked connections, reset the motherboard/reset the battery, tried to boot with Windows disk (even though I knew it was a hardware problem) and the only progress that's been made is that the keyboard is now responsive. It's still starting up like it is in sleep though and as if the monitor isn't receiving any signal.

All the fans and lights are turning on so I guess it's more likely to be the motherboard than the PSU. I did notice that the motherboard fan starts up as the computer does but then stops, however I'm pretty sure it has always done that.

Is there anything else I can try, is it worth taking it a repair shop to see if they can work out what the problem is.

 

[OVP]

Yep sounds like the motherboard is on its way out most likely. And yeah I'd definitely take it to a pc shop, it sounds like it won't last very long. Problem with a new motherboard is that you'll probably need new ram, new psu and a new chip if they don't have a motherboard a few years old. I take it your pc is a few years old yeah ? Fan stopping is never a good thing as it causes critical overheating on the cpu. You can download heat checking programs for your cpu too, do a google search if you want that.

 

[perverse]

Before you go and spend money, try reseating the CPU and heatsink. I've got an older i7 920 build that has issues with pin contact and the memory controller often flakes out and misses one of my sticks of RAM, causing other random weirdness, reboots, etc. It still has the issue to this day, oftentimes i'll just turn it off and kick it in the guts a bit to jiggle the heatsink, since it's not my primary PC anymore. Worth a shot, doesn't cost anything.

 

[Apey]

Lol this thing is doing my head in. It's working again! (for now)

This time I took out all the RAM, turned it on, and while the monitor/keyboard weren't receiving any signal I could tell it was starting up properly as far as the hardware goes because the motherboard fan was still running and when I turned it off I had to hold down the power button instead of it shutting off instantly on press.

Put 1 RAM stick back in (in a different spot), it turned on completely. Put one more in at a time in a new spot and it turned on each time, even with all 4 in. FMD... I wonder how long it will work for this time. I was hoping it was just one of the sticks that was straight up breaking it. I'm glad it's working again but it doesn't fill me with confidence that something still isn't failing in there. On the plus side it might just be a connection problem with the RAM that I will have to fiddle with each time. Just praying it's not an underlying motherboard problem.

Thanks dudes.

 

[Twizzle]

Maybe dry or dirty contacts in your Ram slot/s if its intermittent

 

[KeepingTheFaith]

Are you usually doing the same thing when it happens each time (if you can recall)?

Does this issue happen when the comp has been on for a short time, long time or random?

Motherboard sounds a little dodgy at first guess, but you would want to be sure considering it's one of the more expensive parts.

Excessive heat can cause ram to become either faulty or unseat so maybe keep an eye on your systems tempreture.

 

[Apey]

Maybe, Twiz.

Are you usually doing the same thing when it happens each time (if you can recall)?

Does this issue happen when the comp has been on for a short time, long time or random?

Motherboard sounds a little dodgy at first guess, but you would want to be sure considering it's one of the more expensive parts.

Excessive heat can cause ram to become either faulty or unseat so maybe keep an eye on your systems tempreture.

I was doing the same thing (gaming) when it was cutting out to the speakers buzzing - but that hasn't happened in a long time. I just assumed the two things were related so I included it. The not turning on is just completely random but has been happening more often recently.

But yeah when it originally happened I installed a temp checking utility and the CPU etc were fine even under heavy load.

 

[OVP]

I just remembered I had some really quite bizarre things happen to my pc the last time my video card started conking it. Weird stuff was going on and i couldn't quite place what was the cause because it seemed to affect other areas of the pc as well. I remembered i blamed my ram as the cause (poor RAM ). Try cleaning your vid card and cleaning the slot it sits in too, that may help a bit.

 

[Parra]

thorson has this nailed.

 

[Incorrect]

Any clues being offered in the Event Viewer?

 

[Stewbum]

Time to sell it to some poor prick on ebay.