Computer tries and tries to start up and sometimes finally will

[Wekiva]

My system runs fine and I leave it running all the time...24/7. My install is about 1.5 yrs old with mostly new parts. My system drive is 3 or 4 years old and is ready to be replaced (Raptor 74GB).

For the last week or so I have found that when I reboot - my computer has a VERY hard time getting going again. During the reboot process the screen goes blank but the power light stays on and the system keeps running....and then it sits and sits. Some times it will start up 5 minutes later and sometimes it just sits there.

I will then do a hard shut down...but the power light stays on even though the computer stops running. I then unplug it and the light goes out (obviously). I then restart it and it will sometimes start up after 5 minutes and sometimes it will just sit there with the fans running but nothing on the screen. It's hard to tell if the drives are spinning due to all the fans I have in the box.

The power supply was new at my install 1.5 yrs ago and was a good Corsair model.

Could this be my old system drive having a hard time getting going...but doing fine once it is spinning? Is it a mother board issue? I know it's not much to go on.

How would you start troubleshooting this issue?

Thanks

 

[techmanc]

Check you drive boot order in the BIOS and make sure no other devices are before your OS drive other than maybe floppy and cd if desired.

 

[Wekiva]

Good thing to check...problem is getting it to restart to check the BIOS. Is there any other way to check the boot order other than restarting?

 

[LostPassword]

unplug all the unnecessary stuff (fans, cd-roms, second harddrives, sticks of rams, etc), see if it boots.
if that doesn't work, and you if you got a second rig, switch power supply, see if that fixes it.
when my power supply was going bad, it did something similar. It had trouble booting, but if it booted it worked.

if you think its your harddrive, unplug it, i think computers should still power on without a harddrive (its been a while, i don't remember, somebody confirm)
if you think its a hardware issue, you just gotta check each piece one by one.

 

[techmanc]

You could try to disabling the devices in the computer. I would try first time disable all but boot drive if that dont work try agian with boot drive disabled as well. Lastly try to reset your BIOS if and see if that helps.

 

[hoope11]

Originally posted by: LostPassword
unplug all the unnecessary stuff (fans, cd-roms, second harddrives, sticks of rams, etc), see if it boots.
if that doesn't work, and you if you got a second rig, switch power supply, see if that fixes it.
when my power supply was going bad, it did something similar. It had trouble booting, but if it booted it worked.

This.

I had a VERY similar problem with one of my computers a few months ago. Replaced the PSU (Antec) under warranty; problem solved.

If you've got a spare power supply around, test it out.

 

[Zap]

I would vote the PSU weakening, followed by the motherboard. Having watched the display of a Power Angel (same thing as Kill-A-Watt) I can say that on initial power up the system suddenly draws a lot of power. That can be rough on a PSU if it isn't up to snuff.

 

[mindless1]

Yeah, PSU or rarely mobo but not drive.

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

Very likely the PSU. Startup is hard on the PSU because there's a spike in current draw as EVERYTHING in the system spins up and starts all at the same time - media drives, hard drives, fans, CPU, etc. If it's failing to start up the PSU is getting weaker and should be replaced.