Cyberpower Gaming PC - "Stuck between restarting and shutting off"

[britechguy]

Just got a message from someone with a Cyberpower Gaming PC that he describes as having tried to restart, and after having done so it's now "getting stuck between restarting and shutting off." It sounds like the power supply is not dead, as the computer attempts to boot, but never even makes it to the point where Windows comes up and shuts off again.

I suspect, though, that the power supply is on its very last legs, but thought I'd ask here if anyone has encountered such a, "starts booting up then very shortly into the process shuts off" scenario that was the result of something other than the power supply? And, if so, what did the root cause turn out to be?

 

[nlinecomputers]

If it’s a gaming rig then it may have an overclocked cpu. That can cause issues if the system can’t handle the overclocking. Related issues can be a bad or dead cpu fan causing it to overheat and force a shutdown.

 

[britechguy]

I am in the process of trying to get more information. This is one of those, "It worked, until it didn't," sort of situations where, to my knowledge, nothing was changed between when it was working perfectly and the restart after which it began to balk.

It could end up being a borked Windows Update for all I know. But if it has an overclocked CPU the system had been operating correctly with it for quite a while.

 

[NviGate Systems]

I guess the question is, does it POST? If it seems to "show a logo" then suddenly reboot, chances are the mainboard has failed (or a supporting component) and is restarting on end. That's actually common behaviour for failing boards.

 

[britechguy]

Again, thanks to all. The potential client and I have been playing phone tag today and he has taken it to another tech. It happens . . .

 

[Porthos]

he has taken it to another tech. It happens . . .

Especially when you start asking questions so you can actually figure out what's going or they are fishing for the info to possibly fox it themselves.
Or are not willing to pay for a diagnostic or a house call depending on how one operates.

 

[britechguy]

@Porthos,

Amen! But in the end, I really don't care. I try to get back to clients or potential clients as quickly as possible. Very often that involves a query from me for additional information like make/model, more precise descriptions of what's happening, etc.

This was a young kid, so I don't think a "fix it himself" dynamic was at play. The original message said this started "about a week ago" and I presume he's just getting around to pursuing a fix, and was in a big hurry after the delay.

Just another variant on the theme, "Lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine."

 

[GTP]

dead cpu fan causing it to overheat and force a shutdown.

This ^^ on many occasions where the client has downloaded some overclocking tool and/or tuning software that's burned out the fans.

Especially when you start asking questions so you can actually figure out what's going or they are fishing for the info to possibly fox it themselves.

Don't you love when this happens?
I always take these kinds of calls with a certain amount of cynicism, expecting at any moment for them to say "thanks for the info" and hang up.
I've learned to stop asking questions and just ask them to bring it in. 90% of the time they do.

 

[cypress]

Just another variant on the theme, "Lack of preparation on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine."

Love this!

 

[britechguy]

Especially when you start asking questions so you can actually figure out what's going or they are fishing for the info to possibly fox it themselves.

I have truly had this happen (fishing) on fewer instances than I can count on two hands. And when it's happening it's unambiguously clear.

I actually don't want to either to out on a service call, or have a computer brought to me, until and unless I am at least kinda-sorta confident that I can (or am willing to - there are things I can do that I choose not to) make the desired fix. That generally means at least some Q&A for non-trivial presentations.

There have also many times when I do give away advice that I'd feel like a criminal were I to actually charge for work that takes 3 seconds and that an end user can do (and I'd prefer they did) if they know about it. My classic example of this was someone who called me with a Macbook into which they'd foolishly inserted a mini-CD. The only way I've ever seen anyone extract these was to make a cardboard (like is on the back of a standard letter-sized notepad) hook and fish it out. That's exactly what I told them to do and, of course, it worked. One of my most glowing reviews came as a result of that call, which was worth way more than the hour's fee. And had I charged $75 for something like that, and it was witnessed, the review would likely be anything but glowing. I guess my background as a healthcare provider makes me differentiate skilled care from unskilled care in the computer repair world as well. I am willing to give out information with regard to "unskilled care" because precisely the same courtesy was extended to me, and that's how I learned most of these things. It makes you look like a crook if you charge for dirt simple DIY stuff, and that never ends well in the world of both word of mouth and social media.

 

[sapphirescales]

Cyberpower puts in the cheapest crap they can find. They focus on one thing and one thing only - selling the highest spec'd machine at the lowest possible price. This requires that they use cheapo knockoff power supplies, weird cases, mATX motherboards in full size towers, and non-retail graphics cards that test lower than the recommended threshold by the manufacturer. The thing will likely be totaled when you get it in. If you just fix the one problem it has, it still won't be stable in the end and/or something else will break a few weeks/months later and they'll blame you for it. Most Cyberpower systems I get in just need to be rebuilt from scratch. I usually keep the CPU and replace literally everything else, unless it's older than a few years, in which case you can't find a compatible motherboard for the CPU so it's gotta go too. I just got a Cyberpower system in a few weeks ago and they used an mITX motherboard in a full sized ATX case. It was ridiculous. Their pitiful liquid cooler died so I replaced the cooling system and got them a normal sized motherboard. I wasn't a fan of the knockoff RAM that was in there, nor the ADATA SSD or the SuperFlowerPower power supply (I don't remember the exact name of it, but it was some stupid Chinese knockoff like that), but the client was on a limited budget so we just did the bare minimum. I warned him that he'd probably be back soon and that the computer was a piece of crap, but he'll have to save up to fix the rest of it.

 

[Stever]

Dave Jones found a pc that had the same behaviour

Reseating the cpu and ram fixed it

 

[Diggs]

Cyberpower puts in the cheapest crap they can find.

I have a Cyberpower in the shop now. Came with a 240 GB Adata SSD(?). (Who puts only 240 GB in a gaming machine?) The Adata was still hooked up but wasn't showing formatted and a 2 TB Seagate spinner was doing the boot and all the duties. Problem is it wouldn't boot. Stuck in a repair loop. SMART on the Adata actually showed good but listed the last 5 errors as uncorrectible sectors. (The SMART I was looking at only the last 5 errors and they were labeled #102-107 so does that mean there were 107 data errors on the drive?)

 

[sapphirescales]

SMART on the Adata actually showed good

As I understand it there is no universal standard for "good" or "bad" in SMART. It's better to look at the attributes, but even they aren't standardized.

(The SMART I was looking at only the last 5 errors and they were labeled #102-107 so does that mean there were 107 data errors on the drive?)

Yes. SMART only records the last 5 errors and numbers them accordingly. I actually think the numbering starts a #0 so there are 108 errors, not that it really matters. Whenever SMART shows even the smallest anomaly it's best to just replace the drive. I wouldn't trust a company like ADATA to put much investment into the accuracy of their SMART values anyway. If a computer comes in with an ADATA or other crappy SSD brand, I just replace it, regardless what SMART says. The only time I'll make an exception is if the client only uses the computer for internet browsing and doesn't store any data on it.

 

[Stever]

I have never had smart report an error