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Question

Computer wont start with first try.

Apr 3, 2020 3:13PM PDT

After normal shut down computer wont start,but after I pressed power button 20-30 times the computer normally turns on.It dont have any issues at all.I play games,go to the internet and everything works fine.I wont turn off the computer for 4-5 days now.Im afraid to turning it back off.

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Typical causes.
Apr 3, 2020 3:36PM PDT

Remember no PC details given so here's the usual.

1. PSU is old or not rated for the system. I.E. too small for the task.
2. Motherboard is old, has BAD CAPS (google that) and the issue only gets worse over time. Leaving the power on only accelerates the motherboard to "the end." Could be bad caps on other boards or even PSU but google BAD CAPS to see how to inspect for this issue. Still seeing such today.
3. Machine specific issues such as outdated BIOS, BIOS settings etc. Remember no PC details so I will write this even though I don't suspect it.

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Computer wont start with first try.
Apr 4, 2020 2:21AM PDT

1.I have a Falcon FLC-450L PSU and here is my components:
CPU:AMD Athlon X4 840
GPU:Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 550 2GB
Motherboard:ASUS A68HM-K
HDD:WD Blue 1TB
RAM:Kingston 8GB DDR3 1600MHz
I bought it a 3 months ago after my old PSU died and dont having any problems.I checked the voltages in the bios and there are all fine.
2.My motherboard have all solid capacitors and I cleaned a pc like a month ago and i dont notice any bad capacitor.
3.My motherboard is on latest BIOS.

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This is what others have written about the Falcon.
Apr 4, 2020 8:36AM PDT

"That garbage is not actually a 450w PSU, it's more like 150w given its abysmal 12v rail. Good PSUs aren't cheap."

I am not telling you a good PSU will fix this old PC but it's a garbage PSU suitable for low power systems only and barely that. As to it working for 3 months, so many others have written similar that I see no need to write more.

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Answer
Power Button?
Apr 3, 2020 5:57PM PDT

One possibility, although unlikely, is that the power on/off button on the computer is wearing out, i.e. it is intermittently faulty. If you are computer savvy you can:
1. Remove the computer's power cord.
2. Remove the side panel from the computer case.
3. Locate the two pins, usually along the bottom edge of the motherboard, which are marked as the PWR + / - pins.
4. Carefully plug in the computer's power cord without touching the inside of the computer.
5. Using a regular flat head screwdriver with a plastic handle touch the two PWR pins. If the computer starts and runs normally it means you have a faulty power switch on the computer case. If it doesn't start then you have a more serious problem like faulty motherboard or power supply.

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Answer
What actually happens?
Apr 3, 2020 11:11PM PDT

You don't say what actually happens when you press the power button the first time. Does the computer show any signs of life, such as the brand name or the BIOS screen or put a cursor up top left? Or is it as if you didn't press the button at all?

If it does nothing at all, I'd suspect a power problem and the guesses of the earlier posters could be the answer. If it does show some activity (and if it's a desktop, take the side cover off and look for LEDs lighting up or fans starting, then it's more likely a system problem, maybe the HDD is slow starting and times out or has errors in the boot sector or possibly (I saw this on an old laptop once) the BIOS had "dropped" the I/O controller. To check the HDD, try booting from a CD/DVD if you have an optical drive or a bootable USB thumb drive. One or other of these, plus the earlier posts, should point you in the right direction to start investigating - here it's only guesswork.

The old laptop? It was on its way to retirement but I did find that if I hibernated it, instead of powering it off, it would restart normally - go figure!