Inconsistent PC startup

[Scholar_Sev]

Posting here as all other attempts to solve the problem have failed:

My PC runs perfectly well when it does start, but on occasion will simply refuse to start after a full shutdown. I’ll press the power button and all the lights and fans will turn on (even on peripherals like mouse, keyboard and speakers) and it will seem to go through the full startup sequence, but the monitors will remain dark even after unplugging and plugging back in display cables. It doesn’t seem to do anything when I start typing or click. Even after forcing a shutdown by holding the power button, it will return to the same state after turning on again (same thing happens after soft resetting the system by unplugging the power supply, holding the power down for about 15 seconds and then reconnecting and turning back on). At this point I usually resort to opening up the case and removing some of the components, blowing off the contacts and then plugging them back in, which strangely usually results in it functioning (although I have no idea if this is due to my actions or simply because it has decided to work again) but nothing has worked permanently so far. The part that is making troubleshooting difficult is that doing this resolves the problem for a while, sometimes even for a whole week of consistent starts (and the fact that the computer runs absolutely fine when it is up), but then the problem will return again and I have to repeat the process.

Previous solution attempts:

Disconnecting power supply, holding power button down for about fifteen settings, reconnecting power supply.
Plugging power supply cable directly into wall outlet instead of power strip.
Changing wall outlets.
Disconnecting all peripherals except for one monitor.
Updating and then reinstalling all graphics drivers.
Reinstalling Windows 10.
Removing and swapping RAM sticks.
Swapping graphics card to different PCI slot.
Resetting the motherboard by taking the battery out and leaving for 30 minutes.
Disconnecting and reconnecting all power cables from power supply to components.
Swapping SSD SATA cable and port.
Taking apart and thoroughly cleaning all components and contacts with compressed air.
I do have a spare graphics card that I will try swapping out if/when the problem happens again.

System specifications:
[ATTACH type=“full” width=“1109px”]12202[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH type=“full”]12203[/ATTACH]
[ATTACH type=“full”]12204[/ATTACH]

[Bruce]

g’day and welcome to the forum.

Let’s get your complete PC specs.
get Speccy from here; Speccy - Download Builds
in Speccy, click File > Publish Snapshot (hit Yes if prompted to proceed with publish) > Copy to Clipboard > Close.
now you can paste (Ctrl+V) that link into your next post.
One component Speccy doesn’t cover is the Power Supply Unit, so also include the make/model of the PSU.

[Scholar_Sev]

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/ormNI2uPvkRsZskT3xD2x21

Here ya go
[ATTACH type=“full”]12205[/ATTACH]

[Bruce]

the two stand outs for me from that info is you have a lot of CRC Errors on the Samsung SSD, and that power supply is not the best.
while nothing on that PR800W model, Apevia in general have a bad rap for not delivering on the advertised wattage, and for not supplying over current protection.

[Scholar_Sev]

I see. I’ll do some research into alternative PSUs, but do you have any recommendations? Also, could you clarify what the errors mean for the SSD?

[Bruce]

Any power supply unit certified 80+ Gold (or better) and offering at least a 7 year warranty (preferably 10), and you can’t go wrong.

For example, ThermalTake ToughPower GF1 or GF3 ranges, Cooler Master, Antec, Corsair RM series.
Check the lemon list at www.johnnylucky.org

[Bruce]

CRC errors are Cyclic Redundancy Check errors.
in short, when a file is created, a CRC value is created for it.
whenever the file is accessed, a new CRC value is checked against the previous stored value, if they are not the same, something has happened to the file.
usually they are a sign of a drive going pear-shaped.
it could just be the file in question, or its location on the drive, or the drive’s controller.
the rate of increase in the error rate is a better indication of a failing drive, but that info isn’t recorded by the SMART values.

[Scholar_Sev]

Thank you! Are there any ways to repair/extend the life of the drive, or is it just time to get a new one?

[Bruce]

how old?
I think Samsung does a 5 year warranty on their EVO range - not sure, so check that.
you may be able to RMA it.
is it a SSD or NVMe type?

repair? - no sadly.
extend? - maybe, it’s usage could still be things like whacking it into an external enclosure for backups, or a media library storage device.

but once you lose trust in a storage devices integrity, why would you still use it???

[Scholar_Sev]

College is expensive and all of my important files are on the cloud, although it seems like SSDs are fairly cheap right now so I’ll consider replacing it. I’ll definitely check out the warranty though.
I believe it is an SSD type.

[Bruce]

annoying as the startup is, you do have a working solution to get past it, so there is always that.

and even without a question mark over the drive, make sure you have your data backed up. (sounds like you do)

[Bruce]

@Scholar Sev - where we at?

[Bruce]

closing - no activity - PM any staff member if you would like this re-opened.