Encountered unusual issues recently, and my computer won’t power up anymore.
Encountered unusual issues recently, and my computer won’t power up anymore.
My computer remains unresponsive—pressing the power button yields nothing, and fans remain inactive. Even when powered on, devices like the GPU and USB ports light up, indicating they’re receiving power. This is the only visible sign of activity. Before the failure, I had a GPU update that caused problems, and despite my efforts to fix it, the situation worsened. I used Timeshift to revert files pre-update, but this led to further strange software glitches until the system crashed completely. After reboot, I could access the GRUB menu but was stuck on a blank screen when selecting my operating system. My mouse functioned in BIOS mode, though clicks were unresponsive. A live USB revealed empty folders like /boot, which shouldn’t exist, explaining the boot failure. The drive showed identical free space as before the restore, despite missing files. When I powered off and tried to restart, nothing happened. Testing a different mouse confirmed it worked elsewhere, suggesting a hardware issue rather than software. Removing storage drives, RAM, or attempting a GPU swap didn’t help. My BIOS allows mouse input, but movement was possible while clicks failed. Examining the drive showed missing critical folders, making boot impossible. Interestingly, the system reported equal free space despite data loss. I’m leaning toward a motherboard fault, as the mouse issue points to USB/data transfer problems. Replacing the motherboard seems likely, though I’m unsure if it’s the sole cause. Since my current PSU lacks protection and I lack access to other components, replacing it might be necessary. I’m considering buying a new power supply regardless. This situation is frustrating, especially since I’ve used this software for years without issues.
I checked the motherboard's user guide and followed their recommendations, just in case. The first approach involved connecting the pins directly for five seconds, while the second required taking the battery out for a minute (I kept it out for five minutes).
Shut down the PC. Disconnect it from the power source. Drain the CMOS battery for about half an hour, then press the case power button for thirty seconds to ensure all capacitors are cleared. Reinsert the battery and turn it on. Tldr: the steps you read aren’t accurate, just a few minutes or longer doesn’t reliably reset CMOS.
It's late, but good to hear it worked. Thanks a lot! I wasn't expecting any confusing details in the manual. The PC is now turning on and booting up properly. It passed the Memtest86 check. Sadly, some system files are still missing, so I'm thinking about reinstalling my OS. I'm not sure what caused it—maybe a rare bug—but definitely won't use Timeshift anymore.