F5F Stay Refreshed Hardware Desktop I'm working on fixing a really old computer, but something is stopping me from turning it on right now.

I'm working on fixing a really old computer, but something is stopping me from turning it on right now.

I'm working on fixing a really old computer, but something is stopping me from turning it on right now.

F
fitzy2233
Junior Member
Find
8
03-31-2026, 11:52 AM
#1
I recently tried to fix an old computer I bought back when it ran Windows 10. It worked great for weeks, so I put it away. Today I tried again and it started working, but when I hit restart it got stuck in repair mode. That happened a few times with no other problems. The first time the PC started perfectly, I even played games for two hours without any issues. But starting the "restart" button caused the repair loop to start. After trying a full reinstall of Windows 10, the same thing still happened: it booted fine initially but then failed when restarting again.

I used my Ryzen 5-3600 CPU, an NVIDIA GTX 1070 Ti GPU, and two sticks of 8GB RAM to test this out. I found that the problem was strange because my graphics card had multiple video ports: one HDMI, three Display Ports, and one DVI. When I unplugged the DVI cable, the PC started normally. I even tested the same screen with a different port (Display Port) but it still worked well. To be absolutely sure, I tried all three screens with every connection type (DVI, HDMI, and Display Port), and the result was always the same: everything works fine until you try to restart from Windows.

The only thing I know is that my GPU connector for the DVI looks like a weird bad part. I had some people worry about restarting computers, but they never mentioned a bad graphics card connection as the cause. So what could cause this where a fresh install starts working on first boot but fails later when using restart? EDIT: It seems I finally figured it out! The GPU has one HDMI port, three Display ports, and one DVI connector. When I unplugged the DVI cable, everything started normally. I even plugged in the Display Port to test the screen again and the PC still worked perfectly. Just to be sure, I tested with a third monitor using the DVI first, then the Display Port, and the result was always the same: everything works fine until you try to restart from Windows. The only thing I know is that my GPU's DVI connector looks like a weird bad part. I had some people worry about restarting computers, but they never mentioned a bad graphics card connection as the cause.
Reply
Reply
F
fitzy2233
03-31-2026, 11:52 AM #1

I recently tried to fix an old computer I bought back when it ran Windows 10. It worked great for weeks, so I put it away. Today I tried again and it started working, but when I hit restart it got stuck in repair mode. That happened a few times with no other problems. The first time the PC started perfectly, I even played games for two hours without any issues. But starting the "restart" button caused the repair loop to start. After trying a full reinstall of Windows 10, the same thing still happened: it booted fine initially but then failed when restarting again.

I used my Ryzen 5-3600 CPU, an NVIDIA GTX 1070 Ti GPU, and two sticks of 8GB RAM to test this out. I found that the problem was strange because my graphics card had multiple video ports: one HDMI, three Display Ports, and one DVI. When I unplugged the DVI cable, the PC started normally. I even tested the same screen with a different port (Display Port) but it still worked well. To be absolutely sure, I tried all three screens with every connection type (DVI, HDMI, and Display Port), and the result was always the same: everything works fine until you try to restart from Windows.

The only thing I know is that my GPU connector for the DVI looks like a weird bad part. I had some people worry about restarting computers, but they never mentioned a bad graphics card connection as the cause. So what could cause this where a fresh install starts working on first boot but fails later when using restart? EDIT: It seems I finally figured it out! The GPU has one HDMI port, three Display ports, and one DVI connector. When I unplugged the DVI cable, everything started normally. I even plugged in the Display Port to test the screen again and the PC still worked perfectly. Just to be sure, I tested with a third monitor using the DVI first, then the Display Port, and the result was always the same: everything works fine until you try to restart from Windows. The only thing I know is that my GPU's DVI connector looks like a weird bad part. I had some people worry about restarting computers, but they never mentioned a bad graphics card connection as the cause.

Reply
Reply
A
Anton_356
Junior Member
Find
43
03-31-2026, 04:09 PM
#2
Here are the full system specifications because everyone needs to see what computer we have so you can get our diagnosis and fix it right away. Thanks!
Reply
Reply
A
Anton_356
03-31-2026, 04:09 PM #2

Here are the full system specifications because everyone needs to see what computer we have so you can get our diagnosis and fix it right away. Thanks!

Reply
Reply
J
JopperMan
Member
Find
121
03-31-2026, 11:48 PM
#3
That could happen if you put it on your USB stick and tell your computer it's your main drive instead of a regular disk, then your computer starts up from the USB first rather than its built-in hard drive.
Reply
Reply
J
JopperMan
03-31-2026, 11:48 PM #3

That could happen if you put it on your USB stick and tell your computer it's your main drive instead of a regular disk, then your computer starts up from the USB first rather than its built-in hard drive.

Reply
Reply