New PC experiencing boot problems
New PC experiencing boot problems
Just received a PC listed as "brand new" on eBay. It seems to be an Ironside custom build featuring an RTX 3090ti. There was plastic film present upon arrival, and the original power cord wasn't included, so I used one I had (compatible with my PSU). It functioned perfectly for the first hour, even allowing me to play Returnal. After checking for updates and opening Returnal, I connected my PS4 controller via USB and heard a "RRRR" sound through the earbuds. The screen went black. Windows would shut down after each boot. The graphics card indicator also turned off, though the RGB fans remained active. I reset the BIOS, swapped in RAM (heard click), and verified all cables from the PSU and GPU—securely fastened. Initially, it only booted to the BIOS. Once exited, it took about two minutes for a black screen before looping back. After resetting to default settings, it briefly booted to Windows for a few seconds before the display went dark. The GPU light stayed off, with fans still running. I also tried a different HDMI cable and a display cable. Since I have limited experience with PC hardware, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Attached are screenshots of my system specs. The basics are: RTX 3090ti Intel core i9.
Check RAM one at a time by removing others and testing each. This helps identify faulty modules.
Disconnect the GPU and rely on built-in graphics.
Swap the power supply with and without the GPU to see performance changes.
Start from a USB drive, like a Windows install or Linux distro, for alternative setup.
Start with the USB stick first, to prevent wasting time on a broken Windows setup or a dead SSD. If it boots, try reinstalling your preferred operating system. If the issue persists, consider a faulty SSD. Even if it's the SSD, I wouldn't assume the seller was dishonest. In my experience, storage devices are often the most prone to early failure in PCs.
Attempted to launch Returnal once more, experienced an instant crash. This issue occurred before; I plan to restart the PC and run Windows normally until it crashes again. It doesn't appear Returnal is the direct cause, but it seems to trigger a problem with the GPU. My graphics card is an RTX 3090ti, which should support the game and additional tasks. Probably the seller provided a corrupted GPU.
OR the PSU seems okay until the card begins drawing power effectively. Still, a faulty GPU isn't impossible to consider. It's encouraging to see you making headway. Edit: I realized we can't eliminate many possibilities just yet. Previously, when RAM failed, the system would shut down properly and restart during intense gaming, similar to your setup, though I recall it didn't always crash right away at game start—sometimes I managed a few minutes of play before it stopped, but eventually it did. Updated August 12, 2023 by Gegueure Added more points for consideration.
All systems were left off during the night. The machine started up except for the GPU indicator. It won’t even power on to BIOS. This looks like a case where replacing parts would help, but I’m too busy to do that right now. It was a substantial purchase and it performed flawlessly out of the box, no fixes required. Unfortunately, I broke an HDMI cable while trying, which wasn’t worth the trouble. The price was good for the 3090ti, but I’ll probably return it or get a refund next Monday. Thanks for the advice, and sorry to anyone who saw this thread with the same problem.