I've got a PC I built a year ago. It mostly stays on so it's not always a issue. But if it gets shut off or power is cycled on it. Sometimes it takes multiple power cycles to get back to windows.

Example: PC is off.
- I hold power button. Fans & lights all turn on and spin up. But nothing on the monitor.
- Power it back off & On. Still nothing on the monitor.
-Power it back off & on. Still nothing on the monitor.
-Power it back off & on. Still nothing on the monitor.
- Power it back on. Monitor springs to life. Quick Motherboard logo - Bios boot option and windows is up in 5 seconds. (M.2 SSD)

What's strange is it might boot to windows on the first try. Or it might boot to windows on the 10th try. It's like Russian Roulette with the power button to get in.

1,000w Corsair PSU (1 year old), 64GB RAM (Well seated), RTX 3080 (Brand new & problem predated the new GPU) New CMOS Battery on the Motherboard (Just incase)

Is there some windows setting or BIOS setting I should go check? It's such a strange problem.

Should I maybe update the BIOS?

I have the "Fast Start Up" disabled in the Win10 Settings which seemed to be a common cause.

It's not POSTing consistently, so there's a few hardware issues I'd look at first.

My first thought: motherboard. Make sure everything (graphics card, et al) is seated properly and power is connected everywhere. Unseat and reseat the ram. Update the bios.

Second thought: ram issues. Run memtest86, replace it if it's throwing up errors.

Most likely a hardware issue.

As per the previous poster. Check to make sure everything is seated properly.

If you are running now make sure you back everything up while you can.

quote:

Originally posted by vulrath:
It's not POSTing consistently, so there's a few hardware issues I'd look at first.

My first thought: motherboard. Make sure everything (graphics card, et al) is seated properly and power is connected everywhere. Unseat and reseat the ram. Update the bios.

Second thought: ram issues. Run memtest86, replace it if it's throwing up errors.

I've reseated all the components. I guess my next thing is updating the BIOS. Will try to do that tonight or over weekend.

When powering on, does the disk activity light not indicate activity when the screen doesn't come on?

If there is disk activity, but no display, it could be the computer is booting, but the monitor is not consistently "seeing" the signal to wake up.

If the above advice doesn't get you going, I'd get a cheap power supply tester and see if the PS is doing its thing.

First thing I would do is check the power supply.
Alternative if you don't have a PS Meter then try alternative poser supply.

Second ~ could be the motherboard (less likely) or settings in BIOS, if able to boot into check version and settings so it isn't looking for something that it can't find ~ like errant disk drive.

Now IF you can get into the BIOS every time then look at the disk drive or OS but sounds like a power issue or MB issue if you never get a POST screen.

Check your PC to monitor cable to make sure it’s firmly attached at both ends. I used to get no display on multiple boot ups and then it would suddenly start working. Turned out the PC end of the cable wasn’t connected solidly. If you see disk activity (as someone else suggested) but nothing on the display, it might be a loose monitor cable.

quote:

Originally posted by tsmccull:
Check your PC to monitor cable to make sure it’s firmly attached at both ends. I used to get no display on multiple boot ups and then it would suddenly start working. Turned out the PC end of the cable wasn’t connected solidly. If you see disk activity (as someone else suggested) but nothing on the display, it might be a loose monitor cable.

Good point, always possible that it has booted but it is a display issue.
Can be tested with different monitor, alternate monitor connection point (HDMI,VGA, etc), different monitor cable or setup remote desktop (if Windows Professional) ~ if you can logon remotely then it is a display issue.

Yep I would try another monitor and or the cable between them first. Sounds like you have everything reseated already. What MOBO are we taking about? Does your MOBO have a display for error codes or are any lights blinking?

BIOS update would be my last resort. But that's me.

All good ideas and stuff usually pretty easily checked. Especially the BIOS update. What brand is the mobo? Have you searched to see if there are any common complaints.

I can't get around the fact that the most inconsistent and hard to find problems I've had over the years have come from power supplies. It's super easy to skimp there too. Or at least it appears that way.

Corsair ain't what it used to be. I learned this the hard way.

Sorry, I read the last thing in your troubleshooting and saw you already checked the cmos battery.

"When my desktop hangs up during startup epeatedly it's usually the cmos battery. Mine eats batteries faster than typical. The motherboard needs to keep time when it is turned off and to do that it has a watch battery, like a CR2032. That has been my experience anyways."
k

quote:

Originally posted by 83v45magna:
All good ideas and stuff usually pretty easily checked. Especially the BIOS update. What brand is the mobo? Have you searched to see if there are any common complaints.

I can't get around the fact that the most inconsistent and hard to find problems I've had over the years have come from power supplies. It's super easy to skimp there too. Or at least it appears that way.

Corsair ain't what it used to be. I learned this the hard way.

Motherboard: MSI MPG B550 Gaming Carbon WiFi Gaming Motherboard

What CPU?

I am not well versed with AMD builds. Does your CPU MOBO combo have the capability to display without your GPU socketed. I am thinking let's rule out your GPU as the problem if possible. Or try another GPU if possible.

Let us know if you are able to try another cable/monitor to rule those out as well.