Have to keep turning computer on and off!

Gigabot

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I always have to turn my computer on and off to get it to turn on. I have an HP Pavilion Slimline PC and I've had this problem for months now. Everytime I leave it on standby, shut it down, or put it on hibernate I need to press the power button till my computer fully shuts down. When I try to turn my computer on again I have a blank screen, no BIOS or anything just the processor lights blinking and then I have to keep on turning my computer off and on till I see an orange light indicating that my computer will fully turn on including my monitor and Bios, etc. and it fully starts up. Does anyone know what could be the problem? :ermm:
 
Trukmann is right, seems to me the problem is that you PSU is failing.
 
Yeah, it does sound like a PS problem ...
 
Good thinking, KC. We wouldn't want him to waste the money if he doesn't have to.
 
It sounds more like the MB bios is not handling low power modes properly more than a power supply problem. If it was the PSU then I would expect it to not power up some times and work fine other times. I have a couple of PC MBs that just do not like standby/hibernate/sleep modes and won't recover properly.

Do you have to turn the PC off from the front panel soft switch or the hard switch on the power supply case?

Check your BIOS and windows power management settings. You will select what happens when the soft switch is pushed on the front (sleep, hibernate, etc) and what functions will wake the PC up (keyboard, mouse, lan, etc).

My "good" computer will only wake up from the keyboard even if I set it to wake on mouse movement.
 
Yeah I would start by checking to see if you can find a bios update.
 
Doesn't sound like it is reaching POST, but could be - original description doesn't really say.
 
Could also test the PSU out before replacing it - get something similar to this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...der=BESTMATCH&Description=power+supply+tester

Should be noted that I have used those in the past and haven't entirely been confident with their results.
I have one of these and they are good for testing if your PSU is dead, but wont help much if your PSU is weak. You have to test under load using a multimeter, like described in this guide...
http://www.devhardware.com/forums/p...a-multimeter-how-to-use-it-to-test-75111.html

I second the suggestion of a BIOS update, although if no hardware has changed and this problem just started occurring I would be leaning more toward a bad/weak OEM PSU. The FSP PSU I posted a link to has 2 12v+ rails, each at 18a. Even if your PC would never use that much it is better to have it than need it. It ensures steady, clean power to the system.

EDIT: Keep in mind flashing the BIOS is risky, if the power is interrupted (like from a bad PSU) your system may be rendered completely unusable.
 
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I have seen testers that can measure the quality of the lines as well, not just if it's dead. I would agree that a multimeter is best, but not sure how much those are going for these days.
 
I have a Sears Craftsman auto-ranging digital multimeter, which reads AC and DC volts, amps and milliamps, ohms (continuity), capacitance, duty frequency and even temperatures that was only $40, similar to this one http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_03482344000P so they wont really break the bank, and are a good investment. I'll be interested to read how this issue hashes out.
 
Thanks for the replies everyone! trukkmann, I really hope there's not a problem with the PSU but I'll definitely get a new one if I have to.

LeeJend there is a rectangle shaped power switch on the top of my HP Slimline PC case. I have to press on that and repeatedly turn it off and on till my computer starts. I'll check my BIOS next time I restart my computer and see if there's anything wrong with the settings in there.
 
I was playing around with the Power Options and I actually got the computer to resume from Sleep mode (aka Standby). I tried restarting the computer and when I do that my monitor just turns off and my computer stays on but with a blank screen.

I tried Sleep mode again but now it won't work any more. I guess I was lucky and that's why it worked. Now my computer won't resume after I move the mouse or press any keyboard on sleep mode.
 
I believe hibernate you press keyboard but sleep you press the power button.
 
I've had this problem before. Cold boots required multiple power cycles, almost like the components had to "heat up" before the power usage stabilized. A new PSU solved this.

On a side note, have you added any new devices (internal, external or USB) that might be putting a draw on (what I'm sure) is a underpowered SFF power supply?
 
dreamliner's often right when he comes in to a thread late like this - and I agree with his hunch / diagnosis.

I would recommend a Tagan PSu to you, except I recently had one die on me after what I think was about three or four years heavy use, which I regard as a little poor (at least by Tagan standards).
 
I'm convinced that it is the PSU now so I'm buying one.
 

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