# PC keeps restarting before even reaching BIOS [Solved: Faulty RAM]



## Hitesh12

Hi guys

I am facing a queer problem. I was watching a movie on my PC as usual when suddenly it restarts out of nowhere. Now, before even reaching the BIOS it restarts again. This restarting cycle continues until I turn off the mains.
When I turn on the PC, light turn on and fans (psu,exhaust,intake,proccy) spin for about 3 seconds and then they turn off and again start spinning after a sec.

As of now, I have tried only these -
- Reset CMOS jumper
- Removed the GPU
-Checked all the connections
-Removed HDD, Optical drive and their power and sata connections
- Checked the RAMs too and they are fine

The culprit must be either CPU, Mobo or PSU.

*IMPORTANT-*
Now here is some observation. I am using a molex 4pin fan splitter to power the exhaust fan.

When the pc restarts, this exhaust fan restarts too. _If_ PSU is not the culprit, this shouldn't have happened right ? I mean this exhaust fan is the only part in the whole cabby which is not connected to the motherboard in any way, directly or indirectly. It is only connected to PSU and if it is restarting, PSU should be the culprit right ?
But here is a catch. I just did the paper-clip test for the PSU and its fan is spinning which I believe is a sign of a working PSU, right ?
I am seriously confused. Can anyone help me out ?

*Specs*-
CX-430
i3 3220
1TB WD green hd
GTX 460 Hawk (out of cabby right now)
4gb ddr3 ram 1333hz
1 exhaust fan and 1 intake
Mobo - H61MU3

This is the first time I have faced this problem. PC had been working just fine until that moment.

_So any ideas anyone ?_

P.S. Hope this is the correct forum


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## narrdarr

is all of your usb devices unplugged? including keyboard/mouse


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## Hitesh12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *narrdarr*
> 
> is all of your usb devices unplugged? including keyboard/mouse


Mouse yes, but not keyboard

EDIT: Unplugged keyboard, still not working


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## The EX1

This happened to one of my PCs before. It turned out that the heatsink on the CPU had slowly pulled away from the IHS on the chip. The CPU would instantly spike to 100+C temps and then the PC would power off to protect itself. It would never make it past the BIOS. Make sure the heatsink is still seated on the IHS with enough pressure to make full contact.

Shot in the dark but maybe this is what is happening.


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## Hitesh12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *The EX1*
> 
> This happened to one of my PCs before. It turned out that the heatsink on the CPU had slowly pulled away from the IHS on the chip. The CPU would instantly spike to 100+C temps and then the PC would power off to protect itself. It would never make it past the BIOS. Make sure the heatsink is still seated on the IHS with enough pressure to make full contact.
> 
> Shot in the dark but maybe this is what is happening.


Thanks for the tip !
Going to try it


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## XanderTheGoober

Just because the fan connected directly to the power supply does not mean the PSU is not the culprit of the shutdowns. Would you have another PSU to possibly try to power the machine with to check? even though the CX430 is not the greatest psu it should be plenty to power your machine.


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## Hitesh12

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *XanderTheGoober*
> 
> Just because the fan connected directly to the power supply does not mean the PSU is not the culprit of the shutdowns. Would you have another PSU to possibly try to power the machine with to check? even though the CX430 is not the greatest psu it should be plenty to power your machine.


A friend might have a spare. Will ask him tomorrow


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## Hitesh12

Update : Tested with an another PSU, and the problem remains









Haven't tried what ex1 suggested, have to buy thermal paste first


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## XanderTheGoober

Have you tried it without the graphics card? and also another thing to try is take everything out of the case, connect only the power supply, and 1 stick of ram. and processor obviously, no hard drives connected, no graphics connected, no dvd drives etc... then use a screw driver or something to short the power switch to start it up. if you get the bios screen, connect the hard drive and then boot again to see if you get your OS to load.


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## Hitesh12

Update : Problem found ! It is the ram (1out of 2). It turns out, I messed up when checking ram yesterday. While checking them individually I inserted the faulty ram again. I never booted with the working one !
Sad I know
Thanks everyone for their inputs !
Will RMA it now


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## XanderTheGoober

That will do it. glad you figured it out.


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