Recently, my desktop encountered a problem whereby after cutting off the power supply (switched off the power plug), it will not boot. However, once I hard reset (hold on to power on/off button) it and then boot it again, it will then be able to boot and work normally. In technical terms, my computer will not be able to boot from cold but will work perfectly after a hard reset. In simpler terms, everytime I cut off my powersupply from the CPU, I need a hard reset in order for it to boot. My graphics card is Leadtek PX9800GX2 1GB (yes, even highest end graphics card will screw up).

The problem in point format:

1) Cut Off Power Supply

2) Turn on power supply again

3) Press “ON’ on the CPU

4) CPU has sound/lights everything, but can’t boot to bios. Monitor doesn’t detect anything

5) Hard Reset (Press and hold “Power” button on CPU)

6) Then be able to boot normally

So the first thing I did was to google. To my suprise, I can only find 1 page that has exactly the same problem as me and that is http://www.techspot.com/vb/all/windows/t-68670-PC-will-only-boot-after-hard-reset.html

After trying many things that got to do with bios (flashing BIOS to latest version, change bio settings, voltage settings and all), it still doesn’t work.

Solution: The problem lies with the graphics card (yes, exactly the same answer from the above link). My guess is that the GPU needs heating before it is able to work and that is hardware problem. There will not be any software/settings solution. So change your graphics card and it will be able to work perfectly.

—

As my computer is only like few months old, I called up Ban Leong to claim my warranty for my graphics card. The person who answered my call was a little rude and keep insisting that Leadtek Graphics Card is 2 years warranty, with first 3 months 1-to-1 exchange. My graphics card is around 5 months old. However, at their online e-Customer service, they stated it is 2 years warranty with 1 year 1-to-1 exchange. Obviously I was not happy as I wanted the 1-to-1, so I complained on the e-Service and their incharge actually messaged me to offer me a 1-to-1. Very good service there. Why I say so ? Because, if I had to RMA my graphics card, it will take 2 months before it will get back to me and that means 2 months without graphics card = no com.

But still, luckily I was able to get the 1-to-1 exchange even though I took 2 trips down to Ubi and 1 trip down to Fuwell (Troubleshooting purposes). Thanks my brother for driving me there since I didn’t know the way !

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 12th, 2008 at 10:03 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.