For over a month, I have come home from a Saturday 16-hour shift on Sunday morning to find that my computer won't turn on.
Every day of the week besides that one, the computer runs flawlessly. I assume that this happens because this is the longest stretch of time that my computer is not in use.
This problem shows itself no matter what my shut down method is.
I have shut down the computer each day and unplugged it from the surge protector. Same behavior.
I have shut down the computer and left it plugged into the surge protector all week. Same behavior.
I have left the computer in sleep mode ALL WEEK to come home on Sunday and find it OFF that morning and refusing to power up (I had to laugh and cry at that one).
When the problem happens, I've tried unplugging the machine from the surge and into an outlet. No luck.
I've tried plugging it into a completely different outlet, with and without a different surge protector. Nope.
I've dusted it out. Try again.
I've stripped the thing down to just one stick of RAM and the CPU and tried to start it. Nadda.
I've replaced the CMOS battery, three times, with three different batteries. Nice try, but still, FAIL.
In the end, I've found that I have to wait before the thing will listen to the power button. That takes around two hours.
I can tell that I'm getting close to a start-up when after many presses of the power button and flipping of the PSU switch, the CPU fan spins for a split second then stops.
I was able to duplicate the problem before work this afternoon by shutting down and then holding the power button (while PSU switch was OFF and power cord unplugged) for around 30 seconds.
System would not start after it was plugged back in and the power button pressed. I unplugged the machine, repeated the previous step, plugged it back in and pressed the power button. This machine turned on that time, BUT I'm expecting to have the same problem when I get him this morning.
I have a feeling that tha problem is my PSU or motherboard, but I'm looking for a second opinion and am frustrated because my PSU is strong (Corsair AX750 Gold) and my motherboard isn't awful (Asrock Pro4 Z77). And my machine is only about 3 years old. I'm not thrilled about replacing either.
Other info/confessions: - Previously ran a crossfire AMD 7970 and 7950 for a few months (overclocked for gaming / under-clocked for mining) - System now runs just the 7970 (over-clocked, no hangs, artifacts or driver crashes) - Two HDDs (Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu 14.04) - Mild overclock on CPU on stock Intel cooler because I'm a moron. No issues, temps are good for Ivy Bridge I5. - I'm a first time cat owner, and wonder if the little guy is secretly involved in this, so I'm including him as a variable.