Member Avatar for sandinva

I just found this website thankfully. My problem is this...when I try to power on the computer (desktop CPU), it acts like there isn't enough power to power up. Just like when a car battery is about dead. The lights in the front barely come on in the front. I checked my plug and all was good there. I unplugged the pos from the unit itself for about 5 minutes. When I plugged it back in..nothing. Then after about 10-15 min. when I would try to power it up, the lights on the fron would just barely light like before. Something in me told me to hold in the button...so I did and it sure sounded like the computer was trying to power on and finally did. So, is my motherboard about to go or the battery on it? Thanks in advance for your help!!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by mike_2000_17

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Building on and the original description from , the symptom — very faint front-panel lights and occasional successful start only after holding the power button — points to an intermittent power-delivery or front-panel issue rather than something purely cosmetic. Try this short, ordered checklist to isolate the cause quickly:

  1. Bypass the case switch. With the PSU plugged in, unplug the front-panel power connector from the motherboard and briefly short the two power pins on the board’s header (the two pins normally labeled PWR/PWR_SW) with a screwdriver. If the system starts reliably, the case switch or its wiring is the likely culprit.

  2. Do a minimal bench boot. Remove all non-essential devices (HDD/SSD, optical drives, extra cards, USB peripherals). Leave CPU, one RAM stick, PSU, and onboard video (or a single GPU). Try to boot. If it becomes stable, add components back one at a time to find the failing part.

  3. Swap or test the PSU. If you can borrow a known-good PSU, try it. If not, do a visual inspection of the PSU and motherboard for bulging/ruptured capacitors, scorch marks, or a burnt smell — physical damage often correlates with these intermittent-start symptoms.

  4. Check connectors and power headers. Ensure the 24-pin and CPU 4/8-pin power plugs are fully seated and that front-panel pins aren’t loose or miswired. Attach a system speaker to listen for POST beeps; those codes help narrow the fault.

If those steps don’t isolate the problem, avoid probing inside the PSU yourself unless experienced — bring the machine to a shop or someone comfortable with voltage testing. Start with the bypass and minimal-boot tests first; they’re the fastest way to tell whether the issue is the case wiring, a peripheral, or the power-delivery side of the system.

Member Avatar for mike_2000_17

When your computer does power on, how well does it work?

A motherboard does not really have a battery on it, except for a small battery (round) that keeps a few things alive at all times (the BIOS memory and the clock, I think). What supplies the power for the computer is, well, the power-supply (which just converts the AC power from the wall-plug into DC power (12V / 5V) that the computer hardware needs). Failures of the power-supply are very common (often under-designed or neglected in the selection of components). I'm not sure that your particular symptoms are really indicative of a power-supply failure, but it could be, especially if the computer seems to function normally otherwise. But your symptoms are weird. Replacing the power-supply would be a fairly easy and somewhat inexpensive fix. But I'm not sure it will solve your problem.

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