My Gaming Pc is having hardware issues (orange light)

[whispy]

Issue: displays do not display and usb devices do not gain power. Pc turn on with fans/leds

Cpu was operating too hot and pc was shutting down while gaming>
My cpu cooler tower was loose and I reinstalled it with new thermal paste and more securely

When I turn on:
Motherboard orange light flashing on startup and cpu water cooler+fan loosing power/gaining power with the orange flashes before stabilising and the flashing stops but no display. Restarting causes same issues.

Probable causes:
ReInstalled water cooler incorrectly?
when moving pc heard crackle from power supply?
Cpu or other parts too hot?
Ram not correctly placed? I removed them in an attempt to reset them?


Fluff:
I am really not sure, online seems to say if flashing orange means power or motherboard failure issue but I also saw a solid state orange light but reinstalled ram and it changed to flashing orange 5 times then nothing but fans/cooler/leds. Tried bios with no avail

pc was working this morning even when water cooler was not properly installed(my cleaner turned it on by accident after I dislodged the water cooler last night) went to properly install it with my new thermal paste and screwdrivers and now it wont start up



please help me this is the first I’ve worked on upgrading any advice appreciated

 

[freddie64]

Welcome to the forums.

What is the spec of the PC?

Crackle from PSU could be a loose cable.

Check all cables ar seated correctly including the kettle lead.

To be honest that PSU is not very good and may be on its way out.

Maybe replace CMOS battery while you are at it.

 

[whispy]

Heya, thanks for the welcome and the advice

The pc specs are:
Punch Technology
Intel Core i7-9700K 3.6ghz
NVIDIA RTX 2080 8GB
Ram 16gb
Windows 10


/////////////
Turned it back on today and exact same issue.
I am inclined to think it’s a psu issue due to my watercooler/fans seemingly fluctuating in power on startup. Could anyone help validate the diagnosis?

 

[whispy]

Got some videos recorded maybe it helps

Isolated issue

Video of hardware

 

[ATIorNvidia]

Do you have another PSU to test?

 

[mickyflinn]

Kolink £40 psu is probably the first thing to change.

Is that a rusty screw on your water cooler ?

 

[whispy]

Do you have another PSU to test?

Unfortunately no, was thinking maybe ordering a technician to maybe help me test

Kolink £40 psu is probably the first thing to change.

Is that a rusty screw on your water cooler ?

Ic didn’t realise the psu was so budget I need to look into replacing this maybe with Corsair (not sure) and no lmao it’s not rust(I don’t think) does look like it tho with flash

Thanks for the suggestions hm.
General consensus seems to be psu, I have ordered a new lithium battery as well just in case

 

[Quartz]

Issue: displays do not display and usb devices do not gain power. Pc turn on with fans/leds

My immediate spot is that you've got your GPU powered from a single PCIe cable. Change it so that each plug is connected to a separate power cable.

Do make sure that all cables are securely seated at both ends.

 

[MeatLoaf]

Might be worth reseating the cooler to rule out any overheating issues

 

[whispy]

Thank you for the advice
I just replaced the lithium and still same results

I will try some more of the ideas shared here

 

[whispy]

Edit: I took initiative but unfortunately I cleaned this with a toothpick to no avail

Hey guys back with another update, reinstalled the cooler to check it wasn’t that and get some photos of the cpu to send over

Noticed some out of place looking grey matter (see second photo) that I couldn’t rub off for the life of me. Could this be a/the problem or still thinking psu? Wanted some informed opinion

Looks like it could be dried thermal paste and should be removed but unsure how to as cloth+alcohol didn’t work. Could also be something else so wanted to ask


Thanks again I’m really hoping I can fix it

 

[xaldub]

That's thermal paste which is non-conductive and isn't a problem. As others said, check PSU and also consider your CPU cooler could be failing. Are you able to boot into BIOS and have a look at CPU temps etc ?

 

[whispy]

That's thermal paste which is non-conductive and isn't a problem. As others said, check PSU and also consider your CPU cooler could be failing. Are you able to boot into BIOS and have a look at CPU temps etc ?

Thanks for the reassurance on the thermal paste query

My cpu temps were 97 last time I had it on without a watercooler installed *was on by accident but I still checked core temps*
Was operating too hot 70 on age of empires and 95-100 in Elden ring.
I realised I had the cooler installed incorrectly and reinstalled it which bought about this whole problem. Unfortunately unable to access bios


Had some feedback about maybe needing to update the driver with an instillation/download but have no idea how to do that in its current state.

General idea rn is I’m gunna take it into a computer repair shop and pay them to identify the issue. I really value the advice I got here but don’t wanna buy parts if I can’t fix it but psu and cooler failure both sounding probable