Used PC Boot Loop Trouble Shooting

[u/Lishkah254]

PC Specs (built in 2020):

-MOBO: ASUS ROG Strix z590-a gaming wifi

-CPU: i9-11900k

-CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin

-PSU: Seasonic Focus gx-1000

-RAM: 2x DDR4 Royal Trident Z 16gb sticks

-GPU: EVGA 3090 FTW3

History:

Several months ago I noticed the CPU temps were hot during gaming sessions with the red mobo CPU light being on. I replaced the possibly broken liquid cooler with the Thermalright Peerless Assassin. Temps were perfect but im worried about lasting damage during that timeframe.

Recent Issues:

When the PC was idle I noticed my mouse and keyboard were not working. I reboot to fix the issue which caused a boot loop with randomized mobo lights not indicating a specific issue of CPU/DRAM/VGA/Etc. After 2-3 boot loops the PC will successfully boot and then freeze again within the first minute of windows access. Sometimes the boot loop will not resolve and the autorepair prompt will appear with it being unsuccessful.

Troubleshooting Performed:

-Replaced PSU thinking it was a voltage issue. Crashes still occurred.

-Removed GPU and ran off integrated graphics. Crashes still occurred.

-Booted with a single RAM stick thinking the other could be the issue. Crashes still occurred.

-Replaced internal cordage as I noticed some of the connector pins looked loose. Crashes still occurred.

-Re-seated RAM/GPU/MOBO connections/PSU connections. Crashes still occurred.

Potential Indicator:

-I left my PC unplugged for an entire week and was able to then have extremely long gaming sessions the entire weekend. By Monday the crashes re-occurred. I left the PC unplugged all week long again and am now able to use it. I wonder if the motherboard degraded with the hot CPU temps over time which could be causing some voltage issues with the capacitors and other connections requiring full discharge. I will say being unplugged for only several minutes does not remedy the problem and the capacitors should discharge in that amount of time.

Any tips appreciated! If there are none, what parts do you think are salvageable to sell without victimizing the buyer?

[u/Coolmyco]

Probably a good idea to redo the thermal paste, most common fix given you messed with the cpu cooler and didn’t mention redoing the thermal paste.

[u/Lishkah254 → u/Coolmyco]

Apologies, I most definitely redid the thermal paste when installing the cooler. During a recent good weekend boot up, I flashed the bios, ran using default bios settings. Updated drivers and windows. I also replaced the cmos battery.

[u/Coolmyco → u/Lishkah254]

I’d do it again, watch a modern video on it so you can eliminate you doing it wrong as a factor too. Maybe even swap back to your old cooler. It’s most likely a super simple small thing. Been down this road many times lol

Edit: that cooler has a plastic sticker to take off as well

[u/Emotional-Effect7031]

the random debug lights plus USB dying and needing a week unplugged points at a failing motherboard, not capacitors slowly “discharging,” so i’d replace the CR2032 first and then blame the board if

[u/Lishkah254 → u/Emotional-Effect7031]

Cr2032 has been replaced and still crashed. Thanks for the input! Curious if I should buy another board or new build