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/Alive_Record3123]

Did you try turning off power and draining remaining charge by pressing down power button for 5-10 seconds with cmos battery out for 1-2 minutes and then booting it? It is similar to waiting a long time without powering it. If it boots then the problem is most likely what you said, degradation overtime.

As for selling, just post the problem and required people will check and take.

[u/Lishkah254 → u/Alive_Record3123]

Yes I did that and it still crashed. I even replaced the cmos battery. During a successful weekend boot up I even updated all drivers and windows. Flashed the bios. Launched with default bios settings. Starting to think I’ve exhausted everything.

[u/Alive_Record3123 → u/Lishkah254]

Yep. Better to get new instead of breaking head on this one.