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I have a Desktop tower, 2 Monitors, a printer, a router and a set of speakers hooked up to a power strip. The powerstrip is connected to a wall outlet (3 pin).

Everyday I switch off the powerstrip in the morning, and when I switch it back on in the evening after 8 hours, the following turn on just fine - 1. the speakers 2. the monitors 3. the router

But then when I press the power button on the Desktop Tower, nothing happens. Also, when I turn the powerstrip on, the speakers that are hooked up to this desktop, constantly play a heartbeat sound. Goes like 'bip .. bip ... bip'. This sound stops if I disconnect the speakers from the desktop, but I don't disconnect them (read on to know why)

After about 30-40 minutes, the heartbeat sound stops. Then if I press the power button on the tower, desktop starts up just fine.

I have tried disconnecting and reconnecting all the cords, holding down the power button, switching off/on the PSU, etc. Nothing works. I have to wait for 30-40 mins.

Question - is this a case of static electricity build-up or is the PSU messed up ? has anyone encountered an issue like this before ? any recommendations on how this can be fixed ?

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  • You do turn off the desktop prior to turning off the power strip, right? Also, mind if I ask why you turn off the power strip? Leaving the desktop running won't really hurt anything.
    – cutrightjm
    Commented Feb 1, 2013 at 2:02
  • lol yes, i do a proper shutdown. i power down everything for those 8 hours to conserve energy.
    – Quest Monger
    Commented Feb 1, 2013 at 3:36

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It was the PSU.

The reason i suspected static-electricity to be the cause, was the heartbeat-noise. i assumed (erroneously) a malfunctioning/non-functioning PSU would either cause the machine to not start at all, or show some other consistent behavior.

I replaced the psu with another one, and things are looking good. i still have to run the system thro a few tests, but all signs point to the PSU.

I also posted this question on tom's hardware forum, and got some interesting answers (especially the one about checking OS logs) - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/382875-31-static-electricity-problem

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