Have I fried anything? If so, what are my options?

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zomgness

Note: This is my first attempt at computer building, so forgive me if I sound a tad noobish.

Here are my main components:
-GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L Motherboard
-XCLIO GOODPOWER 500W PSU
-Intel Core 2 Duo E6550
-G.SKILL 2GB DDR2 SDRAM
-XFX GeForce 8600GT XXX

Here's the story:

When I first installed my parts, I'd completely forgotten to install the standoffs. The motherboard was slightly bent because I had firmly screwed the motherboard to the case. After the computer did not boot, I found a solution, which was to lighten the tension of the screws greatly, then to push on the main power connector firmly. When I pushed the main power connector firmly in the motherboard's connector, the computer immediately booted up, and I was able to release the force completely as the computer ran. The computer was able to install my OS without a hitch, and I was able to have full functionality over the computer. The only way I could restart the computer manually at that point was to press the power button, then to re-push on the main power connector again. The power button did not turn the computer on; only off.

After about two hours, I decided to restart the computer one more time. This time, when I proceeded to push the main power connector back in, a semi-loud *pop* was emitted from the computer, and yellow sparks flew out from the general area of the main power connector. After this, the computer's fans (PSU fan, 2 case fans, CPU heatsink fan, GFX card fan) would still work perfectly, but there would be no signal sent to my monitor. Also, there was no sound emitted from my motherboard. I removed every component and inspected each, but I could not find any marks or missing transistors/etc. whatsoever on any of the components. Relieved, I reassembled the computer. I still did not know anything about standoffs at the time I reassembled.

All of the fans would work for about a second, then shut off. The only way these fans would even work was to, again, push on the main power connectors. Panicked, I looked for any way to remedy this problem. It was at that point I learned of standoffs. I reassembled the computer again, with standoffs in place.

At this point, the power button was the trigger for the starting of the fans, which I would assume is good (>_>). Yet the problem of the fans working for one second only persisted. I have tried booting with barebones and clearing the CMOS, to no avail.

So, my questions to you guys are:
1) Is something fried?
1a) If something is fried, what is/are it/they?
2) What are my options?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
Hi zomgness,

You can post your system specs directly in Edit Profile, to avoid re-posting them on future threads.

Now, what have you done! This is where the manual would have helped, plus some hardware experience, but oh well done now.

The pop, seems to have come from the motherboard, but I'd also be very concerned about your Power Supply and also the CPU.

The best option is to remove the motherboard and Bench Test and start swapping parts, until you find the problem(s).

Assuming you have extra computer parts, if not, you may need to go to your local computer tech shop. But all in all, you have killed the computer, probably M/board

Good for learning, not so good on the money to fix it. Please refer to your computer manual in future.
 
Thanks for the input guys.

kimsland, the PSU's LED indicator lights orange when plugged in while the computer is off, then flickers from green to orange again as the computer's fans turn on and off. Could there still be something wrong with it, or is it fine? If there still might be something wrong with it, could a fried PSU kill the whole computer? As for the CPU, what could have happened to it? Yeah, I saw the little dots that indicated where the standoffs went in the case manual; I thought they were printing typos :(

If my motherboard is the problem, do you guys think I have a chance to get the motherboard RMA'ed or not? I bought the parts last week from Newegg, and there are no marks on the motherboard.
 
Well the power supply is suspect, and I don't think you should plug it into a new board. Does it actually smell burnt out ? (by the way do Not open the power supply up - even when disconnected)

The M/b rma thing

Hmm, now we know (I mean TechSpot only) what you did, it doesn't sound like warranty issue!!
But, you could rma the board still, stating that it doesn't work, possibly not stating everything you did. (this sounds a little mis-leading)

I don't want to officially comment, you do what you think is best, but under the info here I don't believe it is warranty.

-----
The CPU, can usually go through a lot, but this also can be faulty (it's a big mess!)
Just do one part at a time (well maybe two power supply and m/b)
 
Motherboard RMA - All right, thanks a lot for the info.

Power Supply - I actually don't smell anything burnt in the PSU. Could it still have shorted something on the motherboard? Or could it have been just the fact I screwed the motherboard directly into the case? X_x

CPU - Well, when I took the CPU out, I didn't see any marks on it or on the motherboard where the CPU was installed (front and back). It looked fine, but could something else have happened to the CPU to mess it up?

Oh, and there was absolutely no smoke accompanying the *pop*, which I actually think sounded more like a *crack*. Just in case the info could be useful.
 
zomgness said:
Motherboard RMA - All right, thanks a lot for the info.
Click to expand...
I'm not a Gigabyte motherboard tester, so it's up to them to confirm (not me or you!)

I'm leaning more towards motherboard myself.

Remounting the CPU must be done with a thin layer of thermal paste too.

Just post back here, in a couple of weeks when you get your new motherboard (no comment :) )

Maybe post here before you start !

By replying to this message, I will see it again, and it will go to the top of the list.

Presently I have no more comments on this. Just remove the board, and do what you do.
 
If I shorted one or all three, would that affect my other components/PSU?
If it fries other components, then what would it most likely fry?
:(:(:(
 
It was my motherboard - I hooked up my PSU to my old, crappy, $100 computer and it ran fine. I'm hoping that my motherboard will at least be repaired when I send it to be RMA'ed :)
If not, then oh well. I'll have to buy a new one then.

:) Thanks guys! :)

By the way, are there any physical signs that show that a CPU/RAM/GFX card is damaged?
If not, can the parts damage a working motherboard they're hooked up to if they're damaged themselves?
 
I had this same problem, (sort of), I had my computer running fine, but my stupid side told me to shove the stick of ram as hard as you can into the motherboard if it won't go in, not even thinking it was the wrong ram, long story short, the retention clips broke, the ram went in, and when i powered it up, it popped. Smelled horrible, and you could see the ram voltage controller was fried.
So i rma'd it to newegg saying it was a board defect (he he), and they repaired it and sent it back, now questions asked.

But the ram was still good, and so was all the cards in the pci slots, etc...

So, what im trying to say is, newegg can be gullable (which is a good thing), so you can get away with the rmaing of the motherboard, but it is also a very good, and expensive, learning lesson, computers are delicate, and you must follow instructions to the T.
 
Ok zomgness, the M/B will be RMA'd (as you are not a service personnal - you do not know why it has faulted !!!)

But, even though you may get another board (they must check for physical dammage) You would not be able to do the same thing again. ie Read the manual and take care.

As for the other parts, lets go with OK at this point. Did you try them also on the old board ? If so, there's your answer - OK

Maybe if you feel this thread has been fully covered
"Have I fried anything? If so, what are my options? "
Please request a Close and Solved statement, in a new reply.

When receiving the new board, start a post, "I'm about to fit my new M/B - Help !"

If you believe my service to you has been satisfactory please reply to my Poll
https://www.techspot.com/vb/topic98305.html
 
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