Think Ive borked my PC.. :/

[eastyy]

I have had many problems with building computers....most because i did not read the manual

I got a athlon 64 motherboard i just could not get it to work i sent it back and got a replacement.....then i realised it has two power connections on it instead of one

Another time i failed to fit the heatsink on proparly and the processor went bang

Now i have no problems i have learnt from my very costly mistakes

[marcus]

Sometimes its the best way to learn, its always a shame when it hits you in the pocket though.

Kernow I took the CPU out, or rather Heatsink off it, I have a huge Zalman Flower, as I wanted to see if the CPU was getting hot at all. The idea was to try and use my mates CPU in my mobo, which turned out was the wrong socket type anyways, and try mine in his PC. In hindsight I shouldnt of bothered taking the CPU out at all, but such is life I guess :/

[wod]

by taking the heatsink of the cpu you could have damaged the cpu but by what you have said so far the motherboard is faulty

marcus if the cpu is faulty then i know its more expense go for a amd 3700+ san diego cpu as you can overclock these to 2.6ghz easily which is fx 55 speed

[marcus]

I was looking at a potential replacement, I was surprised to see that in over a year since I bought my 3500 its only gone down in price by about 30-40 quid based on OCUK prices. If I do have to buy a new CPU, I agree, ill probably end up going for something like that. For now, ive dug my trusty old P3 450 out of the loft, it was my first PC and is still going strong - Im not sure what it will make of F.E.A.R. though

[Ginger Tosser]

Personally i'd always use an Anti-Static strap, i went on a course about Static a few years ago. I was shocked by how much is generated from a roll of tape!

I've used one since the late 80s when working on PCs. Most OEMs used to insist on it back then, i guess its a habit thats stuck. One of the main problems with static is you don't know you've actually damaged something. The PC could appear to be fine then just start to go.

For what people are spending on PCs now, its worth a few quid for a wrist strap just in case.

[marcus]

Well I have the same motherboard returned to me that I sent out, there is a label on the box that says "testing 20" on it, but no note or anything to give me an idea as to what was done.

Ive also today bought a replacement CPU.

Rebuilt the damn thing again, checked and rechecked everything and although it powers up fine and there are no audible beeps, there is still nothing whatsoever on the monitor, same as before.

I tried a old PCI gfx card I had laying about, and theres no display with that either.

So assuming the Mobo has been tested and is working, Im not sure where to go with this next, and I dont know anyone with a similar setup who could test the components for me.

[mattSix]

is the cpu still cold when it's booted up?

if so: i'd double-check the cpu power connector to the board; the 4 pin square plug, not the 10 pin one. i rebuilt a machine recently, forgot to plug that in & had the exact same condition you're describing...

anti-static mishaps do occur, but less often than you'd think. protective gear is essential if you're on a production line, but keeping the power cable in & grounding yourself on the chassis is usually enough for DIY work.

[marcus]

Someone else has suggested it shorting out somewhere, as this has only happened since I moved the components to a new case its quite possible. The 4 pin plug is plugged in already. Fans, mobo light, HDD spins, everything seems to be working fine.

[Hohum]

I took the heatsink off (big mistake, ill say why later) and ran it for 30 mins, the CPU wasnt even warm

It's possible your cpu is now dead... if not before, then after doing that. Modern processors will be destroyed in a matter of seconds if you don't have a heatsink fitted to them.

You may be alright if it is your motherboard at fault, which as a result didn't power the cpu for whatever reason (thus explaining why it was cold perhaps). Definitely something to not do again though.

[neoglow]

but keeping the power cable in & grounding yourself on the chassis is usually enough for DIY work.

Am I missing something?, dosent this go against every warning when doing work with electrics. Unplug everything before doing work??? I've seen people handle PC components like you would handle a ham sandwich, then they wonder why the PC dosent work. Simple rule, never touch the components, always hold the bits by their edges or anything that isnt actually the component surface. For example, dont hold your spanky new CPU like one of your nanna's home baked cookies! Hold it by the corners!

I've been in and out of PC's more times than I've had hot dinners. No need for all this anti this, anti that mumbo jumbo. Good old fashion steady, clean hands and sometimes a pair of thin lint-free gloves is all you need.

M.

[marcus]

The CPU was replaced yesterday, Ive not run it without the heatsink at all since. ALso, last night I took everything but the PSU out of the chassis, with only 1 ram stick, gfx card, cpu & HS, and it still didnt POST at all. Assuming I dont have to remove the PSU, I guess I can rule out the chassis itself shorting the mobo.

[wod]

do you get a power led on the motherboard lighting up as it could be the psu have you tried another one and what size is it ?

with it not posting its that normally means its either cpu or motherboard as anything else you would get beeps for ram or gfx card faults etc

take the board out of the case and put it on a static mat or the bag the board came in and see if it then boots up

i think the board is iffy or you could be unlucky and have a faulty cpu

[wod]

also i've had a similar problem where the pc wouldn't boot up and no beeps or anything and it was a stick of ddr i had bought that was dead

[marcus]

Its going back to OCUK again, this time to be swapped out. Wod, Ive already done that, no joy. I still think its the mobo, only when its swapped will I know for sure really.

[mattSix]

Am I missing something?, dosent this go against every warning when doing work with electrics. Unplug everything before doing work???

you're dead right - the reason for unplugging everything is to ensure there's no live current to anything you might touch.

however... as long as you're not poking around inside the psu (which you shouldn't!), the only power supplied to any component inside a pc is 12v DC, which won't hurt you. leaving the power cable in ensures that the psu & the chassis are grounded. touching the chassis will ground you, so you don't build up a static charge.

ESD isn't mumbo-jumbo, but it isn't that common either. i expect far more people bork their hardware by the kind of clumsy handling you've described.