About to cry...

[PennySavre]

So I listened to you guys and didn't buy the pre-built computer from that guy. Instead I bought a Gigabyte Brix AMD with a M275x, barebones, and 4GB RAM and a mSata SSD.

I ended up breaking it by accident. I followed the instructions exactly when installing the RAM, and ended up breaking one of the RAM holders. Then I tried to unscrew the screw for the mSATA, and ended up getting a screw caught in the fan or something.

I have decided, I WILL NOT build anything. In the past when I didn't have such shaky hands and worked on full sized desktops, I never experienced any problems.

I'm wondering if I should try returning this stuff to Amazon and telling them what happened. Amazon has a really generous return policy. However, this will be the fourth return I've done this year (not all of them were computers), and I'm afraid they might ban me for "too many returns". A google search reveals that Amazon has been known to do this.

Also, no, I don't know anyone who specializes in this kind of computer building work... for under $60/hour.

 

[brandonwh64]

Maybe computers is not for you.

 

[PennySavre]

Maybe computers is not for you.

Heh, wait until you experience a problem... I will use that line on you .

 

[eidairaman1]

Ive had problems myself but that hasnt stopped me from building them. I learned from each mistake. Its called experience. But honestly for you go to a pc shop and have them do it for you

 

[Toothless]

You live, you learn. I trust this forum completely on tech things and I haven't been told wrong.

My first computer oops was installing Linux, Backtrack 5, and Win7 all on the same partition. Whoops.

 

[the54thvoid]

Yeah, we need a thread for TPU self build near misses and fatalities. My own was running my previous GTX Titan and after switching the fittings for my cooling loop I forgot to re-attach to the gpu block so spilled water down the gpu PCB. No boot. Luckily de-ionised water and time kept it alive without any further problems.

Live and learn and always self build!

 

[64K]

So I listened to you guys and didn't buy the pre-built computer from that guy. Instead I bought a Gigabyte Brix AMD with a M275x, barebones, and 4GB RAM and a mSata SSD.

I ended up breaking it by accident. I followed the instructions exactly when installing the RAM, and ended up breaking one of the RAM holders. Then I tried to unscrew the screw for the mSATA, and ended up getting a screw caught in the fan or something.

I have decided, I WILL NOT build anything. In the past when I didn't have such shaky hands and worked on full sized desktops, I never experienced any problems.

I'm wondering if I should try returning this stuff to Amazon and telling them what happened. Amazon has a really generous return policy. However, this will be the fourth return I've done this year (not all of them were computers), and I'm afraid they might ban me for "too many returns". A google search reveals that Amazon has been known to do this.

Also, no, I don't know anyone who specializes in this kind of computer building work... for under $60/hour.

I posted a prebuilt in your price range with a warranty and a OS and you shot it down because you wanted small form factor.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K91D714/?tag=tec06d-20

 

[Nordic]

Ive done worse. Hasn't stopped me yet.

 

[eidairaman1]

I posted a prebuilt in your price range with a warranty and a OS and you shot it down because you wanted small form factor.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00K91D714/?tag=tec06d-20

Trust me he turned down a sff machine from Dell that had a better cpu and an upgrade path for a NUC, then turned around griping how crappy the Intel graphics were on it. He then got the Athlon. All he has done is waste his time and money on this shit because he wants to be a stubborn pickey snob.

I highly suggest he goes prebuilt or has a pc shop build it/repair it and set it up properly for him

 

[Kursah]

So I listened to you guys and didn't buy the pre-built computer from that guy. Instead I bought a Gigabyte Brix AMD with a M275x, barebones, and 4GB RAM and a mSata SSD.

I ended up breaking it by accident. I followed the instructions exactly when installing the RAM, and ended up breaking one of the RAM holders. Then I tried to unscrew the screw for the mSATA, and ended up getting a screw caught in the fan or something.

I have decided, I WILL NOT build anything. In the past when I didn't have such shaky hands and worked on full sized desktops, I never experienced any problems.

I'm wondering if I should try returning this stuff to Amazon and telling them what happened. Amazon has a really generous return policy. However, this will be the fourth return I've done this year (not all of them were computers), and I'm afraid they might ban me for "too many returns". A google search reveals that Amazon has been known to do this.

Also, no, I don't know anyone who specializes in this kind of computer building work... for under $60/hour.

I don't think it's legitimate to return something because you broke it, though many do..that is totally up to you, I feel you are wrong for asking for advice with this something that depends on your own ethics and not ours. That's like asking for support on snorting meth while trying to reproduce...we'd rather you not, but don't ask us if it's the right thing to do. I am sorry you have shakey hands, but you should have taken that into more serious consideration before trying to build a smaller system. Accidents happen, and maybe you should've taken the prebuilt route. I am sorry you have met such issues with building a smaller PC, and I hope if you try again in the future it becomes a flawlessly amazing experience. Breaking things is part of the noob experience...that's where many will learn with their wallet, the do's and don'ts of building. It's a crappy way to learn lessons for sure tho!

A few tips for the future should you try this again:

- Keep TPU as a resource, we will help but you have to be the one to do it.
- Youtube videos are your friend, they can show you many things, tips, tricks, safety procedures, etc and link with the next one, being owned by them...
- Google search a few things on how-to's, read them, absorb, learn.
- Magentized screwdrivers FTW!
- Patience, patience, patience... if something doesn't seem right, don't do it... leave things alone, collect yourself...watch some videos, go for a walk, go to sleep and try again tomorrow, etc. Forcing yourself and things to work leads to issues and failures.

I wish you luck with your future endeavours, and hope you don't give up building computers, it takes a lot to admit you screwed up, it takes a lot to keep on going and it's fun once you get the hang of it! I believe you can do it!

But please don't ask us to make an ethical decision for you, that is not fair to burden anyone else with imho. And I'm sure you mean no offense by it, sorry if I come off a bit harsh about it, but there are some things about social etiquette and netiquette that I feel strongly about.

Good luck on your future with this project, and I hope you learned some valuable lessons and won't be a quitter, but rather take your experience and grow from it, and become better because of it.

 

[OneMoar]

give us pictures of the damage it might be repairable if all you did was snap one of the retention tabs tabs off the SODIM slot that`s very fixable ( just tape it down with good old electrical tape or make a clip out of a paper clip and some know-how iv done it a bunch of times easy fix
I am unsure how you manged to brake a SODIMM slot
either the sodimm slot was defective or you pryed on them witch you never ever do.. should require no force at all simply insert the DIMM at a angle and click it into place ...

 

[rtwjunkie]

Everyone makes mistakes, even non-noob builders! Just yesterday I was distracted and installed a graphics card into one of my pc's. I turned it on, and black screen. Turned it off, looked in the case again, and damn if I hadn't wedged the GPU in between capacitors above and the PCIe slot below! It was stuck good too, so it took a lot of careful prodding for ten minutes to get it out. I'm lucky I didn't break a capacitor or ruin the card! So, don't feel bad. Mistakes will always happen.

 

[PennySavre]

I got it working guys!!!

Trust me he turned down a sff machine from Dell that had a better cpu and an upgrade path for a NUC, then turned around griping how crappy the Intel graphics were on it. He then got the Athlon. All he has done is waste his time and money on this shit because he wants to be a stubborn pickey snob.

I highly suggest he goes prebuilt or has a pc shop build it/repair it and set it up properly for him

That's not what happened. You suggested like a wild man with a veangance that I get a Dell. I didn't listen and got a NUC. Had problems with the NUC that weren't performance related and sent it back. Now I got this and it's working properly. I ended up not getting an Athlon.

 

[rtwjunkie]

I got it working guys!!!

Great! Tell us what you did, please.

 

[OneMoar]

I got it working guys!!!



That's not what happened. You suggested like a wild man with a veangance that I get a Dell. I didn't listen and got a NUC. Had problems with the NUC that weren't performance related and sent it back. Now I got this and it's working properly. I ended up not getting an Athlon.

because you have repeatedly been given sound advice and then chose to go the opposite direction so the solution since you are unable/unwilling to fully DYI witch is what this board is focused on was to just simply buy a dell ...
[take the following with a grain of salt]
my hands shake as well I can't hold a soldering iron or screw driver without extreme focus somedays its never stopped me from working on a laptop or Fiddling with some chip that needed replacing .. soldering as with any disability the moment you say "I can't" is the moment you lose to it ..

 

[PennySavre]

Great! Tell us what you did, please.

I just left the slightly broken RAM holder alone, and retrieved the screw. Not much to really tell.

 

[Nordic]

I just left the slightly broken RAM holder alone, and retrieved the screw. Not much to really tell.

So you were over reacting, calmed down, then found a simple fix?

 

[64K]

Everyone makes mistakes, even non-noob builders! Just yesterday I was distracted and installed a graphics card into one of my pc's. I turned it on, and black screen. Turned it off, looked in the case again, and damn if I hadn't wedged the GPU in between capacitors above and the PCIe slot below! It was stuck good too, so it took a lot of careful prodding for ten minutes to get it out. I'm lucky I didn't break a capacitor or ruin the card! So, don't feel bad. Mistakes will always happen.

I've pulled a boner or two in my time too. I guess we all have.

 

[PennySavre]

So you were over reacting, calmed down, then found a simple fix?

Well you have to admit, breaking a ram holder IS pretty scary.

 

[Nordic]

Well you have to admit, breaking a ram holder IS pretty scary.

I do remember when I built my first pc, when I closed the latch installing the cpu it made a loud crunch. I did not know this was perfectly normal and thought I just destroyed my brand new 2500k.

Since then I have actually broken things. I had a psu explode on me once. My biggest continued rookie mistake is I keep poking my finger into fans which either hurts like hell or breaks the fan.

 

[eidairaman1]

Ive broken 2 vid cards and some ram in my time. Bent pins on cpu.

Ps Penny- You had a thread about overclocking the 4250Us Intel Graphics 5000 because it ran bad,so you got the Athlon. Eitherway glad its working. Now dont break it, Also overclocking is not guaranteed, so mileage will vary.

 

[FordGT90Concept]

I followed the instructions exactly when installing the RAM, and ended up breaking one of the RAM holders. Then I tried to unscrew the screw for the mSATA, and ended up getting a screw caught in the fan or something.

Those clips shouldn't be easy to break. I've never broken one in over two decades of working on computers. I suspect the clip may have had a manufacturing defect (e.g. could have been cracked or chipped) which is covered under warranty. You might want to do the return with Gigabyte though because they'll probably replace the plastic mount and send the motherboard back to you.

As for getting a screw caught, you should be able to use something like a toothpick to dislodge it and let gravity guide it to where you can get it. I've always been able to retrieve screws given enough patience to work it to a place I can grab it.

I just left the slightly broken RAM holder alone, and retrieved the screw. Not much to really tell.

Exactly. Chillax, bro.

Since then I have actually broken things. I had a psu explode on me once. My biggest continued rookie mistake is I keep poking my finger into fans which either hurts like hell or breaks the fan.

I still do that (did it a few weeks ago in fact). I put grills over the serious fans (high RPM/sharp edges). My fingers usually only end up in slowish case fans that yield nothing more than a quick jump/WTF moment. I highly recommend grills on all fans that are capable of damage be it fingers, cables, or tools.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

Maybe computers is not for you.

I wouldn't go that far. Some have no problem operating and maintaining them, but struggle with building and upgrading on the hardware end.

I'm sorry for your troubles, esp if I played a part in convincing you to build your own. I think most of us assume the hardware hurdle is more mental than physical.

Had I known you were at the point of becoming physically less capable with it, I'd surely have offered another solution.

I fully understand, there are many things at age 56 I just struggle with anymore. I used to be able to thread a needle to repair my clothes when they got torn, but it's extremely hard for me to do that anymore.

The best of luck to you whatever you decide. There are still affordable build houses that assemble to your spec within their available parts. And it removes both the build hassle AND any potential RMA issues, as they test them before sending them out.

 

[INSTG8R]

So you went rooting around in a brand new PC for no reason and then broke stuff? You get what you pay for...

 

[GC_PaNzerFIN]

I write PC hardware reviews. Sometimes I am really really busy. I am running around components, assembling a test rig in 10 minutes many times a day.

Eventually you slip and make a mistake by accident. Because humans make mistakes.

All this happened in last 12 months:

Asus R9 280X Matrix GPU die shattered in million pieces. I was crewing in the heatsink after I removed the cooler and during Litecoin mining it exploded. Turns out there was machining error on the base of copper heatsink. That + tight screws + heat = bad stuff. Pfeww not my fault really

Grabbed a Z97 motherboard from behind. Forgot it didn't have socket cover on and no CPU installed. Finger hits exposed socket pins. Darn... -> fixed 3 bent pins myself. All good.

A piece of 4770K package corner came off during delidding with vice. I really don't know what happened. Still works

Same 4770K dropped on a motherboards VRM heatsink WITHOUT IHS. Oh crap, CPU die corner hit the motherboard. Only two ram sticks work, thankfulfy in dual channel. All good

AMD processor came off the socket attached to my H100i. One row of pins bent a bit. Fixed that myself. All good

I plugged USB stick in HDMI. So thats why it couldn't find it...

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Stuff happens. It's life.