Have I destroyed my components - 12V to the case?

[Tommygunn]

So, I was testing some LED lighting in my case with an old converted PSU at 12V and I believe one of the fly leads may have touched the chassis.
I'm not certain if it did touch, or if it touched the other fly lead, but would this have destroyed anything?

When it happened I had the Mobo, HD, CPU, RAM and G/Card fitted but there was no PSU installed at the time.

Daft things happen I suppose but are any or all components scrap?

Tom.

 

[NdMk2o1o]

So, I was testing some LED lighting in my case with an old converted PSU at 12V and I believe one of the fly leads may have touched the chassis.
I'm not certain if it did touch, or if it touched the other fly lead, but would this have destroyed anything?

When it happened I had the Mobo, HD, CPU, RAM and G/Card fitted but there was no PSU installed at the time.

Daft things happen I suppose but are any or all components scrap?

Tom.

Just turn it on and find out, how do we know until you do this?

 

[brandonwh64]

If you had proper stand offs and such then it shouldnt have did too much damage. I have done this a couple of times and never lost any hardware. Maybe I was just lucky.

 

[Tommygunn]

Everything was mounted properly.

I have attempted to turn it on several times. The fans come on, the HD makes a short whirr and a wizz and then nothing more.

Tom.

 

[brandonwh64]

Try to reset the bios.

 

[Tommygunn]

I just did a test without the memory in and I'm getting 'Beeeeep, beep, beep' i.e. one long and two short beeps.
Is this indicating no memory or, as I've looked up, a problem with the graphics card?

Tom.

 

[Tommygunn]

Brandon,
Will do.

 

[de.das.dude]

its ok....

technically nothing can happen. the only thing u can damage is ur PSU.

 

[Tommygunn]

Brandon,
No change.

De das Dude,
That will be fine then since the PSU I'm using to power the comp was not fitted at the time.


Am I safe to remove the HD and see if I can get it to POST. At least then I can eliminate the HD and its connections.

Tom.

 

[de.das.dude]

just put everything back in and turn it on. if it works, hurrah

 

[Derek12]

I have done that several times accidentally when tinkering with a fan and external adjustable PSU and the computer was on, no damage anything.

You have surely a problem with memory or video card. Try reseating them or cleaning the contacts. I wouldn't think the HD would be the cause.

 

[Tommygunn]

I've got a nice new Sapphire HD 6850 sitting next to me. Shall I just chuck that in instead of my old X1950GT?

Tom.

 

[de.das.dude]

you said u had a cooler master PSU right? 400W? if so then no.

if no then yes, put in the 6850. why is it ur of your system ANYWAYS!!

 

[Millennium]

edit: read above first!

Best thing with hardware troubleshooting is to do it by a process of elimination. Sounds like mobo might be ok. Remove hard drive, swap graphics. Try swapping memory.

Also (as always) spare known good parts like memory, cpu, and maybe a bios POST code reader are your friend... good luck!

 

[Tommygunn]

I don't have a Cooler Master 400W, I have an Enermax Modu87+ 600W.


The computer is working!

Everything is fine except for the Dimm Slots B1 and B2, so it would appear.

My two sticks of Ram work perfectly and both register 2048 when one or the other is inserted in Dimm A1. However, if I place the second stick in B1 or I mount both in A2 and B2 then the computer will not POST, zip.
What could be the cause of this?

Tom.

 

[brandonwh64]

Hmm sounds like a good time for a 2600K+Z68+2x4GB DDR3 1600MHZ

Just sayin...

 

[de.das.dude]

the settings for the second channel are probably wrong. check A2 and B2 individually.

 

[Tommygunn]

Brandon,
I'll pm you my bank account details.

How do I go about altering the settings. What specifically am I looking for?

Tom.

 

[Cruise51]

Might sound strange but it's better if this happens when the computer is plugged in, gives the short a ground to go to and usually won't damage anything. I did this once also. (Spark, flash, bang...... wooops! :shadedshu ) Left scorching marks on the chassis like a welder and fried the power supply fuse. It was a Enermax PS, got it working with a replacement fuse. Tho since your PS wasn't connected theres no telling where the short circuit grounded. (maybe if you touched a part while the short was on) So I'd start with resetting the cmos jumper on the motherboard. Disconnect everything but the ram and cpu. (also video card if u have no onboard graphics) Then try to get the board to post, if it does, go into the bios n load default settings. Beyond that maybe look over all the parts for fried leads, resistors, chokes, capacitors, etc. Often the damage can't be spotted tho...

 

[Tommygunn]

Cruise,
I think you missed my post where I said I had got her working.

Tom.