PC doesn't boot, have i fried something? Video within.

martinoheat

martinoheat

martinoheat

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After stupidly trying to connect a hard drive (sata) to my PC while it was on, my PC immediately cut power. Since then, i have been unable to boot.

The computer starts up when i press the power button, but then after a few seconds it cuts the power, and then starts up again.On the second 'power on' (after it has reset itself) it stays on, but i get no picture on my monitor - not even BIOS screens.

What kind of damage could i have caused by trying to connect a sata HDD to the computer while it was on? Could i have fried something?

Here is a video of the computer's behaviour.

If anyone has any ideas as to the cause, please let me know!

I have already tried clearing CMOS using the jumper pin, to to avail. (The video was recorded after i had tried that).
 
First port of call really if it were me. Id check and double check all your internal cables. Preferably your sata/power connections. Could just be you may have inadvertently dislodged one of them when messing with your other hdd.
Does your hdd spin up?
 
martinoheat said:
What kind of damage could i have caused by trying to connect a sata HDD to the computer while it was on? Could i have fried something?
Click to expand...

To answer the above, it should be none. SATA drives are designed to be hotplugged and you are meant to be able to install and remove then while the system is running. I've inserted and removed SSD's from my system while it has been booted into Windows.

As for why it won't boot/power now, that's hard to say. As already mentioned I'd certainly recheck all the connections and maybe unplug everything and replug them all back in. Also, are you sure you didn't short anything while installing/connecting the drive?

One thing to check would be the motherboards post codes/LEDS. Most boards give some feedback about what is stopping a POST if there is no display, usually by diagnostic LEDs on the board itself. If you check your manual it should tell you where they are what what each one means. I've been able to diagnose a dead CPU in a system that wouldn't POST in this way.
 
I've removed both my graphics cards, just in case they were the issue, and now the problem is even worse - it turns off as soon as I turn it on, and then it doesn't turn back on.

Here's a quick video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrQSPUerM8U&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I checked all the connections, and they seem fine
I really don't think the problem is with any connections - the PC died as soon as I connected the HDD, it was immediate, it definitely seems to me like it was the direct act of connecting the hard drive that made my PC turn off.

As my PC is now, I can't tell whether or not my hard drive spins up.
 
I would suggest resetting the CMOS, unplug PSU and remove the CMOS battery for 30 seconds.
replace battery, plug back in PSU and keep fingers crossed as you power up the system!
 
If you still have the old PSU you could check if that one works? Assuming you didn't replace it due to it being broken of course.

martinoheat said:
Well that's worrying! Do you know what caused the VRMs to blow, or how to check if they are blown?
Click to expand...

Poor Asus motherboard design? :p

Several (about 8 in total) of the VRM chips under the heatsinks had big lumps on them and had discoloured. This also killed the i7 2600k that was in the system at the time.
 
DarkBahamut said:
If you still have the old PSU you could check if that one works? Assuming you didn't replace it due to it being broken of course.



Poor Asus motherboard design? :p

Several (about 8 in total) of the VRM chips under the heatsinks had big lumps on them and had discoloured. This also killed the i7 2600k that was in the system at the time.
Click to expand...

I did replace it because it was faulty - it still worked, just struggled under load. I tried hooking it up to the old PSU and the same thing - it looks to me like something causing a short circuit making the PSU trip to avoid blowing itself up. I'll go over everything now to see if I can find the culprit.

Wow, that sounds like an expensive fault.
 
I just thought I would add that I connect/disconnect SATA drives from my PC all the time while its on without issues. Usually when stuff blows on the motherboard, you would know straight away from the noise/smell.

It could just be a coincidence. Did you have to pull or move around the power cable? Was there anything else connected to the same SATA power cable?
 
Wow I feel for you! Not something you wanna be doing in the early hours of the morning :(. Have you tried disconnecting everything except your primary hdd. Disconnect the fans as well, only have your essentials connected. Also check your power/reset headers on your motherboard. I had a similar issue once which turned out to be a loose header. Pushed it in and it came back to life!
 
Kotu said:
I just thought I would add that I connect/disconnect SATA drives from my PC all the time while its on without issues. Usually when stuff blows on the motherboard, you would know straight away from the noise/smell.

It could just be a coincidence. Did you have to pull or move around the power cable? Was there anything else connected to the same SATA power cable?
Click to expand...

I didn't smell anything, and after inspecting my motherboard, it looks fine to me.

My PSU is modular, so I just plugged a new cable into the PSU and plugged the other end into the HDD.there was nothing else connected to the sata cable, I wasn't even trying to do any cable management, I just wanted to test my HDD, so I ran a cable from the PSU to the HDD.
 
Jay85 said:
Wow I feel for you! Not something you wanna be doing in the early hours of the morning :(. Have you tried disconnecting everything except your primary hdd. Disconnect the fans as well, only have your essentials connected. Also check your power/reset headers on your motherboard. I had a similar issue once which turned out to be a loose header. Pushed it in and it came back to life!
Click to expand...

I've literally disassembled it to the point where only the CPU, cooler, and RAM are installed, and only the 24pin motherboard and 8pin CPU power cables are connected.

But still, all I get is this.
 
Last edited:
I should add, that I've tested both RAM sticks individually, reseating them, trying to post without either RAM module, etc.

I'm really stumped as to what's wrong, and what caused it.
 
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