My Computer Exploded

HL_Maniac · 08-21-2011, 12:25 AM

Well now I feel silly..

Spent the better part of 2 days assembling my new system. Most of that time was probably spent with cable management and making it all look nice. I'd tested it a number of times throughout the process, without incident. Booted up into BIOS just fine.

The last thing I remember doing is tidying up some cables at the back. The only things that had been unplugged/plugged in since the last sucessful boot were the fans, drives (HDD and DVD) and some LEDs.

Ready to put the side panels on and test it a final time, press the power button and it explodes. Well I'm not sure if "explodes" is the right word. A *pop*, a flash and smoke. Of course I unplug the PSU and wait for it to cool down, ♥♥♥♥ting myself over which part has just blown up.

So I then start the process of trying to figure out what has died.
- First I take out the PSU and test it by itself. Seems fine.
- Hook it up to the motherboard wuth just the CPU and RAM. Seems OK.
- Put the graphics card in, hook up the monitor and cross my fingers. Still working, and I'm in the BIOS!

One by one I connect every part again, and still it is running fine. I have not yet installed an OS or anything, so right now all I can do is sit in BIOS.

Now my question is - should it be safe to stil use? I feel stupid asking as I imagine the answer is "No! What were you thinking?" But right now I've no idea what part faulted, or why. And of course not wanting to spend money on replacement parts...

The explosion happened in the area around the PSU and LED controller thingie, and just below the graphics card. The LED thing is the first part I suspected (pic), and then the PSU. But after seeing both alive and well again, I'm not so sure. All parts are of course brand new.

And finally, the specs:

Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P67X-UD3-B3
PSU: Corsair HX650 650W Modular
CPU: Intel i5 2500K
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3-1600 CL9
GFX: MSI N570GTX-M2D12D5 GeForce GTX 570 1280MB
LED: NZKT Sleeved LED Kit

ICouldntBeBotheredReadingTheWholePostButWantToRepl yAnyway: Fire and smoke came out of my PC but it still works. Wat do?

starlinvf · 08-21-2011, 12:32 AM

If there was smoke, there is going to be visible damage to something. Check all cables that haven't been hooked up yet since there's a good chance it was caused by a short. If your lucky, its only a fan or an LED array.

borg_7_of_9 · 08-21-2011, 12:35 AM

check that you have not over tightened any mobo screw's PSU are designed to switch off if theres a dead short protecting the system from meltdown (Well a good quality PSU will do this)

IMO check through everything one more time, if all is working install an OS and pray to the god's..

from there we can trouble shoot any issues the OS has..

If you can nav the BIOS there's a good chance everything is still working..

HL_Maniac · 08-21-2011, 12:35 AM

Forgot to mention, I did have a look at all components for any sign of burn damage, but could't see anything. Also smelled them soon after it happened, but by then the burning smell had gone. Right now the motherboard is still in the case, so I will take that off and give it a good going over. No sign of camage on the LED controller.

Motherboard isn't over-tighened, and like I said, it had already booted sucessfuly a number of times previously.

HL_Maniac · 08-21-2011, 12:53 AM

Aha! I think I've found it. The front panel HD Audio/AC97 is suspiciously melted and smelly. The cable splits off at the end into 2 plugs - one for HD and the other for AC97. As the AC97 was not being used, I slipped it out of the way towards the back of the case.

Right now I'm guessing it ended up under the motherboard with the contacts touching the solder underneath the moterboard, shorting it out.

Now a melted cable I might not have even used anyway is not a problem... but now I worry how much damage it has done to the board.. or any a all?

starlinvf · 08-21-2011, 01:03 AM

Do you "need" the front panel audio jacks for anything?

Also, whats the difference between Azalia and AC97?

HL_Maniac · 08-21-2011, 01:09 AM

Nope, my headphones are always plugged in the back anyway. Wouldn't really know the difference between the two audio chips offhand.

I've checked the motherboard front and back, and see no sign of damage. The audio cable is obviously melted. Thing is, it seems the HD audio cable took the most damage with a wire now exposed and poking out, disconnected. The HD audio was the one that was actually plugged in properly.
It's the AC97 that I suspect touched something (I'm hoping just the metal of the case and not the motherboard) and shorted out, but seems to have taken less damage. I'm hoping that as soon as that cable melted, it might have instantly cut the connection to the motherboard and saved it from any damage. I might be very lucky...

Summer Seal · 08-21-2011, 01:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HL_Maniac

Nope, my headphones are always plugged in the back anyway. Wouldn't really know the difference between the two audio chips offhand.

I've checked the motherboard front and back, and see no sign of damage. The audio cable is obviously melted. Thing is, it seems the HD audio cable took the most damage with a wire now exposed and poking out, disconnected. The HD audio was the one that was actually plugged in properly.
It's the AC97 that I suspect touched something (I'm hoping just the metal of the case and not the motherboard) and shorted out, but seems to have taken less damage. I'm hoping that as soon as that cable melted, it might have instantly cut the connection to the motherboard and saved it from any damage. I might be very lucky...

That's funny, this same exact thing has happened to me, about 3 months ago when I built this computer, it's still running fine. It wouldn't start up for a whole day, power button just wouldnt start it, and the next day I just decided to try it out and it worked. No problems since. Very strange right?

I am using an NZXT case, and it turned out that the front (case) USB connector caused some kind of short or something, whenever I plug anythign into that usb hub it now causes the computer to freeze, I've since disconnected the front USB ports though.

starlinvf · 08-21-2011, 01:20 AM

What model is you case?

HL_Maniac · 08-21-2011, 01:22 AM

How odd. I don't see any damage on any of the other headers or front panel cables, but you make a good point. There's a chance the front USB ports miight be affected. I guess I won't know until I get the system up and running. I'm still just worried about the motherboard taking some serious damage and now showing it yet.

HL_Maniac · 08-21-2011, 01:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by starlinvf

What model is you case?

It's the Corsair 600T White case. Sorry, thought I mentioned it in the original post.

Such a nice case to build in! No way i'm going to get it replaced, but I'm typing up a message in Corsair's support system and thinking about seeing if I can maybe get a replacement front panel thingie. I can't see aywhere where I can buy just the audio cable on its own.

borg_7_of_9 · 08-21-2011, 01:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HL_Maniac

How odd. I don't see any damage on any of the other headers or front panel cables, but you make a good point. There's a chance the front USB ports miight be affected. I guess I won't know until I get the system up and running. I'm still just worried about the motherboard taking some serious damage and now showing it yet.

As a rule you could damage the MOBO if you plug a USB2 header in to an IE1394 port the plug will fit and cause a short.. As for damaging the case headers I doubt it but it could damage the mobo's IE1394 port (Firewire)

The good new's is IE1394 is not a widely used port the bad would be having killed the port and having a video camera that uses IE1394 to transfer video to PC..

HL_Maniac · 08-21-2011, 01:48 AM

Good job I didn't try to plug a USB into a Firewire port then!
Seen all the warnings in the manual and everything before.

Besides, everything was plugged into the right place, like I already said. I'm now pretty certain it was the AC97 plug dangling on its own that touched something and shorted.

[Edit] Pictures!
HD Audio
HD Audio
AC97
HD Audio & AC97

borg_7_of_9 · 08-21-2011, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HL_Maniac

Good job I didn't try to plug a USB into a Firewire port then!
Seen all the warnings in the manual and everything before.

Besides, everything was plugged into the right place, like I already said. I'm now pretty certain it was the AC97 plug dangling on its own that touched something and shorted.

yeah I hate that dame extra plug in my case but I have it tucked away nicely in-between a heat sink and case iirc..

would be nice if cases came with both AC97 and HD Audio on separate cables so you cold connect the one you needed to the case audio and mobo instead of having the extra just hanging there..
the black wire on the AC97 looks a lil frazzled

...

HL_Maniac · 08-21-2011, 02:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by borg_7_of_9

yeah I hate that dame extra plug in my case but I have it tucked away nicely in-between a heat sink and case iirc..

would be nice if cases came with both AC97 and HD Audio on separate cables so you cold connect the one you needed to the case audio and mobo instead of having the extra just hanging there..
the black wire on the AC97 looks a lil frazzled

...

Aparently some people have been able to actually cut that AC97 right off and have just the HD Audio.
But then searching for info on those cables, I come across someone who had tried doing that with the same case as me, and wrecked it. Corsair say you aren't able to do that. So it's a good thing I didn't.

08-21-2011, 12:25 AM	#1
HL_Maniac Join Date: Sep 2003 Reputation: 369 Posts: 1,712	My Computer Exploded Well now I feel silly.. Spent the better part of 2 days assembling my new system. Most of that time was probably spent with cable management and making it all look nice. I'd tested it a number of times throughout the process, without incident. Booted up into BIOS just fine. The last thing I remember doing is tidying up some cables at the back. The only things that had been unplugged/plugged in since the last sucessful boot were the fans, drives (HDD and DVD) and some LEDs. Ready to put the side panels on and test it a final time, press the power button and it explodes. Well I'm not sure if "explodes" is the right word. A pop, a flash and smoke. Of course I unplug the PSU and wait for it to cool down, ♥♥♥♥ting myself over which part has just blown up. So I then start the process of trying to figure out what has died. - First I take out the PSU and test it by itself. Seems fine. - Hook it up to the motherboard wuth just the CPU and RAM. Seems OK. - Put the graphics card in, hook up the monitor and cross my fingers. Still working, and I'm in the BIOS! One by one I connect every part again, and still it is running fine. I have not yet installed an OS or anything, so right now all I can do is sit in BIOS. Now my question is - should it be safe to stil use? I feel stupid asking as I imagine the answer is "No! What were you thinking?" But right now I've no idea what part faulted, or why. And of course not wanting to spend money on replacement parts... The explosion happened in the area around the PSU and LED controller thingie, and just below the graphics card. The LED thing is the first part I suspected (pic), and then the PSU. But after seeing both alive and well again, I'm not so sure. All parts are of course brand new. And finally, the specs: Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P67X-UD3-B3 PSU: Corsair HX650 650W Modular CPU: Intel i5 2500K RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x4GB DDR3-1600 CL9 GFX: MSI N570GTX-M2D12D5 GeForce GTX 570 1280MB LED: NZKT Sleeved LED Kit ICouldntBeBotheredReadingTheWholePostButWantToRepl yAnyway: Fire and smoke came out of my PC but it still works. Wat do?

08-21-2011, 01:48 AM	#13
HL_Maniac Join Date: Sep 2003 Reputation: 369 Posts: 1,712	Good job I didn't try to plug a USB into a Firewire port then! Seen all the warnings in the manual and everything before. Besides, everything was plugged into the right place, like I already said. I'm now pretty certain it was the AC97 plug dangling on its own that touched something and shorted. [Edit] Pictures! HD Audio HD Audio AC97 HD Audio & AC97 Last edited by HL_Maniac: 08-21-2011 at 02:07 AM.

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08-21-2011, 12:32 AM	#2
starlinvf Join Date: Oct 2009 Reputation: 351 Posts: 1,859	If there was smoke, there is going to be visible damage to something. Check all cables that haven't been hooked up yet since there's a good chance it was caused by a short. If your lucky, its only a fan or an LED array.

08-21-2011, 12:35 AM	#3
borg_7_of_9 Join Date: Nov 2007 Reputation: 2604 Posts: 12,714	check that you have not over tightened any mobo screw's PSU are designed to switch off if theres a dead short protecting the system from meltdown (Well a good quality PSU will do this) IMO check through everything one more time, if all is working install an OS and pray to the god's.. from there we can trouble shoot any issues the OS has.. If you can nav the BIOS there's a good chance everything is still working..

08-21-2011, 12:53 AM	#5
HL_Maniac Join Date: Sep 2003 Reputation: 369 Posts: 1,712	Aha! I think I've found it. The front panel HD Audio/AC97 is suspiciously melted and smelly. The cable splits off at the end into 2 plugs - one for HD and the other for AC97. As the AC97 was not being used, I slipped it out of the way towards the back of the case. Right now I'm guessing it ended up under the motherboard with the contacts touching the solder underneath the moterboard, shorting it out. Now a melted cable I might not have even used anyway is not a problem... but now I worry how much damage it has done to the board.. or any a all?

08-21-2011, 01:03 AM	#6
starlinvf Join Date: Oct 2009 Reputation: 351 Posts: 1,859	Do you "need" the front panel audio jacks for anything? Also, whats the difference between Azalia and AC97?

08-21-2011, 01:09 AM	#7
HL_Maniac Join Date: Sep 2003 Reputation: 369 Posts: 1,712	Nope, my headphones are always plugged in the back anyway. Wouldn't really know the difference between the two audio chips offhand. I've checked the motherboard front and back, and see no sign of damage. The audio cable is obviously melted. Thing is, it seems the HD audio cable took the most damage with a wire now exposed and poking out, disconnected. The HD audio was the one that was actually plugged in properly. It's the AC97 that I suspect touched something (I'm hoping just the metal of the case and not the motherboard) and shorted out, but seems to have taken less damage. I'm hoping that as soon as that cable melted, it might have instantly cut the connection to the motherboard and saved it from any damage. I might be very lucky...

08-21-2011, 01:20 AM	#9
starlinvf Join Date: Oct 2009 Reputation: 351 Posts: 1,859	What model is you case?

08-21-2011, 01:22 AM	#10
HL_Maniac Join Date: Sep 2003 Reputation: 369 Posts: 1,712	How odd. I don't see any damage on any of the other headers or front panel cables, but you make a good point. There's a chance the front USB ports miight be affected. I guess I won't know until I get the system up and running. I'm still just worried about the motherboard taking some serious damage and now showing it yet.