TL;DR New components installed, got it working, but switching the boot menu to add an SSD bricked the computer, and can't access BIOS now.
For starters, I know just enough to be dangerous, but am otherwise a novice on this stuff. I'm trying to upgrade my computer because I edit 4k video and was running out of juice, needed a new GPU (GPU-enabled Premiere Pro really helps) and needed some more storage/RAM. In the process, I'm afraid I bricked my computer, but I'm not sure how to start fixing it.
I tried to update my computer by adding a new GPU (EVGA Nvidia 960 GTX), a new SSD (Samsung 850 EVO 500GB), 16GB new RAM (Ballistix Sport, matches earlier 16GB to make it 32GB now), and switched out an old PSU (450 Corsair Bronze) for a new one (EVGA 650 Gold, based on what I thought I needed to run it all). I'm using a Gigabyte Z77-DS3H LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard, have a variety of hard drives already installed, and am using an Intel i7 - 3300k processor (all of the existing components are about 3 years old, and hadn't had any issues before).
Starting on the upgrade, I used compressed air to clean out a lot of dust. Installed everything, turned it on, and no luck. Realized that the cables I was using running to the boot SSD were old ones, and switched out those for the new ones from the PSU. Everything booted perfectly, except the new SSD (500GB EVO 850) wasn't being recognized.
Looking up how to fix it, and advice online says to switch BIOS boot form IDE to AHCI. Next time I boot, nothing works again. Unplug my 500GB SSD, and detect the smell of smoke on the connectors (either from the AHCI boot, or previous wrong cables, I'm not sure).
Worried that the compressed air did damage and somehow shorted the other components, I check out everything on the motherboard. Unplug the heatsink as part of the process to look at CPU, and put it back. Come to the conclusion that the mother board may be just stuck, and try to get into BIOS to reset the settings completely. Since I can't do that, I try the paperclip method to reset CMOS. Too late, I realize that it was plugged in still the first time I did it.
Worried, I plug it all back in, and no dice. It goes into a cycle where the processor kicks on for 15 seconds, stops, everything kicks on again for 30-45 seconds, gets to the 'DualBIOS' splash screen', pauses, and then turns off. This cycle continually repeats: powers down, tries to get to BIOS, freezes, restarts.
So I took today to go to my local Micro Center, thinking the motherboard was fried and I'd need a new one to replace it. Realized that my existing chipset was 1155 LGA, and no new motherboards really match (most 1150 LGA). Got advice from their manager that the resetting cycle may be caused by an overheating processor, possibly caused from when I took it off but didn't properly reset it. So rather than drop another $500 on a new processor and motherboard, I went back with some thermal paste and carefully reset my processor heat sink.
After posting the above on Reddit's r/techsupport for advice, I also have since picked up a new battery for the mobo, and tried resetting the CMOS by holding down the power for 10 seconds to reset the CMOS before inserting the new battery. Also removed the new thermal paste and re-applied it (pea-size amount in the center).
Tried starting it up, and now it does something different: It starts, runs everything at once, and shuts down after 3 seconds (previously the system fan and gpu would keep running for 10-15 seconds, with only the CPU fan stopping, but now it all stops and starts together). It then restarts, repeats, and keeps going like that continuously. Can't even get to the BIOS menu.
No idea what to do next. Any advice appreciated, and sorry for the novel.
For starters, I know just enough to be dangerous, but am otherwise a novice on this stuff. I'm trying to upgrade my computer because I edit 4k video and was running out of juice, needed a new GPU (GPU-enabled Premiere Pro really helps) and needed some more storage/RAM. In the process, I'm afraid I bricked my computer, but I'm not sure how to start fixing it.
I tried to update my computer by adding a new GPU (EVGA Nvidia 960 GTX), a new SSD (Samsung 850 EVO 500GB), 16GB new RAM (Ballistix Sport, matches earlier 16GB to make it 32GB now), and switched out an old PSU (450 Corsair Bronze) for a new one (EVGA 650 Gold, based on what I thought I needed to run it all). I'm using a Gigabyte Z77-DS3H LGA 1155 Z77 ATX Intel Motherboard, have a variety of hard drives already installed, and am using an Intel i7 - 3300k processor (all of the existing components are about 3 years old, and hadn't had any issues before).
Starting on the upgrade, I used compressed air to clean out a lot of dust. Installed everything, turned it on, and no luck. Realized that the cables I was using running to the boot SSD were old ones, and switched out those for the new ones from the PSU. Everything booted perfectly, except the new SSD (500GB EVO 850) wasn't being recognized.
Looking up how to fix it, and advice online says to switch BIOS boot form IDE to AHCI. Next time I boot, nothing works again. Unplug my 500GB SSD, and detect the smell of smoke on the connectors (either from the AHCI boot, or previous wrong cables, I'm not sure).
Worried that the compressed air did damage and somehow shorted the other components, I check out everything on the motherboard. Unplug the heatsink as part of the process to look at CPU, and put it back. Come to the conclusion that the mother board may be just stuck, and try to get into BIOS to reset the settings completely. Since I can't do that, I try the paperclip method to reset CMOS. Too late, I realize that it was plugged in still the first time I did it.
Worried, I plug it all back in, and no dice. It goes into a cycle where the processor kicks on for 15 seconds, stops, everything kicks on again for 30-45 seconds, gets to the 'DualBIOS' splash screen', pauses, and then turns off. This cycle continually repeats: powers down, tries to get to BIOS, freezes, restarts.
So I took today to go to my local Micro Center, thinking the motherboard was fried and I'd need a new one to replace it. Realized that my existing chipset was 1155 LGA, and no new motherboards really match (most 1150 LGA). Got advice from their manager that the resetting cycle may be caused by an overheating processor, possibly caused from when I took it off but didn't properly reset it. So rather than drop another $500 on a new processor and motherboard, I went back with some thermal paste and carefully reset my processor heat sink.
After posting the above on Reddit's r/techsupport for advice, I also have since picked up a new battery for the mobo, and tried resetting the CMOS by holding down the power for 10 seconds to reset the CMOS before inserting the new battery. Also removed the new thermal paste and re-applied it (pea-size amount in the center).
Tried starting it up, and now it does something different: It starts, runs everything at once, and shuts down after 3 seconds (previously the system fan and gpu would keep running for 10-15 seconds, with only the CPU fan stopping, but now it all stops and starts together). It then restarts, repeats, and keeps going like that continuously. Can't even get to the BIOS menu.
No idea what to do next. Any advice appreciated, and sorry for the novel.
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