Dropped the Computer

[this30mg]

Here are my specs:

Intel c2d 6300
gigabyte GA-965P
2 gig ddr2 pqi ram
Coolmax 650w power supply
geforce 7600 gt


So I was building my new system and had just finished installing all the parts when I knocked the tower off chair and it fell onto the floor. Now the case is bent where the corner made impact. So, unsure of what kind of damage, I pluged the thing in and turned it on. The first 5 times of powering-up resulted in sporatic on and off power, where the lights would come on and the fans, but then they would lose power and go off, then come back on.

Since then, when i turn on the system, it powers up for a second, turns off for a second, and then turns back on and runs the rest of the time I leave it running. One thing that concerns me about this process is the CPU fan doesn't turn on immediately, but idles for a minute or so, then begins to spin.

When I plug a monitor into the system the monitor remains blank. NOthing comes up. I know this monitor works.

So, not sure what to think. Did I just destroy the hardware by dropping it? Is a 2.5 foot fall onto carpet fatal to computer hardware? Or is this just new-system troubleshooting?

Thanks for any help,

Sincerely depressed,

this30mg.

 

[tool_462]

well, a hundred things could have happened. But make sure you reseat each and every plug, even if it looks normal. Reseat video card, and I would even take the heatsink off and make sure one of the pins didnt pop out or something, those things do that sometimes on the LGA775.

 

[trixst4r]

Those gigabyte boards do that. When you power them up the first time, it power off after a copule of seconds and then powers on and its good to go. It should not be doing that after the first power on i.e. shutdown comp then turn back on, if it does do that, it might be a bit of problem but most likely bios or something.

Turn off fan control in the bios and it will spin up right away.

Um, how are you using it if the monitor does not work?

 

[this30mg]

Turn off fan control in the bios and it will spin up right away.

Um, how are you using it if the monitor does not work?

I'm not using it. The computer was completely brand new, the parts straight out of the boxes. There is nothing installed on the HD. I cannot get into BIOS because the monitor does not display anything.

 

[this30mg]

well, a hundred things could have happened. But make sure you reseat each and every plug, even if it looks normal. Reseat video card, and I would even take the heatsink off and make sure one of the pins didnt pop out or something, those things do that sometimes on the LGA775.

If I take the heat sink off, will I have to re-apply the thermal compound?

Also, if I do take out the cpu and find one of the pins gone/popped, must it be replaced?

-this30mg

 

[happy_fanboy]

Do ya get a post beep?
Try with one stick of RAM before adding the other 1
I'd advise leaving the thermal compund exactly as it is both on the HSF and the CPU when you take it off, assuming its the retail cooler. Aftermarket cooler will need to be cleaned and reapplied.
If no post beep after reseating everything then... i got nothin.

 

[mark8987]

There is no way you should have just plugged it in and turned it on after dropping it. You should have taken it apart and made sure that everything was still seated/plugged in correctly, and that there were no obvious signs of damage.

If you find something that is damaged, then replace.

I'm guessing that the thing that is most likely to be damaged is the motherboard.

Also, if you have another computer or computer parts, you can try exchanging parts to track down potential problems - eg, change the video card and still see if you don't get monitor output. But only do this once you have dismantled everything to check for obvious damage and reinstalled everything.

 

[trinitron64]

three things

1.

Many builds have little problems in them which get in the way of a perfect power-on kickass system. And by that I mean... if you did not drop it... the same thing might have happened.

2.

Make sure when you dropped it that the botton side of the motherboard is not coming in contact with any of the case. If there is a dent or a deformaty of that metal resulting in underside-motherboard-contact you could be headed for some trouble. Make sure there isnt any contact that would allow for a short circuit or anything nasty like that.

3.

Drink plenty of milk. It is good for you and hell, it tastes great too.

 

[Jagster]

I would take it all apart. Each individual compont just like they were before you built the PC. Look over everything carefully, including the case for any warping. If all looks good, rebuild, clear CMOS, and test.

If still nothing, try testing the video card on another pc. Just up to the BIOS is fine. If video card is fine, it's likely that the mobo is the problem. Warranty exchange? But of course try to boot with the minimum (CPU, 1 stick RAM, and Video card) to see if that POSTs.

Also try a different power supply.

 

[this30mg]

Thanks for the advice so far. I've eliminated everything but the cpu, video and ram. Still same problem. There is no beep. It just sits, while the cpu fan spazs off and on. It doesn't look good. I wish I had another computer with a pci-express mobo so I could test the video. Alas I don't. So I'll take the whole thing apart and inspect. I really don't know how apparent any subsquent damage will be. I mean, all the parts in the case took a heavy impact. It would seem like all the damage to the parts would be internal and not observable, but I'll inspect anyway.

-this30mg

 

[Brandenburgh_Man]

Me, I'd test the power supply first. Either put it in another machine to verify it's working, or buy/borrow another power supply and see if you have the same problems.

The second thing I'd do is plug the video card into another machine to see if it works.

The third thing is to test the RAM in another machine.

Only after you've verified all of the above are in working order would I suspect a problem with the motherboard.

In any case, I once dropped a computer with six hard drives in it onto a concrete parking lot from a height of almost 3 feet (accidentally, of course - would never dream of doing such a thing on purpose). Bent the hell out of the case, but surprisingly the thing still worked.

Good luck. Hope everything works out for you.

 

[TBlaar]

yes, this is a difficult one.

because the mobo is screwed to the case, when the case bends, it will obviously bend the mobo too.

if you don't have another place to test the parts, you will really have a difficult time in establishing the main source of the problems.

also, reset the bios, with the jumper, and then try it.

i would:

1. completely take it all apart
2. check for damage on the case, and use hammer to fix.
2.5 test parts at mates house, if you have mates
3 rebuild the whole machine.
4 drink milk. truely good for the bones.

when i built my machine, the windows installation kept freezing, and pc was rebooting.
i was using one cable from the psu, for 3 fans, the dvdrw, hdd and some lights.
i the put the hdd and cdrw on seperate cables, and no lightsm and pc still works fine.

 

[duthoy]

lesson 1:
build you computer on a solid and big table, don't put it on a chair!

ok, what to do in case of a drop
take everything apart
completely rebuild, and check every component.
maybe the hardware isn't faulty after the drop,
but when the case is a little dented, there can be some strain on the components because of the dented structure. The strain could damage your components after a while, especially when your mobo is a little bit bend.

rebuild is better than checking out all of the connections,... because you can't miss anything when rebuilding!

good luck

 

[choknuti]

Another thing to check is the PSU. Power it up without the mother board connected. just connect a fan and c if it works.

 

[choknuti]

I have done it many times with no adverse effects. On what basis do you make your claim?

 

[rahul_cracker]

hi
i am sure u must have really damaged your hard drive ,do unplug the drive when you boot your pc .Test your power supply with a multimeter for the rail voltages ,get the pin info just google it and get the pin output info and start checking components individually loke the physical inspection of the processor don;t shy away from applying the thermal paste ,a nice looking system is at stake .Be sure to chech those dear capacitors havens been dislodged during impact that colud be a real problem
bye
BEST OF LUCK

 

[choknuti]

True it is preferable to have a nice load but one fan should work for testing

 

[TBlaar]

well, the psu obviously works, because the pc turns on.

it restarts and so, meaning it might be a case of funky voltages, if it is in deed the psu.

then i agree with mpilchfamily, give it some load and test the voltage with voltmetre (duh!)

when case falls, i would bet money on the mobo being faulty.
the layers can tear apart, causing some circuitry to go weak and signals to become intermittent. get it tested...

 

[Doughbuy]

I still highly doubt its the PSU because those things are built like rocks. I can probably chunk one out my window and still have it work. I'm still worried about the mobo the most, either short circuit or a break. Until he has access to another similar computer, theres not much we can do.

Graphics card and CPU should be fine from a drop anyways. But then, we're coming back to the topic of the drop causing problems instead of maybe the hardware had problems to begin with, oh well. One thing at a time.

Biggest culprit is the mobo. Worst case, call the company and tell them whats wrong with the mobo. If they want you to RMA it, do so, unless you have another way of testing it. Also, I would say for now, don't bother testing stuff inside your case since it would be a big headache to keep pullings things off. Might as well take everything out and set it on a table and run things that way. Much easier to access parts, like a test bench.

 

[Eviltwin17]

usually if you drop a computer on the floor the hard drive will break or the motherboard will break. You might want to check the area around where the case hit the floor.


one question though, why did you have the pc on a chair?! That situation just ask for trouble.

 

[Doughbuy]

I don't think his computer was on when he dropped it. That, coupled with the fact that HDD's can withstand 300G's of force should be a non-factor.

 

[happy_fanboy]

An ATX power supply must be turned on with the switch in the main 20 pin atx connector.

 

[this30mg]

Ok, so here's a quick summary and update:

My parts-list is in my first post. I built the computer. Knocked it off a chair. Then turned it on for the first time. Spaztic power on and off. No beeps.

After advice here, got a RMA on the motherboard and powersupply. Finally arrived. Rebuilt the machine using new Mobo and psu. Now there is no spaztic on and off power, besides the first second when the computer turns off a second and then powers back up. Continuous power and all fans work accordingly after that. But still no beeps. Still no video on the monitor. Still complete stagnation.

So, to check to make sure Mobo speaker actually existed, I took out both memory strips. Got beeps. Then I put in one strip. It reverted back to spaztic power and wackiness. Replaced it with the other. Bingo. Computer suddenly powered up. BIOS was on my monitor. I rejoiced.

Since then:

Tried to install Windows three times. All three times crippling "corruption" and "unknown path" errors speckled all programs inside windows-- including Minesweeper-- each install getting worse with errors, till last install got a "bad_pool_caller" blue screen, and everything refuses to load up (I click on IE, it shows hour-glass mouse, then hour-glass goes away and nothing happens. Alt-ctrl-del doesn't work.)

Also, now I get 1 long beep and 1 short beep from mobo on a cold power-up, which manual says is DRAM or m/b error.

So I'm thinking it's the memory. I know one strip is bad for sure--disables start-up. Kinda interesting that a memory strip caused power fluctuation and disabled start-up before start-up could use beep signals.

Any insights?

-this30mg

 

[mark8987]

Thanks for the update. I really don't know what the problem could be though. The symptoms do possibly suggest memory, but I would have thought memory would have been the least likely to be damaged in the fall - but maybe turning on the computer afterward damaged the memory?

Can you get memory at somewhere like best buy that lets you return it within 30? days? If so, you could install good memory just to confirm if it is the memory or not.

I also presume the case isn't in any way contacting the motherboard incorrectly, or causing the motherboard to warp?

Assuming the computer was off, the hard disk should certainly be okay. Does it make any weird sounds like the head going back and forth and not being able to read?

 

[sruane]

Also, if I do take out the cpu and find one of the pins gone/popped, must it be replaced?

This couldn't have happened. No need to disturb the CPU.