Is it worth paying a technician to look at my PC

[kentrel]

In a random act of stupidity I accidentally switched the 240v switch to 115v on the back of my power supply when it was still plugged in. There was a quick flash of light and my computer no longer turned on.

I replaced the power supply with a new one, and the CPU fan, graphics card fan and harddrives came online, but the computer wouldn't boot up.

I pulled out every component except the CPU trying to find the fault, but nothing seemed to work. I tried all the recommended steps on various hardware forums. My only conclusion: motherboard is fried.

Is my conclusion the most likely option? It's a k10n78m so the cost of a technician would mean I could just buy a new motherboard. Is there a quirk of this motherboard that I'm missing? Is there an easy solution? Everything was fine until I blew the PSU, so I don't know why that would also blow the motherboard.

Thanks for your help.

 

[geofelt]

I suspect that you bricked not only the motherboard, but likely the cpu, ram and who knows what.

If you think there are parts to be salvaged, a repair shop has the means to test each part individually.
Have them test the new psu also.

You can then decide if you want to repair, or, if this is a good excuse to rebuild.

 

[puttsy]

I am responding under the assumption that you built this machine yourself or, at least is was custom built by a fly-by-night operation.
Most technicians don't *really* service custom machines. A lot of them view it as "If you thought you could build it yourself, you should be able to fix it yourself." As a technician, I don't turn down custom jobs and, depending on the client, may offer to assist them in troubleshooting so they may be able to solve their own problems later on...well, in the consumer area anyway.

My thought is, though, is that if you've already come to the conclusion you have, there's not much a tech. will do beyond that except charge ya for shop time/fees.

Tips to try and get your machine back and going:
Clear the BIOS/CMOS
Plane one memory module in the the first slot, then second, and so on to see if it works,
try integrated graphics if available

Now, you said you switched it from 220 to 115 so it appears you are not based in the States. Normally I would suggest to contact the vendor you bought the parts from (if warranty is still an option) and then further, contact the manufacturer to try and initiate an RMA for the board.

Hopefully something works for you. I'm not sure on the warranty on your board, or even the age of it, so it may be possible to do an RMA and hope it sets you right.

 

[2wheelfan]

I always take the lemonade approach. Each of us mess up and how we learn life's hardest lessons. When I do, I take the opportunity to upgrade. Before you do, research what mobo you want. I presume you have SATA drives and modern memory sticks etc. I would replace the mobo as a starting point because you pumped a lot of volts into it and likely blew the caps. If you can't get any codes or beeps from it to diagonose it...BSOD etc, that is what I would do. For a hundred buxs or so you can get a nice mobo. You may also want to replace the processor as well. Again, when I mess up, instead of fretting, I upgrade to make myself feel better. Many upgrade for the heck of it and you have good reason. ASRock makes a good cost effective board...I just built with a 970 Extreme 4 and pleased with it.
Cheers.

 

[mightymaxio]

Just make sure to get an Active PFC power supply so that way you don't accidentally switch the power supply in the future since an active PFC power supply can auto detect what voltage to run on.

 

[jaquith]

I suspect that you bricked not only the motherboard, but likely the cpu, ram and who knows what.

Sadly I agree.

I had a bad Corsair PSU HX850 take out my ASUS X79 rig, RMA'ed the MOBO thinking it was the problem. Replaced the NEW MOBO and still no joy. Like an idiot I powered it up. I didn't listen to 'the little birdy' and now I'm RMA'ing (cross ship) the PSU HOPING the PSU didn't toast the NEW MOBO. IF it doesn't post and boot then I may end-up RMA'ing EVERYTHING!

This is rare and unfortunately DOES happen to the best of us! I'm praying to the CPU, GPU(s), SSD, HDD(s) Gods that it works next Monday.

If you don't want to fool with it then sure drop the system off to a PC Repair shop and give them a copy of your receipts if needed and they can handle the RMA and testing. I 'get' it and it's aggravating and saddening -- easier to let someone else have the headaches. Don't forget RMA shipping cost to whomever, the costs is free (from) the OEM.

/edit - I do have an extra PSU, but I'm not in a happy camper mood to find out right now. Just happened to me yesterday...I need my cooling off period./

 

[2wheelfan]

This stuff can definitely jump and bite us. If you play long enough...its gonna happen. Quite a tale about the Corsair PSU jaquith...I have the little brother...new Corsair 650...no problem here so far. Even with Corsair's reputation, I guess it can still happen.
Good luck to you guys...and all of us really.

 

[jaquith]

Trust me, it's very rare but sadly confirmed in this instance. I've used Corsair for years on many many builds -- first time with Corsair.

The last time was an Antec, most of the time it's because someone played 'Frisbee' with the box or dropped shipping container.