Heeeelllppp !!!

[Dunga Bee]

I just finished putting together a new Duron 750 system.

Installed all the 2 IDE HDDs and 1 CD ROM.
Compucase Case w/300W PS.
ECS K7S5A mobo.
Volcano 6Cu HSF
Diamond Riva TNT Video Card
NIC and Sound are on board.

So, I plug everything in, without a keyboard, mouse or monitor, just to be sure all fans are turning and such before I go and install the OS.

When I turn it on I hear crackling coming from the PS and then smoke from the AGP card :eek: :eek: :eek:

Turn everything off, double check all power connections and unplug all HDDs and CDs as well as case fan.

Now I turn it on. AGP card smokes again...!!! And the Volcano fan will not turn ???

Looks pretty bleak so I am hoping someone can help me.

I am not sure exactly where this post belongs so Mods feel free to move it to the "You are F'd" section :(

Thanks if anyone can help...

DB

[Microsoft]

id get a new ps before i start anyplace else

[RangerJoe34]

ouch dude, that sucks really bad

[Ploaf]

Do you have another PSU that you can use to test it? That' s what it sounds like your problem is coming from. To be sure you should do a visual inspection to make sure that there isn't some sort of short somewhere that could have caused the trouble, but it sounds like the PSU. Check the voltage setting on the PSU too, but I doubt that that is your problem.

[TT120]

Try a different power supply AND a different AGP card. You said smoke coming from the agp card, was it a regular AGP card in an AGP pro slot without that little spacer thing in there? That can mess things up if that spacer thing aint in there and the card is just a little out of alignment.

[T. J.]

Man... that's a tough way to start. Check the power supply, certainly. If you haven't got a spare around, you can use a multimeter to verify the voltages. And like ploaf said, check the voltage switch. You really need to verify that you're getting good power before anything else.
Assuming you have power, I'd next be concerned that your HSF isn't turning, because without it, you can't risk trying to boot up. Try taking the power for your fan directly from the psu rather than the fan header on the motherboard.
Do you get any beep codes from the motherboard? Try booting without any videocard and see if you get any beeps. If you do then there's hope for the motherboard. If not, then either the motherboard or cpu are suspect.
If you have an old agp video card you can put in you can use that to make sure the agp slot is working. If not, use any old video card to get going so you can check everything else out. Don't do what I did once and pull the videocard from your main machine to test a suspect mboard. You'll end up frying that too (like I did).
Anyway, the point is, you need to isolate the problems and clear them one at a time. Most of all, take your time and be patient. You'll get it straightened out. Good Luck!

[Dunga Bee]

Well. I removed the motherboard from the case and there is a nice dark black spot right under the mobo chipset. So , I am assuming that the mobo is DOA. I removed the Duron and it looks like there is some black around the outside edge of the core, again DOA most likely.

I have submitted an RMA to newegg.com to return the mobo, memory, CPU and case rather than try to test each to see if any of them are still good.

The AGP card is most likely gone since most things that smoke do not return to life, but it was only my Viper 550 so that can easily be replaced.

I will retest the Volcano 6 to see if it still lives and return it to the place I got it (only a month ago) and see what happens there.

Thanks for the replies, hopefully this thing can get rebuilt soon... :(

[proze]

just please test the psu first this time!!!!! ;)

[Tithulta]

Originally posted by Dunga Bee
I am not sure exactly where this post belongs so Mods feel free to move it to the "You are F'd" section :(
Thanks if anyone can help...

DB

I got a GOOD laugh outta that comment ;)

That really stinks though... I have 3 ecs k7s5a's one is up running the other 2 are awaiting finances to return to normal so i can get them up and running...Hope everything gets replaced ok and you don't have the same trouble all over again.

QUOTE]Originally posted by proze
just please test the psu first this time!!!!!
[/quote]

I've built a couple systems and never thought I needed to test the PSU...after seeing this I certainly WANT to from now on....just one problem...HOW? please explain

[proze]

use a multimeter. a multimeter is a small device that can usually measure 3 things: dc voltage, current and resistance. some have analogue displays, but most have digital readouts, and are known as digital multimeters (dmm). you should be able to pick a simple one up for $10 or less.

then you can use that to measure the 12v and 5v levels of your psu, and even the 3.3v level, before anything gets plugged in. set the dmm to the right voltage range (you'll see what i mean when you get one), put the ground lead of the dmm to any ground from the psu, and the positive lead to what you want to measure. the display will show the voltage. just don't run the psu too long without any load. they don't like that at all!

[joey_rjm5]

Man, the only help I can offer you is emotional help. Feel free to pm me if you need a shoulder to cry on. I know I would if that happened to me.

You should be a able to get all your hardware replaced for free though right? I mean, if it was a new psu and it fried your setup, I would think they would replace it. If not, just RMA everything:)