Computer wont turn on

[Keneso]

Hi. Sad times for my gf. She just built her first computer. I follower her through each step and she was very exited to have it running and play games. Now few months after something just went full ****** in the case.

She was going to move the entire computer to the other side of the desk.. Nothing crazy about that but at the moment she pushed the power button after relocating there was a shy "zap" sound and a white light/blitz from the lower part of the Motherboard and the pc didnt turn on anymore.


I started looking for the culprit as i suspected it must have been a short in there, possibly static electricity or something as i could find nothing at all like wires etc that would cause a short.

Everything looked alright. But there was a smell!
Could not locate it.


For me it was natural to suspect the psu so we bought a new one.

No luck. Computer wont turn on.


Mobo lights up but cant supply any power. Its. On for 1 sec, fans spin a round and shuts down.



I thought about the light that blitzed on the mobo plus the smell. I decided to get a new mobo to replace since it was nearly obvious for me seeing a short actually happen on it right before my eyes.


I promised her i was sure this would fix it.

So all parts out. Mounted the new Mobo one week later when it arrived and installed part by part carefully.

But well. No luck. Now shes devastated.. Please help.


I tried to mention it possibly could be the cpu but she freaks out. Ofc... Its not a cheap fix.



Already tried shuffling around one by one with memory sticks. Fans. Gpu. But. No luck.


She runs a i5 6600, 2x8 vengeance,. Gtx. 1060.
The new psu is a 760w.





Just a thought. There was a burnt smell and a blits on the other mobo we replaced. I spent nearly an hour closely inspecting the. Mobo and the cpu for any burnt components but its impossible to located anything. The smell was quite strong so i expected it to be extrenallt on any. Components and at least visible.

 

[Nebulous]

How about this: Take evrything out of the case. Place mobo on mobo box. Install cpu with cooler, 1stick of ram, gpu. NO HDD. You don't need a harddrive to boot into the bios. Read the manual and find the power pins and short them out to power the system on. I don't know what motherboard you have so I cannot show you what pins. It should power on and get into the bios.

Process of elimination.

 

[Keneso]

Do you think the case in some way could short the mobo preventing it turning on? Its a asus z270 mobo cant recall the actual one but i know which pins. Actually already tried jumping them. But not outside the case. Also already tried with 1 memory stick each of them. But i will try to take the. Mobo out and start it up there.

 

[Nebulous]

Might be one of the mobo standoffs shorted the board. Maybe one of the cables twisted in one of the ports (keyboard,mouse, cat5E) also shorting it out hard to say without visual inspection. Try it outside the case. Hope for the best, prepare for the worse.

 

[Nebulous]

So what's the verdict?

 

[Keneso]

No luck. Still wont turn on. Just for fun i unplugged the cpu 6pin power connector. Tried to sgart up and now the cpu fans etc actually spins until i turn off again. But no image on screen though

 

[trents]

Sounds like a dead CPU to me and it could have been caused by a short in the motherboard or the PSU. Consider getting a cheap Celeron or Pentium off of ebay to test for bad CPU. If it fires up then you can look at replacing the more expensive original CPU. The original should still be under warranty? And it's also nice to have a spare component around for future reference.

 

[Nebulous]

Sounds like a dead CPU to me and it could have been caused by a short in the motherboard or the PSU. Consider getting a cheap Celeron or Pentium off of ebay to test for bad CPU. If it fires up then you can look at replacing the more expensive original CPU. The original should still be under warranty? And it's also nice to have a spare component around for future reference.

I concur!

 

[Keneso]

This is sad. I started fiddling with computers 16 years ago. And built all mine ever since. And ive never experienced a Cpu die ever. Its sad but id really like to figure out how this could happen in thd first place. Maybe a production defect on the mobo? Or just the tragic fact that we recently moved to a old house from the 50's that isnt grounded. Its using 2way sockets only with no ground. I read online that. Modern electonics plugged in wall sockets with no ground could short if it got exposed to static electricity.

 

[Nebulous]

Or just the tragic fact that we recently moved to a old house from the 50's that isnt grounded. Its using 2way sockets only with no ground. I read online that. Modern electonics plugged in wall sockets with no ground could short if it got exposed to static electricity.

That could possibly be what happened. Your best bet, after you rebuild the pc, is to get a power surge protector or back-up UPS. You're going to have issues with ungrounded power and pc parts. Hell even with appliances.

 

[trents]

UPS is a great idea! They make for the best surge protection and general electronic failure buffer.

 

[Evilsizer]

i know a bit late, does the board have a pc speaker or did you have one plugged in? even if the cpu was dead the mobo would give you a beep code indicating as much. as well would have a beep code for what ever else might be going on, no beep code if the board was dead though.

my question had i gotten here when you posted, where was the smell coming from? near the psu or more like the mobo area?