I Accidentally Plugged an 8-Pin PCIe Cable into the CPU Socket—What Should I Do?
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TechNerd42
I was in the middle of building my new PC, and I made a mistake by plugging an 8-pin PCIe cable into the CPU socket instead. After hooking everything up, I pressed the power button and the PSU shorted so badly that it turned off my room lights. I've since unplugged everything and connected the right cable to the correct socket. However, now the only thing that lights up is the motherboard's RGBs, and the PC won't boot at all. I took it to a local repair shop, and they suggested that the PSU might be broken, but I'm worried it could be more than that. Tomorrow, I plan to borrow a friend's PSU to see if my motherboard is still functioning. How bad is the situation for me? By the way, my power supply was a Green 500W 80+ Gold unit.
Answers
Just remember, the wrong cable really shouldn't fit into the socket. It’s strange that it slid right on for you! I'm curious if you actually managed to plug it correctly without forcing it.
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You might want to try testing the power supply separately. You can use the paperclip trick to see if it turns on. If it does, you might even be able to create 2-pin fan adapters to check if other ports are functioning. That way, you'll only risk a fan instead of other components.
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If you have a digital multimeter, I could guide you through bench testing the PSU to see if it's functioning properly. That could help you figure out if the issue lies there or somewhere else.
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Did you happen to build your setup outside the case? That could make diagnosing the issue easier.
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Ultimately, you'll need to wait until you can test all your components to see which ones, if any, are damaged. Sometimes they hold up just fine, but it's a gamble.
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