Dell Laptop Won’t Power On After Being Hit—No Charging Light
I was lightly hit by a car while walking, and my Dell laptop was inside a tote bag when I fell. The laptop doesn't have any visible cracks,…
motherboard damage
Beer Spill Caused a Black Screen and DRAM Error—What Should I Replace?
My desktop stopped booting after I accidentally spilled beer over the top of it while gaming. I unplugged the power almost immediately, but the screen had already gone…
NVMe SSD vanished after a GPU and PSU upgrade—does it need replacing?
My NVMe SSD worked normally before I replaced an RTX 4060 with an RTX 5060 Ti and swapped my old power supply for a higher-wattage non-modular unit. The…
PC only power-cycles after a USB mouse cable shorted
My cat chewed through the cable of a USB mouse, and my desktop shut off immediately afterward. Now it will not start normally: when I press the power…
My PC’s 24-pin connector caught fire after moving from 230V to 110V—what could be damaged?
I built a secondary PC in 2020 with a Ryzen 5 3600, Gigabyte A320M-H motherboard, Cooler Master 650W 230V PSU, and later added an RTX 4060. After moving…
USB-C Cable Sparked in the Front Port and Now the PC Won’t Start
I connected a USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable to a front USB port on my PC. The cable suddenly sparked and burned, and the computer shut off…
PC shuts down after repeatedly reconnecting fans while powered on
I'm running a Ryzen 7 7800X3D on an ASUS TUF Gaming B650M-Plus WiFi with 16GB of DDR5, an RX 9070, a 750W PSU, and Bazzite. One of my…
PC Shuts Down After 30–40 Minutes Since Reconnecting Fans While Powered On
I have a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, TUF Gaming B650M-PLUS WIFI motherboard, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, an RX 9070, a 750W power supply, and I'm running Bazzite. One of…
Could an ARGB Short Circuit Have Damaged My PSU?
I connected an ARGB controller to my motherboard, and the connector immediately started smoking. After unplugging it, I tried powering on the PC. It ran for a few…
Did I damage my motherboard by dropping the AIO cooler?
I accidentally dropped my CPU liquid cooler onto the motherboard during a build. The visible mark looks like it might only be thermal paste, but I'm worried something…
I accidentally spammed my PC’s hard reset button—should I be worried?
I recently got my first desktop PC with a dedicated hard reset button. I pressed it once without knowing what it did, and when the display went off,…
Is It Safe to Use a GPU Slot After Breaking the Retention Clip?
While trying to remove my graphics card, I pressed down on the PCIe slot's retention clip and twisted the card. I heard a click, and the clip moved…
PC Suddenly Won’t Power On After a Screwdriver Slipped Near the GPU Slot
This was my first PC build, and it initially powered on and reached the BIOS normally. While troubleshooting the case-fan RGB cables, I removed the GPU to access…
PC Won’t Power On After a Screwdriver Hit Near the GPU Slot
This is my first PC build, and it initially reached the BIOS successfully. While troubleshooting the cooler fan RGB cables, I removed the GPU and used a long…
Did I Damage My PC by Touching the Back of the Motherboard While It Was On?
I'm planning to upgrade my PC for older games and console emulation, but I made a careless mistake while checking the case. With the computer still powered on,…
Water Spilled Into My PC and Now It Won’t Power On
I accidentally spilled about half a cup of water through the top of my PC. I unplugged it immediately and left it disconnected with a fan blowing on…
Why Have Multiple Corsair RM850 Power Supplies Failed and Damaged Motherboards?
I run a small computer repair shop and, over roughly five years, I've encountered three Corsair RM850 power supplies that failed a PSU tester. In one recent case,…
5800X3D Upgrade Caused No POST and Possible Burn Damage
I replaced a Ryzen 5 5600X with a Ryzen 7 5800X3D in an MSI B550-A PRO. The BIOS had already been updated to the latest version, and the…
5800X3D Upgrade Caused No POST and Possible CPU Socket Damage
I replaced my Ryzen 5 5600X with a Ryzen 7 5800X3D in an MSI B550-A Pro. The motherboard was already updated to its latest BIOS, and the new…
Is This RX 6600 Worth Repairing After Damaging Other Components?
This RX 6600 has apparently taken out two motherboards and an NVMe drive, and there's visible melting or scorching around one of the mounting bolts. I'm wondering whether…