Computer Woes

Clayton · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2009 10:48 am

So yesterday, I bought myself a shiny new nVidia GeForce 9500 GT (open-box at Futureshop, half price, good deal), along with a new power supply so as to be able to power the card (stock PSU was 250W, card requires at least 350W). So I start taking replacing the PSU once I get home and crack the case, and my first problem arises: There's only 2 SATA connectors on this PSU (which isn't a problem as I only need 2), but they're only about 3 inches away from each other along the cord. This is a problem because my case is set up with the hard-drive on the lowest dock, with the cd-drive on the highest dock. Ugh. So I move the hard-drive up to the top of the case (a big to do because the heat-sink is in the way, so I had to take it off to put the drive in, then put it back in). So I get the PSU hooked up, tuck away the unused sockets, and put in the video card. Goes in without a hitch.

Next, I hook everything back up, and prepare to boot. I get just past the opening boot screen when I hear a small "bzzt" and smell that lovely acrid smell we all know and love as melting plastic. Great. I'm still not entirely sure what happened, but I think my SATA controller is dead, and if it's not that, the HDD is dead. So now I must get a new controller, and see if that fixes it, if not, a new HDD, and if not that, then I have no idea. The sockets from the PSU all work (confirmed by using both sockets for the CD-drive, it still gets power) so I'm fairly certain it's not the PSU.

Damn.

rizzix · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2009 11:58 am

Buy a new computer. Laughing

saltpro15 · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:36 pm

well, now you can put the 50 or so dollars you saved on that half price card towards a new computer! Laughing

andrew. · **Posted:** Thu Aug 20, 2009 6:57 pm

You guys are no help at all. If you smelled something being melted/burned then something is obviously wrong. Did you connect the cables back properly? Maybe the "new" video card was fried? Maybe the PSU wasn't powerful enough (I don't know if that would be the cause though)?

Vermette · **Posted:** Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:19 am

Maybe the card was open-boxed for a reason...

ecookman · **Posted:** Fri Aug 21, 2009 12:23 pm

the nice Bzzt noise might have been a arc/ shorting from not connecting a backwards (if that able properly or backwards (if that is possible i have never hooked up a Power supply) and the melting smell could have been some plastic melting on the connecting ends, look there.
Either that or you fried something. :0

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