Question A bit worried about my new-ish PC

[Salanen]

Hi!

I was moving my PC to an old apartment and there are no grounded outlets near the table where I was planning to place my setup. Well I did not take it into consideration and just tried to flip the PC on and it broke the fuse. I got startled and moved the PC to the kitchen to try to see if it still works in a grounded outlet but it broke the fuse again when I inserted it into the outlet. The I/O flip is kinda wonky now and it wants to stay in I - position.

I'm really worried that I broke my computer by plugging it into the outlet or could it just be the power supply that is acting up? If the PSU is only broken then it should be an easy fix but if everything is broken I would be very sad

My setup:
CPU: Ryzen 7 3700x
GPU: Radeon RX 5700XT
PSU:Gigabyte G750H +80 gold 750W
MOBO: MSI B450 Tomahawk Max
RAM:Kingston 16gb 3200mhz
and a couple SSD:s

 

[tennis2]

Sounds like the breaker(s) in your house are junk if they can't even handle 3-ish amps.

 

[Salanen]

Sounds like the breaker(s) in your house are junk if they can't even handle 3-ish amps.

Yeah, I have never encountered this before so I'm really worried. Also it should be noted that the PC was in my car overnight and it was -18°C at the lowest so could it also be that there was condensation in my build which affected it somehow?

 

[tennis2]

Doubtful

 

[Salanen]

So the problem could just be a faulty PSU? I mean it has worked perfectly fine the last couple of months that I've owned this build. And is there a high chance that my mobo/other components are damaged from the fuse pops?

 

[punkncat]

Yeah, I have never encountered this before so I'm really worried. Also it should be noted that the PC was in my car overnight and it was -18°C at the lowest so could it also be that there was condensation in my build which affected it somehow?

Actually would say "according" here.

With any electronics it's a good idea to allow them to normalize when coming in from temps below the dew point. If you suspect condensation could form then longer or other mechanical methods should be taken.

If you brought this straight in and plugged it in you very well may have damaged something via condensation.

 

[Salanen]

Actually would say "according" here.

With any electronics it's a good idea to allow them to normalize when coming in from temps below the dew point. If you suspect condensation could form then longer or other mechanical methods should be taken.

If you brought this straight in and plugged it in you very well may have damaged something via condensation.

I brought it inside and went back to the car to get rest of my stuff, which took like 10-15 minutes. So I didn't wait long enough I guess... How can I safely test which of my components are potentially damaged?

 

[punkncat]

Process of elimination. Probably start with the PSU given that switch issue. Other damage down line could blow new components. I would probably start with used tester equipment where and if possible.

 

[Salanen]

Process of elimination. Probably start with the PSU given that switch issue. Other damage down line could blow new components. I would probably start with used tester equipment where and if possible.

Ok, and I would just test the PSU by removing it from the build and plugging it into an outlet? Then move forward to the mobo, cpu,gpu,ram?

 

[stonecarver]

Not that I want you to kill your vacuum " if you have one" just moving in and all but does that kick off your breaker. I would put the computer in the sun in a window just to warm it up..........................I would Never Never plug in one of my classic Audio Amplifiers if it had gotten that cold.....................Nor my computers Bad things happen

Or even a lamp or blow dryer to test electric does that blow breaker?

 

[Salanen]

Not that I want you to kill your vacuum " if you have one" just moving in and all but does that kick off your breaker. I would put the computer in the sun in a window just to warm it up..........................I would Never Never plug in one of my classic Audio Amplifiers if it had gotten that cold.....................Nor my computers Bad things happen

Or even a lamp or blow dryer to test electric does that blow breaker?

This apartment is actually my girlfriend's and she hasn't had any problems with the electronics. It seems likely that the problem has come from condensation and I have to figure out where the problem If the whole build is ruined I'm going to be so pissed 1200€ build gone in the wind

 

[Salanen]

This apartment is actually my girlfriend's and she hasn't had any problems with the electronics. It seems likely that the problem has come from condensation and I have to figure out where the problem If the whole build is ruined I'm going to be so pissed 1200€ build gone in the wind

Where the problem is.***

 

[Paperdoc]

I'm thinking you have focused on the wrong problem symptom. What I read above is that twice now you have plugged the computer into different outlets and as soon as you turned on the power switch it popped a fuse and quit. Such a very fast overload indicates a real short, not just high leakage from condensation or poor Grounding. As part of this you tell us the switch itself seems to behave strangely and won't turn to the "off" position. I suggest you pursue the possibility that the switch is faulty. Have that checked by a tech person or replace the PSU.

There is one other concept to check. A system often has several units connected together but plugged into wall outlets separately - like a computer, monitor, and printer. When you're using older wiring systems with no Ground, it is possible to connect the one of your devices to house power in a "reverse polarity" mode that can create a problem when the devices are connected to each other with cables that include Ground shields in them.

 

[Salanen]

I'm thinking you have focussed on the wrong problem symptom. What I read above is that twice now you have plugged the computer into different outlets and as soon as you turned on the power switch it popped a fuse and quit. Such a very fast overload indicates a real short, not just high leakage from condensation or poor Grounding. As part of this you tell us the switch itself seems to behave strangely and won't turn to the "off" position. I suggest you pursue the possibility that the switch is faulty. Have that checked by a tech person or replace the PSU.

Yea I'm kind of checking every worst possibility you can have in this situatuon, kinda like self diagnosing illnesses online . I'm going to drop by a tech person on Monday to see if there's anything else broken other than the PSU.

Should I try to do the paper clip test on the PSU just in case? Can't do it right now though because I used our spare fuses when trying those outlets...

The reverse polarity could be the case aswell since there's multiple lamps and a TV connected to the same line.

One more edit; Actually I remember feeling the airflow coming from inside the PC when I thought it wasn't on and was pressing the I/O switch from the PSU. When I switched it back to I-position, the lights went out from the apartment.

 

[Salanen]

I just tried to do the paperclip test with the PSU and its switch in O-position, and it blew the fuse again even while in O-position. So it seems that the PSU is faulty. Now I'm going to have to get a replacement PSU to check if my other components are damaged. Hoping though that the damages are minimal..

 

[Paperdoc]

I would expect no other pro-blems. What you describe appears to be a flaw right at the very input of power to the PSU, and is VERY unlikely to have affected its output to your computer.

 

[Salanen]

Just ordered a replacement PSU, Corsair TX650M. It should arrive in a week or so.

I'm now very hesitant on trying to boot the PC in this apartment when I do receive the PSU, because I'm scared that something goes south and the replacement PSU gets rekt aswell.

How should I approach this situation? Should I unplug other devices in the apartment and does it matter if I plug the PC to an ungrounded or a grounded outlet?

 

[Paperdoc]

If your PC's power supply cord that plugs into the wall has three prongs, it would be very difficult to plug that into a 2-slot ungrounded outlet. It can be done in several ways that are not "officially acceptable", but not advisable, either. For one thing, beyond electrical safety the Ground connection on that power cord is how the entire PC's case is Grounded for reducing random electrical noise signals It's better to arrange to connect all your system devices' power cables ot eh same source (e.g, a power bar) and to supply that (power bar?) to a Grounded 3-prong outlet. In doing so, check first that the planned circuit is not already loaded up heavily.

 

[Salanen]

If your PC's power supply cord that plugs into the wall has three prongs, it would be very difficult to plug that into a 2-slot ungrounded outlet. It can be done in several ways that are not "officially acceptable", but not advisable, either. For one thing, beyond electrical safety the Ground connection on that power cord is how the entire PC's case is Grounded for reducing random electrical noise signals It's better to arrange to connect all your system devices' power cables ot eh same source (e.g, a power bar) and to supply that (power bar?) to a Grounded 3-prong outlet. In doing so, check first that the planned circuit is not already loaded up heavily.

Oh, I should have mentioned aswell that here in Finland there are only 2-prong cords and outlets. Grounded outlet has little metal pieces sticking out from it, whereas an ungrounded outlet doesn't.

But anyways, it would be safer to plug the whole system to a grounded outlet, right? The closest grounded outlet is in the kitchen, like 3 meters from the table where the PC was supposed to operate. There's no doors between the main room and the kitchen, so could I just run a power cord from the kitchen to the table? And since it has just the toaster, coffee maker, perhaps a fridge and some lights connected to it, it shouldn't be under too big of a load?

 

[Paperdoc]

A toaster, coffe maker and fridge all are relatively high power consumers when the operate, and consume little when the are not running. So each of them (especially the fridge with its motor) represents a significant possible power consumption surge and resultant short-term voltage sag. Besides, with all those on the SAME circuit (are you sure they are?) the circuit may be near max load already, and adding your computer system to that may result in a tripped breaker (or blown fuse). Although a Grounded outlet mught be preferable, I think you do need to connect the compter system to a different outlet - not the one in the kitchen that is already loaded.

 

[Salanen]

I'm not sure about the fridge, it's probably connected to a different circuit. But I do know that the toaster and coffee maker are connected every now and then.

There are two outlets on the kitchen counter and if I were to run a power bar from those outlets, one of the machines is bound to be unplugged. So I would have either a coffee maker or a toaster on the same circuit as the PC. I need to check what else is connected to that same circuit, though.


EDIT: The dishwasher is connected to that circuit instead of the fridge, which is odd considering that the fusebox has one 16amp fuse labelled specifically "dishwasher". I don't know if there's multiple outlets behind the dishwasher and the landlord just connected it to the 10amp kitchen circuit.

 

[Salanen]

New PSU in the computer now. Tested the motherboard, it started running and also the CPU cooler rgb lighting lit up.

Then I plugged the CPU aswell into the system and now when I try to power the system up the PSU just clicks and nothing comes on. The CPU seems damaged and it might've also damaged the mobo now that I plugged it in.. I might need to invest in another CPU and mobo it seems. How can I test whether my current CPU is damaged without risking the new motherboard?

EDIT: Okay so after a crap-ton of juggling I managed to get everything running except the SSD:s, which apparently short circuits the pc, and also the monitor doesn't turn on when the PC is running. So a failed mobo seems all more likely.
E2: Nope I also got the monitor on by switching cables from dp to hdmi, SSD:s might be fried tho.