[SOLVED] Computer appears to have died in a wierd way

[Maniac3020]

I was using my computer, when my monitors suddenly went black, accompanied by the windows 7 error sound. So I tried the key combo to put my computer to sleep. It appeared to work, the light was flashing, but the power button wouldn't do anything, nor the reset button. So I unplugged the computer. Now the power button still won't do anything. I can't get my computer to turn on. Any suggestions?
(I'm hoping the odd sequence of events can help pinpoint the problem)

 

[Quanticriver]

try using another PSU that you can source from a friend/another pc/etc

If not try booting the pc, without gpu, one stick of ram, one ssd or hdd coupled, etc

also a list of your pc components would be nice

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

try checking all cable seating; make sure all power and other cables are firmly seated.
and be sure any surge protector or wall outlet involved is still functioning.

 

[Maniac3020]

try using another PSU that you can source from a friend/another pc/etc

If not try booting the pc, without gpu, one stick of ram, one ssd or hdd coupled, etc

also a list of your pc components would be nice

Asus Strix D27 DH Motherboard
Intel I7 7700K
Samsung 960Evo NVMe SSD
EVGA Geforce GTX 1070
Be Quiet PSU (Can't remember specs/not labeled)
2 WD Hard Drives
8 GB DDR4 x2

 

[j121]

how old is the computer?

 

[Quanticriver]

Decouple both hdd's and the 1070

also you didn't mention your ram

 

[Maniac3020]

Um, I removed the hard drives, unplugged the power cables for the video card, and the computer powered on, but the video card immediately sparked and smoked. I immediately unplugged the PC.
Did that happen because I had the card inserted without the power cables?

Update: Well, it looks like the video card was the problem. I removed the video card, put the hard drives back in, and the computer powers up now. I can't get anything on my monitor from the Intergrated graphics though. I hope it will work when I install the new video card.

 

[Quanticriver]

Good that you found the culprit

As far as i'm aware, if you try to use a gpu that needs cables, without the cables, it should just not function

The fact that it sparked and smoked, and that your can't get image trough the iGPU worries me

TBH i wouldn't risk plugging an new gpu (unless it's expendable) in that system

I'd take it to the shop

 

[Unolocogringo]

If your card is the FTW version contact EVGA.
There was a problem with the VRM overheating on the FTW model with the ACX3 cooler.

 

[Maniac3020]

If your card is the FTW version contact EVGA.
There was a problem with the VRM overheating on the FTW model with the ACX3 cooler.

I entered my Serial Number on EVGAs website, and they said that mine was manufactured with the "fix"

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

after removing the card; can you see any evidence of burns on the card or smell any odor of burning?

definitely odd that the card would spark & smoke with no power. it should be totally powered off without any 6/8pin cables attached.
perhaps it was the PCIe slot itself or another motherboard component that burned. would make sense since now it is not functioning with onboard graphics either.

do you have a second system you can use to test each component separately: RAM, CPU, PSU, GPU, etc?
or i would contact a local shop and see what they have to say.

 

[Maniac3020]

after removing the card; can you see any evidence of burns on the card or smell any odor of burning?

definitely odd that the card would spark & smoke with no power. it should be totally powered off without any 6/8pin cables attached.
perhaps it was the PCIe slot itself or another motherboard component that burned. would make sense since now it is not functioning with onboard graphics either.

do you have a second system you can use to test each component separately: RAM, CPU, PSU, GPU, etc?
or i would contact a local shop and see what they have to say.

I was facing the open side of the computer when the incident occurred.
I saw the smoke coming from the card, near where the two 8 pin power connectors are. (Connectors were unplugged)
Over 2 hours later, and I can still still smell burnt electronics in the air.

I finally got a "post failure, now in safe mode" from my bios. After a few attempts, I managed to boot to windows desktop with the integrated graphics after disabling my XMP memory profile.

Since my desk is in another room, I don't normally hear my computer shutting down. While testing it, I noticed my hard drive makes an unusual noise when spinning down. Should I be worried about that?
The noise is hard to describe, but it's unlike anything I've ever heard a hard drive make.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

definitely more to the issue than the possibility of a short-circuited GPU if it's still making odd sounds and having trouble loading Windows.

i would figure the motherboard has gone defective since these symptoms are so widespread.
hopefully it hasn't caused damage to HD, memory or anything else.
don't think i would connect any new hardware to it until having verified the problem(s).

after removing the card; can you see any evidence of burns on the card or smell any odor of burning?

i mean the card itself, not just the fact that you saw a flash or smell an odor in the room. take the card somewhere where the smell hasn't permeated and see if you notice it coming from the actual GPU. and check for actual blackened or melted spots.

 

[Flayed]

I think replacing the PSU before trying a new graphics card would be wise. I'm not sure I would have turned it on with that PSU still powering the system.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

I think replacing the PSU before trying a new graphics card would be wise. I'm not sure I would have turned it on with that PSU still powering the system.

any Be Quiet! model power supply is at least 80 Plus Bronze and highly rated. unless a serious fault has occurred from outside damage, the PSU is more than likely not the culprit.
considering the PSU was not connected to the GPU when it seemed to have burned out and having these separate issues with memory, with drives, and with the graphics card would lead more towards this motherboard being responsible.

if you have another decent quality PSU available definitely try it but i would not install any other new components to this existing board until more confirmation of the cause of the issues has been determined.

 

[Maniac3020]

I think I overcomplicated this by mentioning the hard drive. I don't think it's related to the current problems, it's just another thing to look at after this is dealt with.

Like I said, the spark occurred underneath the backplate (with the warranty sticker), but I did take the graphics card into another room and smell it. I can smell burnt electronics from the card itself.

 

[Flayed]

I think I overcomplicated this by mentioning the hard drive. I don't think it's related to the current problems, it's just another thing to look at after this is dealt with.

Like I said, the spark occurred underneath the backplate (with the warranty sticker), but I did take the graphics card into another room and smell it. I can smell burnt electronics from the card itself.

It's possible it is related as HDD's use 12v for the motor and graphics cards take 12v so if the 12v rail of the PSU is out of spec.

 

[Maniac3020]

It's possible it is related as HDD's use 12v for the motor and graphics cards take 12v so if the 12v rail of the PSU is out of spec.

The noise the hard drive makes is after I have initiated shutdown.

 

[Deleted member 14196]

the psu probably failed and took your gpu with it. maybe the motherboard too. hard to tell, maybe even the hdd

 

[Maniac3020]

the psu probably failed and took your gpu with it. maybe the motherboard too. hard to tell, maybe even the hdd

Seeing as the GPU shorted out when the 8 pin connectors were removed,

the psu probably failed and took your gpu with it. maybe the motherboard too. hard to tell, maybe even the hdd

Considering that the short circuit happened when the 8 pin connectors were removed from the video card, I don't think it is the PSU. Also, I am now replying to this thread on the computer in question. It is working fine, it just cannot run any graphics programs (video games) at more than 1fps on the integraded graphics. D:

 

[Deleted member 14196]

ok, so a short circuit in the gpu.

 

[Maniac3020]

Thanks to EVGA's cross-ship warranty replacement, I now have a nice GTX 2070, that's quite the upgrade, for only $40 in shipping.

Thanks for the help in figuring out the problem, I don't know how long it would have taken me to start removing things from my computer, which led to me finding the problem.

 

[JohnBonhamsGhost]

might have to short something on my 1080 Ti and see if i can get a 2080 Ti for replacement.

 

[Maniac3020]

Well, it was working fine for a few days,b ut one afternoon, I found out many of my steam games crash when I attempt to run them. Many other games will run fine though. It's really confusing.

Wierd points of note:
I could get Train Valley 2 to run by running the .exe directly. (The overlay is not available when I do this)
I could get American Truck Simulator to run in OpenGL mode (DirectX mode is default)
I can run Skyrim, but not Fallout 4

All the programs that crash were running fine, up until this started.

I've reinstalled the graphics drivers, I've run a command prompt files check, I've (re)installed the C++ redistributables, nothing has worked.
Is it my graphics card?
Is my installation of Direct X 11 messed up? ( I can run some fairly new games that I assume run on DirectX 11, but not others )
Is Steam somehow messed up?
Is it something else entirely?

 

[Flayed]

I would consider replacing the PSU, as GPU's don't often just short circuit and go up in smoke by themselves. If you had replaced the GPU and everything was running fine no problems then ok maybe the PSU is fine but that doesn't sound like it is the case.

You could try a completely clean install of Windows to eliminate a software/Windows issue though