Question Custom built Desktop PC *Zap* Fried Video Card & PSU

[spiderxx]

So I have a older pc build that has a ASUS M4A78 Motherboard, GTS Ge250 Graphics card, AMD CPU Atholon 2, and 4gb ram. Some years ago the graphics card went out on me. I figured the card just gave out. Lately I came across a working ATI Radeon PCIe 2 graphics card and figured I'd try it out in the computer and see if I can gain access to the data on my HDD. Turns out I installed the card and turned on the PC and heard a zap and got a whiff of burnt electronics. I also found out that it now fried my PSU as well.

The slot on the mobo is PCIe 2 and has me wondering what could have gone wrong with the pc?
Is there any way to tell what the problem is? I looked over the graphics card board and there are no signs of anything popped or burnt out. I havent taken the mobo out to look that over but from what I see all looks okay as well.
Could it possibly be the PCIe 2 slot that is malfunctioning causing a short? Im stumped and I'd eventually like to get the data off that I have saved to desktop on this HDD.

 

[Lutfij]

I have a older pc build that has a ASUS M4A78 Motherboard, GTS Ge250 Graphics card, AMD CPU Atholon 2, and 4gb ram.
When posting a thread of troubleshooting nature, it's customary to include your full system's specs. Please list the specs to your build like so:
CPU:
CPU cooler:
Motherboard:
Ram:
SSD/HDD:
GPU:
PSU:
Chassis:
OS:
Monitor:
include the age of the PSU apart from it's make and model.

Is there any way to tell what the problem is?
Source a reliably built PSU and then try powering up the system but with burn marks on your motherboard, I'd avoid hooking anything up to it.

if the data on your HDD's are valuable, remove them from the system and take them over to your local data recovery specialist. Experimenting could lead you to lose more than just a discrete GPU.

 

[logainofhades]

You could try getting an external docking station that will allow you to connect your HDD to another PC via usb. I would not try anything with that system itself.