Possible Motherboard Issue?

[mavius]

I'm trying to diagnose an issue I'm having with my wife's work computer. The computer was built by an old IT guy of theirs who was an idiot. This computer is about 2 years old. The original SSD no longer functions. I have put in a hard drive with linux and it runs for about a day then freezes. I have purchased a new SSD and while trying to install Linux Mint (from a USB) it freezes before installation finishes. I noticed that the old IT guy forgot to remove the protective plastic from the graphics card (GeForce 660 TI), I'm not sure if this is related or not.

I think it is a Motherboard issue, but I'm not sure and I'm not sure that's the only issue. What steps should I go through to diagnose a motherboard issue, plus to check for other issues? I can purchase parts and fix myself and be reimbursed later, but only if I can get it fixed.

 

[CountMike]

He is an idiot and you are asking such question without any relevant info of your system ? If it was that badly put together, it wouldn't work for a day, let alone couple of years.
What's that "protective plastic you are talking about ?

 

[mavius]

He is an idiot and you are asking such question without any relevant info of your system ? If it was that badly put together, it wouldn't work for a day, let alone couple of years.
What's that "protective plastic you are talking about ?

Yes, I know I walked into that one. I had been screwing with the computer for a few hours and was fed up.

It actually didn't last more than a day but had to be fixed by someone else. Not sure what was changed at that point. The plastic covering is the thin adhesive that was attached to the backside of the card to protect all the sensitive parts in shipping (the remove before using plastic). In other words, maybe it was restricting the airflow through the card and causing it to overheat and maybe it damaged the motherboard?

Anyway, here is some relevant information (let me know if what else is needed):
Asus M5A99X Evo R2.0 Motherboard
2x Viper Xtreme 16 GB ram
700W power supply

 

[jay_rogers]

Check the power, Components can cause a motherboard to malfunction, check with capacitors and soldered connections, No case power button connection, BIOS/UEFI hardware incompatibility, heating issues

 

[CountMike]

There's an old saying. "If you want things done right, do it yourself".
Anyway, do you have last BIOS version installed ? Using FX 8350 or stronger CPU ?
Does Linux Mint work properly in live mode ?
PSU good enough for GPU ? If power is at the edge, PSU can deteriorate during time.