[SOLVED] UPS Damaged my Device.....Please Help me figure out the correct path to take to fix it!(See Details)

[Tprobst23]

Hey Guys,

Long time reader, First time poster so excuse me if this is in the wrong place.

Device Specs:
CPU: i7 - 6700k
GPU: GTX 970
Mobo: Gigabyte Z170 Gaming 7
PSU: Corsair CX600m
(If more info is needed about the device I will be happy to post but this should suffice)

First off I have never had issues with my PC before this incident.

I shipped my computer to myself via UPS and it seems one day air means they don't even land the plane, they just throw it down to the truck on the runway.

When I got my package the box was damaged and I open up to find my computer in shambles.....decently dented on the case, GPU had fallen out of the motherboard and the clip holding it in broken. All the drive bays were disturbed as well. I am guessing they dropped the computer and it took a bit of a tumble.

After reinstalling the GPU into an unbroken slot on the mobo I start the computer up and the graphics card is throwing a code 43. I uninstalled and reinstalled drivers numerous times and different ways with no luck.

Luckily I was able to get my hands on another computer for some testing. I took my GPU and installed it in this computer and it worked flawlessly! So I thought i was in the market for a new mobo....but then the thought crossed my mind to install the test computers GPU into mine...

This is where things get a little weird. I installed a GTX 1050 into my computer to test my mobo. Everything worked fine as well....

Im at a roadblock and im not entirely sure what could be wrong at this point.

Another thought I had was that maybe the PSU was damaged somehow.....taking into consideration my GPU utilizes 2 6-pin power plugs and the GTX 1050 I used for testing only utilized 1 6-pin plug...

Do I need a:

• New Mobo?
• New GPU?
• New PSU?

Any thoughts or advice on the matter would be very helpful.

Thanks and I appreciates ya!

Edit: Pictures of the damage available if needed!

 

[kanewolf]

Did you declare the full value of the device when you shipped it ? -- https://www.ups.com/us/en/shipping/services/value-added/declared-value.page
Did you buy the insurance?

If not, then UPS has very limited liability.

 

[Tprobst23]

Did you declare the full value of the device when you shipped it ? -- https://www.ups.com/us/en/shipping/services/value-added/declared-value.page
Did you buy the insurance?

If not, then UPS has very limited liability.

Thanks for the reply!

I have filed a claim with UPS and they are in their investigation process. Full value was declared as well as the insurance.

Regardless of those things I cannot wait for them to pay me for my computer and need to get it into a working state as my income relies on my computer.

Was hoping to order some parts to get it fixed in the meantime and was looking for some diagnostic help with the problem.

 

[dotas1]

Since the GPU works fine (I assume you benchmarked and stress tested it in your friend's PC) in another system, you can rule that out. The motherboard is damaged and you can not know what works and what doesn't, you should swap it with a new one. As for the PSU, even if it's fine, I would buy a new one as age degradation is a thing and you will eventually need to upgrade it.
Just my 2 cents

 

[Tprobst23]

Since the GPU works fine (I assume you benchmarked and stress tested it in your friend's PC) in another system, you can rule that out. The motherboard is damaged and you can not know what works and what doesn't, you should swap it with a new one. As for the PSU, even if it's fine, I would buy a new one as age degradation is a thing and you will eventually need to upgrade it.
Just my 2 cents

Ok so your suggestion would be to go for a motherboard replacement and upgrade the power supply (more as a precaution)? My initial thought was the mother board as well but I did forget to mention the computer does still turn on and function, just very poorly. Performance seems significantly reduced.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I'd probably go ahead and upgrade board, power supply and case. Hopefully that's all you have going on. You won't know until you can get it swapped over and running.

 

[mortemas]

Ha! Saw UPS and thought it was a backup power unit that damaged your PC! Your performance is worse after shipping, despite being able to successfully boot the PC again? Check your CPU cooler. Could be a bent or broken cooler mount causing the cooler to only partially contact the CPU. This would likely cause thermal throttling. High mass items like the CPU cooler and GPU card should be supported with proper (anti-static) stuffing inside the PC, or removed and boxed separately (preferably in original boxes) for transport. I remember reading somewhere that the preferred method by carriers like UPS/FedEx for shipping electronics is to double-box the item with cushioning material like peanuts or foam between the inner box and outer box - don't remember where I read this, though. See this helpful YouTuber's video for future reference or for others reading this that are looking to ship their PC:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1JbTXTnmj4

 

[Tprobst23]

Ha! Saw UPS and thought it was a backup power unit that damaged your PC! Your performance is worse after shipping, despite being able to successfully boot the PC again? Check your CPU cooler. Could be a bent or broken cooler mount causing the cooler to only partially contact the CPU. This would likely cause thermal throttling. High mass items like the CPU cooler and GPU card should be supported with proper (anti-static) stuffing inside the PC, or removed and boxed separately (preferably in original boxes) for transport. I remember reading somewhere that the preferred method by carriers like UPS/FedEx for shipping electronics is to double-box the item with cushioning material like peanuts or foam between the inner box and outer box - don't remember where I read this, though. See this helpful YouTuber's video for future reference or for others reading this that are looking to ship their PC:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1JbTXTnmj4

Thank you for the info as I will have to ship my computer back home in a couple months!

haha thats funny cause I searched "ups" after posting this thread and all I could find was info on backup power units and instantly thought people may be misled from my acronym.

I will also say this, I have always been iffy about posting on forums but the responses and feedback is amazing! All of you guys rock! On top of that everyone was really quick to reply.

 

[mortemas]

A few more notes on this. Nobody seems to have all the required info in a single video, or they have different preferences, so watch a few more when you have the time. The JayzTwoCents video above asks, "Will it arrive undamaged?" but I couldn't find a follow-up video! It looks like he's adding more stress to the internal components with that expanding packing material, so I wouldn't prefer that method. Here's a video from a PC modder that shows how he supports the internals with serial-killer precision, but doesn't use a legit double-box:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMffTpGKBdc


Paul's Hardware has a good shipping video with GPU removal, and advice on HDDs as well:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySspLHagE5w


And this UPS Store rep shows the double-box method with the spec for 2" of cushioning between inner and outer box, although I believe he doesn't mention supporting or removing internal components which you should definitely consider per the other videos:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJIv02N0M_g

 

[Tprobst23]

A few more notes on this. Nobody seems to have all the required info in a single video, or they have different preferences, so watch a few more when you have the time. The JayzTwoCents video above asks, "Will it arrive undamaged?" but I couldn't find a follow-up video! It looks like he's adding more stress to the internal components with that expanding packing material, so I wouldn't prefer that method. Here's a video from a PC modder that shows how he supports the internals with serial-killer precision, but doesn't use a legit double-box:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMffTpGKBdc


Paul's Hardware has a good shipping video with GPU removal, and advice on HDDs as well:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySspLHagE5w


And this UPS Store rep shows the double-box method with the spec for 2" of cushioning between inner and outer box, although I believe he doesn't mention supporting or removing internal components which you should definitely consider per the other videos:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJIv02N0M_g

Thank you for all this I am definitely going to follow all the precautions from the videos when I end up shipping it back...

You wouldn't have any advice on testing my motherboard more thoroughly would you? Someone mentioned it may be a bad cpu cooler issues but I double checked and temps all seem fine and the connection between the heatsink and cpu are intact.

 

[need4speeds]

I used to work at a airline fixing planes. I seen how some of the cargo staff work. I seen they actually bent a angle iron bed frame. If it's not made of solid steel like a anvil. It could be damaged.
They drove the forks of the loader right through the side cargo door on the jet. I seen them once take a turn with all the baggage carts too fast and they rolled. Another time one cargo guy went "Postal" and kept going in circles pulling a cargo cart with a squeaking wheel for at least a hour until the supervisor sent him home on stress (Going Postal) Leave. This is what happens when they only pay a little above min wage and demand people work straight 12hr nights and stuff. You would be mad too and chuck things around and not care too after awhile. They had\have a very high turnover.
Even though mechanics make fairly good money, i got tired of the 12hr nights with OT when something was broken, the yelling when there was no parts and it was grounded, ect.
I dunno what it's like at UPS but i have not heard many good things about cargo and delivery and courier companies including Uber-low-pay-eats, Skip-Your-Paycheck, Lyft-4-Low-Pay, ect. The online employee and ex-employee ratings are very bad .
UPS=United Parcel Stomping. LOL. Anyways good luck.

-Sorry they went Postal on your package, i hope it works out for you in the end.

I think if it's working fine, there is a good chance the 2 caps beside each other run together in Parallel instead of using a larger one that could hit a card or something. If that is the case, it will likely work with one and will be like a half worn out cap. The solid caps tend to last longer so maybe it's ok.

-It sounds like it's cheaper to take a chance and just use it, the shipping both ways is likely as much as a new board.

 

[need4speeds]

It's possible to buy a cap the same value and rating at a local electronics supply store. Then solder the leads to the solder spots on the board. The cap will have to be sideways. The black side or stripe is the -Negative side. You wont want the leads twisting or touching stuff on the board and shorting out so i would put small shrink-wrap on the leads. Or small peices of tape around them. Of course you will have to leave the ends to solder. Another option is if the cap that fell off still has solder blob spots on it. You could solder small wire to them. And then solder them to the board.
After your all done to secure the cap, a blob or silicone or something should work to glue it down.

 

[Tprobst23]

I used to work at a airline fixing planes. I seen how some of the cargo staff work. I seen they actually bent a angle iron bed frame. If it's not made of solid steel like a anvil. It could be damaged.
The drove the forks of the loader right through the side cargo door on the jet. I seen them once take a turn with all the baggage carts too fast and they rolled. Another time one cargo guy went "Postal" and kept going in circles pulling a cargo cart with a squeaking wheel for at least a hour until the supervisor sent him home on stress (Going Postal) Leave. This is what happens when they only pay a little above min wage and demand people work straight 12hr nights and stuff. You would be mad too and chuck things around and not care too after awhile. They had\have a very high turnover.
Even though mechanics make fairly good money, i got tired of the 12hr nights with OT when something was broken, the yelling when there was no parts and it was grounded, ect.
I dunno what it's like at UPS but i have not heard many good things about cargo and delivery and courier companies including Uber-low-pay-eats, Skip-Your-Paycheck, Lyft-4-Low-Pay, ect. The online employee and ex-employee ratings are very bad .
UPS=United Parcel Stomping. LOL. Anyways good luck.

-Sorry they went Postal on your package, i hope it works out for you in the end.

I think if it's working fine, there is a good chance the 2 caps beside each other run together in Parallel instead of using a larger one that could hit a card or something. If that is the case, it will likely work with one and will be like a half worn out cap. The solid caps tend to last longer so maybe it's ok.

-It sounds like it's cheaper to take a chance and just use it, the shipping both ways is likely as much as a new board.

Thank you for the good wishes, I will post the reply once they respond to my claim.

As for the caps? what are you referring to here?

 

[need4speeds]

The cap you found will have a number on it. Something like mf27, and a voltage like 16V.
The capacitance value has to be fairly close within 5%. The voltage of the new one has to be the same or higher. It can be say 24volts but your old one is rated for 16volts, that is ok.
It doesn't have to be a solid cap, it can be the other kind with the plastic cover like the ones near your sound chip at the top of the board.

 

[Tprobst23]

The cap you found will have a number on it. Something like mf27, and a voltage like 16V.
The capacitance value has to be fairly close within 5%. The voltage of the new one has to be the same or higher. It can be say 24volts but your old one is rated for 16volts, that is ok.
It doesn't have to be a solid cap, it can be the other kind with the plastic cover like the ones near your sound chip at the top of the board.

Sorry I am still not following, the piece I found(the one that broke off) was the clip for the slot on the motherboard that the GPU is inserted into.

 

[need4speeds]

Ok i see now this is a totally different post.. It was shipped via UPS and they found a capacitor in the box but the system still works...

 

[Tprobst23]

Quick update for anyone who cares, bit the bullet and ordered a new GPU. Seems that was the issue. Everything working perfectly again, barring the broken clip on the motherboard. Luckily I have no use for that slot on the motherboard.

Still in the process of getting approved on the damage claim from UPS. I will update the forum once I hear back again. Otherwise I appreciate everyone's help and suggestions throughout this process!