Question Was I scammed? Can a broken CPU fan stop a computer from turning on?

[Scarlet785]

So a few years back I bought my first gaming computer. It was the ibuypower trace 930 from bestbuy. It was great for someone like me who knew nothing about computers and literally only wanted it to use the oculus rift on it. I babied this computer never dropped it scratched it or put it any place that it wouldn’t have great airflow so as to never over heat as well as dusting it regularly and even opening it up and cleaning the inside to prevent dust build up. Even on the off chance I moved it I did so its original packaging and very carefully. Sadly with work I rarely used the computer and aside from the occasional vr playing I watched one movie in 3D on it no downloading or web surfing on it I had my phone and iPad Pro for that.

So when I moved to my new home I was confused when it wouldn’t show up on my tv screen. This is the same tv I had connected it to in the past no problem but for some reason the computer powered on but the tv said nothing was connected I tried turning off the computer and back on and switched HDMI cords and nothing worked I then tried to take it to the living room tv and connect it in their at which point the computer wouldn’t turn on anymore. I then took it to Best Buy where they looked it over and couldn’t find an answer they simply said it wasn’t something they could fix in house and would need to send it off. However for whatever reason I didn’t fully understand they couldn’t send it off and said their repair company no longer worked on my computer and there was nothing they could do for me.

So I googled computer repair near me and found A Plus Computer Repair in Wilmington North Carolina. They had many good reviews and the bad ones didn’t seem to bad. So I met a man named David outside hallmark because he said he didn’t have a store front because it was too expensive and doing his work from home allowed him to keep it cheaper for his customers.
He seemed very knowledgeable so with a receipt and picture of his license plate I allowed him to take my computer to work on sadly most communication during this process was between him and my uncle. So after many days of little to no communication with him we called him and asked for an update. At which point he said he had to replace some parts in order to see what was and what was not working. He did not tell us exactly what those parts were or how much it would cost to replace them just that to proceed with finding out what was wrong he needed to test different parts.

Somewhere along the way he decided that the motherboard and CPU needed to be replaced so he purchased the parts and replace them is what he told us. In the end we ended up paying him almost $800 and that was after negotiating it down from over 1000 for the replaced motherboard and CPU. However upon looking at the computer I noticed that the silver cover on the back of the computer for the motherboard was missing and was now just open to the inside of the computer. So I decided to investigate further upon opening up the computer I noticed that the CPU fan was different. However nothing else looked different. So I looked at my computer specs and the motherboard and CPU that were in the computer that he said he replaced were exactly the same as what originally came with the computer the only thing that was different was the CPU fan.

I know that the CPU can easily be bought on Amazon for around $300 dollars the motherboard however which is the Asustek H110-Plus I can only find online refurbished for anywhere from 60 to 100 bucks. I also noticed that wires and cables were no longer secured properly. But nothing too bad. So my question and all of this is... is it possible that the original problem with my computer was the CPU fan not working and therefore the computer would no longer boot up, and in replacing the CPU fan it solve the problem and he simply lied and said he replaced the CPU and motherboard when he never did it just to get more money out of me. Was I scammed? Is there anyway of determining if it truly is a different or new motherboard and cpu? I apologize for all the rambling and appreciate any help

 

[richiestang_78]

First off, paragraphs my man, use them as this was incredibly difficult to read.

Secondly without knowing exactly what was in the computer before and after and what the issue to start was, I cant speak to what was done. However I will say 800 is a complete ripoff for a mobo and a CPU. Right now you can get new modern Ryzen motherboard, CPU and even RAM for around 250-300 USD where as the H110 only supports the now obsolete 6 and 7th gen Intels.

 

[Scarlet785]

First off, paragraphs my man, use them as this was incredibly difficult to read.

Secondly without knowing exactly what was in the computer before and after and what the issue to start was, I cant speak to what was done. However I will say 800 is a complete ripoff for a mobo and a CPU. Right now you can get new modern Ryzen motherboard, CPU and even RAM for around 250-300 USD where as the H110 only supports the now obsolete 6 and 7th gen Intels.

Yes you are right I should have done paragraphs. I apologize.

I know for a fact that the exact same type of CPU and motherboard was in the computer before and after he supposedly replaced them. What you say about the the motherboard only supporting the obsolete 6 and 7th gen Intels would make sense too with the computer as old as it is.

My main thought was is it possible that a broken CPU fan could cause the computer to not turn on? I am trying to determine if I should demand his receipts for the new CPU and motherboard or if I am being paranoid and rude.

 

[richiestang_78]

Yes, the computer wont turn on if it cant detect a CPU fan, and depending on how the fan went out it coule prevent a boot as the mobo might not recognize a fan present.

It should have been a 30-50 dollar fix tops and that includes labor since replacing a CPU fan, especially if it was a stock intel one is a 5 min job.

 

[cryoburner]

It's hard to say exactly what was wrong with the system, but I doubt both the CPU and the motherboard were in need of replacement. If there was a hardware problem, it would probably be with one or the other, but not likely both. I suppose its possible that he could have bought one component, found it to not fix the issue, then bought the other, but in that case he would be charging for replacing a working piece of hardware that he could probably re-sell to recoup much of the cost.

I wouldn't say it was necessarily a "$50 fix", but $800 does seem excessive, even if the CPU and motherboard were both replaced. Have you verified exactly what components are in the system now? I'm wondering whether any other hardware might have changed. Perhaps you could run the benchmark test at this site and share a link to the results page here...

https://www.userbenchmark.com

That should show exactly what hardware is in the system, and help verify whether it's all performing as it should be. When you say the CPU fan is different, in what way is it different? Does it seem to be any larger or smaller than the one that was there before? Perhaps a photo of the inside of the case could give a better idea of what's in there.

As for missing IO shield on the back, it's possible that could happen if the motherboard were replaced with a refurbished one that happened to not come with one. However, if it is in fact the exact same model of motherboard, the original plate could have been re-used. Perhaps it just got misplaced, but that's probably not what would be expected for an $800 repair job. The plate being missing and the wires being moved does indicate that the motherboard was likely removed from the case, though that doesn't necessarily mean that the same one wasn't put back in.

 

[stonecarver]

At the very least ask for the damaged parts back and the receipt for the replacement parts. I have a feeling your going to get a crap load of, I'm busy now but sure to eventually he just blows you off.

I would think if it was your CPU fan computer should have beeped and had a warning stop screen saying CPU fan is not working.

But not all computers do...................... but I think you got taken. Sorry

Just don't go back to him guns blazing I would give him a excuse that ibuypower is going to give you credit for your bad parts but the serial numbers needs to match and you need to send bad parts to ibuypower bla bla bla.............................be smart and calm and out smart him.

 

[g-unit1111]

First off you were probably scammed back when you bought iBUYPOWER. They are a company that is not to be trusted. They build these machines using junk / no name parts and they are assembled in a manner to get them out the door very quickly.

Second off, there's no way anyone should be selling you an H110 in 2020. And there's no one that should be selling you an H110 in 2020 at that price. As has already been stated in this thread, for $300, you can get a B450 motherboard, a Ryzen 2600, and 16GB of G Skill RAM.

But I also agree that going in with suns out, guns out, is not the way to do it. I would definitely find the people responsible and sit them down and explain what happened.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I know I used to do this kind of support on the side. I can almost see the 800 if the guy is doing a markup on parts and if he's charging by the hour he worked on it.

However when I did things, I usually got everything via the local Microcenter and would do a markup on parts to make a little extra, then you figure time to assemble, reinstall Windows, etc.

However, the tech should have been up front. I usually tried to call within a day or 2 to let people know what was going on and what my recommendation was and let them make the decision. And in a case like above, try to deliver to their home and set it up and show them what was replaced and demonstrate that all worked.

Hopefully it all works out for you. I know my aunt once had a situation we didn't find out until she had passed away, but my dad had bought a computer for her. My dad isn't a computer guru, but he knows enough to know about what type of CPU, amount of ram etc to purchase when he buys a computer, and if he's not sure he will ask me.

Anyway, she had computer issues and called someone to fix it. When she passed, mom and dad actually were needing a computer, and the one she had was better than theirs. So he brought hers to me to reinstall Windows and clean up. I looked at the computer and it was one that looked exactly as the one dad had purchased, but had a single core or dual core CPU and 2gb of ram where dad had purchased a system with a lot better specs.

Unfortunately people will take advantage of people who don't know about computers.

 

[Scarlet785]

It's hard to say exactly what was wrong with the system, but I doubt both the CPU and the motherboard were in need of replacement. If there was a hardware problem, it would probably be with one or the other, but not likely both. I suppose its possible that he could have bought one component, found it to not fix the issue, then bought the other, but in that case he would be charging for replacing a working piece of hardware that he could probably re-sell to recoup much of the cost.

I wouldn't say it was necessarily a "$50 fix", but $800 does seem excessive, even if the CPU and motherboard were both replaced. Have you verified exactly what components are in the system now? I'm wondering whether any other hardware might have changed. Perhaps you could run the benchmark test at this site and share a link to the results page here...

https://www.userbenchmark.com

That should show exactly what hardware is in the system, and help verify whether it's all performing as it should be. When you say the CPU fan is different, in what way is it different? Does it seem to be any larger or smaller than the one that was there before? Perhaps a photo of the inside of the case could give a better idea of what's in there.

As for missing IO shield on the back, it's possible that could happen if the motherboard were replaced with a refurbished one that happened to not come with one. However, if it is in fact the exact same model of motherboard, the original plate could have been re-used. Perhaps it just got misplaced, but that's probably not what would be expected for an $800 repair job. The plate being missing and the wires being moved does indicate that the motherboard was likely removed from the case, though that doesn't necessarily mean that the same one wasn't put back in.

It seems the wires moved is from replacing both fans I originally thought he had only replaced the cpu fan but realized the other fan had been changed when I noticed that it no longer had the led lights (not that I’m complaining about the lights being gone)

I will attach some pictures of before and after so you can see the different fans that’s the only thing I can tell was changed it wasn’t the most expensive gaming computer to begin with it’s not the money it’s the principal of the fact. I feel he charged me for something he didn’t do.

It's hard to say exactly what was wrong with the system, but I doubt both the CPU and the motherboard were in need of replacement. If there was a hardware problem, it would probably be with one or the other, but not likely both. I suppose its possible that he could have bought one component, found it to not fix the issue, then bought the other, but in that case he would be charging for replacing a working piece of hardware that he could probably re-sell to recoup much of the cost.

I wouldn't say it was necessarily a "$50 fix", but $800 does seem excessive, even if the CPU and motherboard were both replaced. Have you verified exactly what components are in the system now? I'm wondering whether any other hardware might have changed. Perhaps you could run the benchmark test at this site and share a link to the results page here...

https://www.userbenchmark.com

That should show exactly what hardware is in the system, and help verify whether it's all performing as it should be. When you say the CPU fan is different, in what way is it different? Does it seem to be any larger or smaller than the one that was there before? Perhaps a photo of the inside of the case could give a better idea of what's in there.

As for missing IO shield on the back, it's possible that could happen if the motherboard were replaced with a refurbished one that happened to not come with one. However, if it is in fact the exact same model of motherboard, the original plate could have been re-used. Perhaps it just got misplaced, but that's probably not what would be expected for an $800 repair job. The plate being missing and the wires being moved does indicate that the motherboard was likely removed from the case, though that doesn't necessarily mean that the same one wasn't put back in.

It seems the wires moved is from replacing both fans I originally thought he had only replaced the cpu fan but realized the other fan had been changed when I noticed that it no longer had the led lights (not that I’m complaining about the lights being gone)

I will attach some pictures of before and after so you can see the different fans that’s the only thing I can tell was changed it wasn’t the most expensive gaming computer to begin with it’s not the money it’s the principal of the fact. I feel he charged me for something he didn’t do.

sorry it’s not a great picture but this from back when I first bought it

then after...

I ran that program you asked me to and I’ll show pictures of those results as well.

and then the original box with the specs.

 

[cryoburner]

Well, the CPU cooler did get replaced with the standard one that would normally come with a boxed i7-7700. It looks like the system was using a slightly different cooler with a rectangular fan before. Of course, those Intel coolers can also be bought on their own, so that doesn't necessarily mean much.

It's hard to tell in the first image, but it looks to me like the fan in back might be the same as what's in there now. Is that the only other fan in the system, and are you sure it originally lit up? It looks to me like the lights may be located in strips elsewhere in the system, like along the top edge of the interior. They may still be there and might have just been unplugged from the motherboard, or turned off.

As for the motherboard itself, it's hard to tell whether it's the same one, or just a replacement of the exact same model. Even when viewing that first image at a larger size, it's hard to make out any identifiable characteristics, like the label at the top of the board...

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/2560xq90/r/922/l3LIYx.png

It's possible you might be able to determine whether its the same board if you were able to locate the serial number of the original motherboard somewhere, though that might be difficult if you don't have a better photo of what was originally in there. It wouldn't be the same as the serial number for the whole system printed on the box. It's possible iBuyPower might potentially have that on record though, if you contacted their support and explained the situation, though I don't know whether they would keep track of the serial numbers of individual components...

https://www.ibuypower.com/Support/support

The CPU will have a serial number on it too, but I think you might need to remove the cooler to read that. Also, I believe only a portion of the CPU's serial number is printed on it in readable form, while to get the whole number one might need to scan a close up photo of a code on the processor using an app, though I don't know the exact details of that.

On the positive side, it looks like none of the components got mysteriously swapped out for anything different, as they all look to be the same, as far I can tell, and the system appears to be performing as expected.