MerrHeLL said: I've been building computers for 30 years. Over 100 builds with 20 of them with Micro Center components over the last decade. Last summer I found a deal on the new 10 series i5. I decided to build my first ITX box in the Lian Li TU150 case. After assembly, it booted into the bios twice, but each time as soon as it tried to initialize a boot sequence it would just power off. So I did all of the normal troubleshooting methods. Checking connections, looking for defects on the boards, any signs of burned capacitors etc. I tried 3 different known working power supplies. I pulled all but one ram stick of ram. I swapped Ram for known working ram. Finally I concluded the motherboard was dead. I go to Micro Center and they are out of the motherboard I purchased. So they gladly swap me out with a much better and more expensive board. I take it home and try that board, same effect, no boot. I take that board back and they swap it again! That's 3 boards! It still won't boot. I pull the cpu out and try inspecting it a little closer. With 30 years of PC builds I'm getting older and my eyesight isn't what it once was. Using a magnifying glass I notice a faint heat mark. The FCLGA1200 socket has very small contacts and I notice a manufacturing defect on the cpu chip itself. I contact intel and they give me a warranty replacement. Once the new chip arrives I plug it in and its smooth as butter. This build took me 4 weeks from what is usually 1 day or sometimes 2. I share this story for several reasons. The service I received at Micro Center was extraordinary. Their staff and management are committed to providing great customer service and doing so in a professional and considerate manner. I can't thank them enough for how well they helped me through this challenging build. I apologize for not being a better technician and recognizing the cpu flaw earlier. This experience has reinforced the incredible value that local service provides to this industry. Thank you. I'll be a grateful and reliable customer for life. PS. standing in line for that RTX 3070 I managed to grab following the release date was worth it too! That one was plugged into my son's computer. Now I need to win this so I can have one for my own box. Thanks again!
Phantom Power Supply
Before bed, I turned off my computer * Click *, it gently powered down – suddenly the LEDs shone in the dark * CLICK! – it turned off again. While startled, the computer seemed to be okay, so I went to sleep. The next morning I was ready to work, but the computer wasn’t. Ominous, white text appeared on screen: "The ME FW of system was found abnormal…”. I anxiously searched for a quick remedy: I directly booted from the SSD – crash, and changed some BIOS settings – crash.
Perhaps the power supply suddenly turning on corrupted the motherboard. Thankfully, there was a solution: I needed a sketchier PSU to initiate a BIOS flash.
I would never use a fire-hazard PSU, but this one seemed fine. A friend lent me an 80+ bronze PSU, but when everything powered on, my heart sank. It’s was the loudest PSU I’ve ever heard. Despite the red-flag, I carried on.
When the BIOS flash started, clicking, grinding, and electric whining noises appeared –it seemed like the PSU was possessed by a maligned spirit. “Don’t explode!”, I pleaded. If the PSU failed before the flash completed, the motherboard would die.
I anxiously watched as a dangerous race unfolded. Pixel by pixel the motherboard clung to life as the phantom power supply growled and groaned. It was threatening destruction. Eventually, the system powered down and the PSU’s fan slowly halted in defeat.
"Integrated NIC on new motherboard destroys home network"
I had been wanting to upgrade for a while now and my friends told me to hold off and wait for the new Ryzen to be announced. I ended up having to wait a month or so for the announcement. When they announced the new processors, I would have to wait a month for their release date.
I marked my calendar for November 5th, took the day off work to be at Micro Center before open to get one. I wanted to drop the money and get the 5900x. I was 50th or so in line and the manager came out and said they had less than 15 5900x but about 50 5800x. Ok, I guess I’m still fine getting that. So, I waited in line and got my voucher for a 5800x.
I picked out all my parts, a new case, a new ram (I said 32GB and the guy took the ram out from behind the locked glass case), and picked a motherboard. I would just use my current SSD, power supply, and video card.
I get all the way home and install everything. Boot up, 16GB ram detected. Look at the box for the ram and realize they sold me a 16GB kit. Make the 40 min drive back, return it and get the 32GB set, drive 40 min back home. Boot back to BIOS. The processor is 0.00GHZ. Troubleshoot that and then realize I need to flash the BIOS so I do that.
Finally, everything is working and I’m happy. Fast forward a few days down the road to when the real problems start. My internet goes out. Modem lights flashing like it's lost connection, router says it's not getting a connection, all devices are without internet. Reset the devices, call Spectrum, and everything I can think of to get the internet back up and it comes back up. Keep running into this issue constantly and Spectrum tells me it's fine on their end and they have a connection to the line. I have a tech come out and check all the lines and says there is no issue. Outages are still occurring, so I return modems with Spectrum and swap for another. Outages still happen. I swap out and try other routers I have had. Still have outages. These outages were affecting me as while I’m at work I remote into my desktop as well as have smart home devices, locks, cameras that need a constant connection. These outages are causing major problems for me.
I’ve troubleshot with Spectrum, swapped multiple modems of there’s, switched to a modem I owned, had a tech come out, swapped routers and the problem was still occurring. Now I’m swapping out the network switches in the house, swapping out the ethernet cables with the issue still reoccurring. It gets me closer and closer to the new PC I built. Al these issues started after I built this PC.
The next time the internet went out on all the device, I use the Windows repair connection which resets the onboard NIC and every device in my apartment go back online! I tracked the issue from the modem and router flashing “NO CONNECTION” to being caused by my new computer.
I google the motherboard I had (GIGABYTE B550 AORUS MASTER ATX) and found a Reddit post and that multiple people have this motherboard and it kills their whole network. MY NETWORK CARD FOR ONE PC WAS SHUTTING DOWN MY WHOLE NETWORK! To test this, I waited for the internet to go out again and unplugged that computer, and magically all other devices' connections to the internet were restored.
As it had taken over a month to find it was the motherboard (after blaming Spectrum, getting techs to come out, swapping out; the router, the modem, switches, and cables) it was the motherboard.
I went back and returned the motherboard for an Asus, got home, rebuilt my system and a month later have not had one internet outage. The frustration that the motherboard cost me trying to figure out what was causing my outage made me want to never touch a computer again. I spent so much time troubleshooting it and dealing with internet outages that the whole month for me was torture.
Who would have thought that 1 computer could take down a whole network? It's like troubleshooting a car not starting and it turns out the tires are flat!
TLDR: Bought new computer, the internet was going out for a month and it was the motherboard of the new computer shutting the whole network down. Starting troubleshooting from the line outside the apartment, to modem, to the router, to switch, to cable, and finally to PC to find the issue.
SeanM said: Ever had a water-cooling system break in your PC? A graphics card catch fire? Did you touch all the CPU pins? Or maybe you just used the wrong RAM? Well, this contest is for you! Starting today, January 11th, we want to hear your PC disaster stories. Tell us all about your cracked cases and DOA graphics cards, your bad RAM and failed PSUs. Then, when the entry window closes on January 31st, 11:59 PM EST, we’ll be randomly selecting one entry to win a brand new 3070 graphics card! And be sure to check out the Micro Center Asks section of our forum for more light-hearted PC discussions, as well as our Service Center for assistance with builds, including build repairs and full-build services. Winners will be contacted the week after the contest ends. How to enter (see terms and conditions for full contest rules):· Join the Micro Center community · Post a comment below describing your most disastrous PC building experiences We can't wait to hear from you! Good luck! See attached contest terms and conditions. Contest submission window: 1/11/21 – 1/31/21 1 winner will receive a 3070 Graphics Card.
Ever had a water-cooling system break in your PC? A graphics card catch fire? Did you touch all the CPU pins? Or maybe you just used the wrong RAM? Well, this contest is for you!
Starting today, January 11th, we want to hear your PC disaster stories. Tell us all about your cracked cases and DOA graphics cards, your bad RAM and failed PSUs. Then, when the entry window closes on January 31st, 11:59 PM EST, we’ll be randomly selecting one entry to win a brand new 3070 graphics card!
And be sure to check out the Micro Center Asks section of our forum for more light-hearted PC discussions, as well as our Service Center for assistance with builds, including build repairs and full-build services.
Winners will be contacted the week after the contest ends.
How to enter (see terms and conditions for full contest rules):
· Join the Micro Center community
· Post a comment below describing your most disastrous PC building experiences
We can't wait to hear from you!
Good luck!
See attached contest terms and conditions.
Contest submission window: 1/11/21 – 1/31/21
1 winner will receive a 3070 Graphics Card.
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