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After building a computer and having the ram fail, what is next?

X

Xenphor

Member
I built my first computer and within only a few days, my ram failed; it was Patriot G2 ram. The only things I did were to open the case periodically to adjust things like add fans and video cards and such. I replaced it with corsair vengeance.

Then shortly after my ram failed, one of my hard drives appeared to fail as well, right after I had opened the case to install a new video card. I had moved that drive out of the way, very routinely, to make sure I had room for the card. After this, I was greeted with CRC errors and could not even reinstall Windows. I switched hard drives out and that fixed the problem. I have since moved the hard drive back to its original spot, and low and behold, it appears to be working again, although I'm mainly using it to just store Steam games now. It makes absolute no sense at all.

So after these two experiences, I'm wondering, what should I be looking for next? In all the times of opening my case and swapping out parts to troubleshoot, I know I've dropped my screw driver on the motherboard (asus p8h61) and jerked it around a little bit so I'm thinking it could be next. I've already replaced my power supply (Antec 650 earthwatts) to accommodate a better video card so at least I have a backup for that along with integrated graphics (3570k), lol. I'm not sure why my computer seems to collapse at the slightest touch.
 
It happens man. Don't get bummed too bummed out about it. Majority of system builders here can tell you about getting something DOA. Just return the ram and move on!
 
Well yeah, if you're constantly in and out of the case and have a tendency to handle the components a bit roughly, then you're gonna have problems. Try to be more careful (no dropping screwdrivers!).
 
Did you run the system with faulty RAM? If yes, that probably explains why the HDD screwed up. Nothing a low-level format (or is there a modern equivalent?) won't fix.
 
I did run the system with the screwed up ram because I didn't know it was bad until I couldn't boot into windows. When I replaced it everything ran fine until I added a new videocard.

So, if I drop a screwdriver on the motherboard, how do I diagnose it besides just waiting for it to fail? Is there anyway to check computer components besides just swapping stuff out when they fail? It's sort of unnerving when things just seem to spontaneously die.
 
I have learned through personal experience when working on my computer to always always doublecheck connections before I plug my computer in. If I replace anything to always always make sure what I put in is fully seated or fully connected.
It happens your hand brushes against something and pop something has come loose. So before I close the side panel, I give everything a visual once over to make sure I haven't missed anything and usually I have a flashlight adding extra light.
Nothing more frustrating than putting everything back together, plug it in and oops it doesn't work like it did before.
Sometimes it as simple as a loose connection or damn, the plastic bracket holding the cpu has busted. Have to get a new motherboard.
 
What has me particularly worried is the motherboard because it controls so many things and is hard to troubleshoot. At least with the ram, videocard, psu, or cpu I could replace with other parts although it's still quite a hassle. I think I'm gunna need to buy another computer to use just for troubleshooting hardware.
 
Is this system something you rely on for your job or home business? If so, yeah it makes sense to have a spare (or just buy a PC with warranty). If not, I don't see the point in buying another PC just for the sake of spares.
 
It is handy to have a second system around that you can test parts in, however not to the point where you should just build a second system purely for that. See if you can't justify replacing one of the other computers in your house and just making that your control PC, runs default everything and is left alone so you can troubleshoot parts in your PC if the situation arises.

I also work on my PC while it's standing for most jobs, though I never keep my tools close enough to accidentally drop anything on the motherboard to begin with. Once I have the motherboard + CPU installed into the case I put the case upright and finish the rest of my work.

The issues you had with the hard drive do sound strange though. Did you reinstall Windows or just swap out the memory? If you just did a memory swap it might have had some corrupted boot/system files to the point where it will not function if it's the primary drive/the boot table is located on it. If you took out the drive and did a fresh install then replaced the drive, those corrupted files wouldn't be an issue as they are obsolete as far as the OS is concerned so then it returns to just acting as a storage drive. That's what it sounds like is happening to me.
 
Dropping a screwdriver on the mobo is unlikely to damage it, by the way, unless it was from 2 meters high. Mobos aren't that fragile.
 
Ok I just had one more question. Are there any cases out there that facilitate easily going in and adjusting parts without having to worry about bumping into stuff? I could only think of something like an open air case with all of the components spread out on a table. That doesn't seem very practical though. Likewise, are there motherboards out there that are made out of more durable parts than usual? I would like to give myself some leeway when working inside the case since I seem to be in there a lot.
 
Motherboards are made with pretty standard processes, so you're not going to see much variance in terms of durability. About the only thing that I can think of would be an ASUS Sabertooth board with its "thermal armor". The problem with getting one of those is that you could replace your H61 board 3 times and still come out ahead versus buying a Sabertooth.

As for the case, some are definitely easier to work in than others. The higher-end Corsair cases in particular are nicely laid out.
 
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