• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Most Common Ways to Kill a Computer

Or what if you did everything right, then forgot to plug in the fan?
Click to expand...
I did that once... oops, my dad's poor duron 1.2 was scorched nicely. still worked for several months afterwards tho.
 
Just lucky, I guess. When a cheapo PSU gave up the ghost, my old computer continued working with a better PSU.

Most of the computers that I examine today succumb to overheating, which is my contribution to today's mix.
Next is PSU, and the balance, multiple maladies. Too numerous to note.
It's too often when I check peoples computers, I find them overburdened with dust and other stuff. Why?
I guess nobody really knows. Well, I get to see them after they burn out. Sad......
 
My generic PSU blew and screwed up my MOBOs BIOS. no overclocking. Its recognized as a completely different board. Still runs fine though 😀
 
15 years ago with the AT poweradapters... you could easily put them in backwards, which often happened... and unlike Star Trek Voyager, when you reversed the polarity, good things didn't happen.

And motherboards were MUCH more expensive back then (so were PSUs)
 
Originally posted by: Looney
15 years ago with the AT poweradapters... you could easily put them in backwards, which often happened... and unlike Star Trek Voyager, when you reversed the polarity, good things didn't happen.

And motherboards were MUCH more expensive back then (so were PSUs)
Click to expand...

Even worse was wiring them wrong to the DPDT switch on the chassis front panel. Turning on connected the mains neutral to the hotwire = instant CB trip, sometimes worse. :Q

At least it wouldn't kill anything on the motherboard - usually. 😉

 
I haven't damaged anything as far as I can remember, but when I was little, I was damned close to doing this:

Another common source of amusingly pyrotechnic computer disasters is that little self-destruct switch that most power supplies possess; that's right, the red switch that changes between 115 and 230 volts. Changing this to the wrong setting can cause a power supply failure as in the first part of this article in a matter of seconds. You really should know better.
Click to expand...

Yeah, switching that little red thing. 😱 Glad I resisted that curiosity...
 
Originally posted by: Looney
15 years ago with the AT poweradapters... you could easily put them in backwards, which often happened... and unlike Star Trek Voyager, when you reversed the polarity, good things didn't happen.

And motherboards were MUCH more expensive back then (so were PSUs)
Click to expand...



love the voyager ref!!!
 
Originally posted by: MS Dawn
Originally posted by: Looney
15 years ago with the AT poweradapters... you could easily put them in backwards, which often happened... and unlike Star Trek Voyager, when you reversed the polarity, good things didn't happen.

And motherboards were MUCH more expensive back then (so were PSUs)
Click to expand...

Even worse was wiring them wrong to the DPDT switch on the chassis front panel. Turning on connected the mains neutral to the hotwire = instant CB trip, sometimes worse. :Q

At least it wouldn't kill anything on the motherboard - usually. 😉
Click to expand...

LOL i still work on 4U racks with DPDT switches at the front. Only 3 wires, black, white, and green... but because they didn't take the time to just color the damn connectors, i always triple check them before actually connecting the power cable.
 
Originally posted by: filibusterman
Originally posted by: Looney
15 years ago with the AT poweradapters... you could easily put them in backwards, which often happened... and unlike Star Trek Voyager, when you reversed the polarity, good things didn't happen.

And motherboards were MUCH more expensive back then (so were PSUs)
Click to expand...



love the voyager ref!!!
Click to expand...

Yeah, i figured i'll kick this thread up a notch of nerdiness. 😛
 
Worst thing I have done is acidentially spilled some water on my laptop keyboard...which dripped through and fried my HDD...toast!
 
worst story ever:

I was helping out at the local computer shop. They just got a 30" apple cinema display for their display system and we wanted to test it out after hoours. The only pc still on was the webserver that hosts the website.

so we plugged it in and basked at its glory. anyway, its getting late and so kevin grabs the monitor to carry to carry out of the room.

well, it was still plugged into the server, wich was up on the shelf. The server falls down, and hits the LCD on its way. Luckily it just cracked the screen, so we returned it. (shipping problem, obviously) but teh server was toast 🙁
 
Bout 5 years ago, on a trip to England an british news show broadcasted a person that was at a party and drinking too much. He had to go, thought he was running to the bathroom but it was a small closet where the PC was, needless to say so he wizzed on the pc. Well it knocked himself back against the other wall, and the thing burst into flames, burning down a 4 family house.

I felt bad for the 4 family's but laughed for hours. We still laugh about it once and awhile when I go there to visit friends. Its usually brought up as we are saying good-bye, like "OK have a nice trip and don't go wizzin on any computers, now."
 
"My friend was having booting problems. Figuring it had something to do with his hardware, he turned the system around. Seeing a switch, he figured it might fix his problem, so he decides to flick it... 120v to 240volts... a huge white light illuminated inside his case and then his computer gurgled to a halt."
Click to expand...

I always wondered what can happen; it's like the destruct button in the Austin Powers movie whose purpose is to offer another choice to make our lives more exciting. 😛 :disgust:
 
I killed my first PC by taking the CPU out and putting it back. Unfortunately, I put it back in the socket backwards (180 degrees rotated).

Turned it on - black screen, then there was this burning smell and I see smoke starting to emanate from the space between the CPU and socket.

The CPU melted itself into the socket - I eventually managed to prise it out with a screwdriver. There were several holes in the socket that had been, err, enlarged and blackened, and the corresponding pins on the CPU had been scorched and the gold plating stripped off.

By great fortune, the scorched pins were diagonally symmetrical. So I put the CPU back in the correct way round. Put the PC back together again and RMAd it. Got a new one back a few days later. 🙂
 
I had a PSU blow on me, there was a loud BANG, blue flash and a smell of burning electronics that led to a minor cardiovascular infraction. I was in the lab once and got told to unplug a capacitor from a power supply i was building, first time i'd seen copper and plastic burn, good days 🙂
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top