So if you were to pull an AGP card out of the mobo with the power supply still on....

[fbrdphreak]

So here's the story. I pulled my 6800GT out of my mobo the other day, machine was powered off, but the PSU was still switched on.

Put 6800GT back in, no go.

Would this damage the mobo or video card or both?

 

[ChiPCGuy]

Possibly, yes on both counts. I know that many motherboards supply voltage and have a standby LED indicating they are receiving power even though they are in a ATX soft-off condition. The best way to work on a PC is with the PSU cable plugged into a properly grounded outlet with the PSU rocker switch OFF and better yet have a surge strip in-between in the OFF position as well. Once you soft-off the machine, turn off the rocker switch at either the PSU or strip or both, and then push the power button on your case once again to drain any remaining power in the caps on the motherboard. This is the best way of insuring that everything goes to ground for ESD and at the SAME time ensures that all caps are drained and you won't accidentally short anything. If you have an extra video card, try plugging it in and see if the mobo is a goner or not. That is the only way you are going to be sure what is up. Does the mobo even beep with the video card unplugged and you try and power it up? If you get no beeps, then your mobo is probably dead.

 

[fbrdphreak]

The mobo works fine, could the AGP slot be damaged?

 

[ChiPCGuy]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
The mobo works fine, could the AGP slot be damaged?

Not a jab, but the mobo is obviously not fine unless you can confirm with another video card. Yes, you can end up with a mobo that will beep and have fried AGP circuitry at the same time. The only way to be sure is to start swapping hardware.

 

[evilharp]

Originally posted by: fbrdphreak
So here's the story. I pulled my 6800GT out of my mobo the other day, machine was powered off, but the PSU was still switched on.

Put 6800GT back in, no go.

Would this damage the mobo or video card or both?

Yikes!

Like ChiPCGuy said, in future be paranoid about power when tinkering with your system. Always power down, and unplug the PSU (pull the cable out of the PSU after shutdown), hit the power button again (once the plug is pulled. Mind you with soft-off, there is a debate if this does anything or not) and let your system sit for a while (allows residual charges to subside. Yes, it is an old IT myth, but it is a good one.)

Now what?

Well, it happened so you need to identify the damage. Always look at the parts for scorching, broken capacitors or burnt traces. If you see it on your motherboard or video card, assume that the part is toast. You need to remove the parts to inspect, and you must inspect the back of the motherboard as well.

No visual damage, then follow these steps.

Test motherboard:
1) Power up the system after assembly, listen for diagnostic beeps - look for video. Problem, go to 2) No problem go to 4)
2) Power up the system with a different (and expendable) video card, listen for diagnostic beeps and look for video. Problem, go to 3) No problem go to 4)
3) If you can't get video with another AGP card, assume that the motherboard is broken. You need to test your other components on a good motherboard (i.e. CPU, RAM, PSU (yes, really), PCI expansion cards (sound/lan/ide/modem/scsi/etc.)), hard drives. The other components could have been affected if there was a voltage spike or other electrical problem on the motherboard. Skip 4)
4) You may have lucked out. Make sure, stress test your system and look for problems (memtest/prime95/S&M/Sandra Burn/etc...)

Test Videocard
1) Test video card in other system. Does it work (i.e. post)?

Yes) Run OS diagnostic programs (ie. dxdiag, video games (opengl and d3d), etc.) look for artifacts and video corruption. If its ok, you lucked out.
No) Really look hard at the board for visual damage. If you can't see anything, it means a chip (or chips) was toasted. Your AGP card is dead.

Good luck.

 

[JEDIYoda]

let me ask a question?

Who in darn blazes works on or pulls things likevideo cards and other items off the computer without first making sure there is no juice at all going to the mobo???

can we all say--Doh....

 

[fbrdphreak]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
let me ask a question?

Who in darn blazes works on or pulls things likevideo cards and other items off the computer without first making sure there is no juice at all going to the mobo???

can we all say--Doh....

We certainly can Believe me, I've been working on computers for about 10 years (maybe more). I think my hectic lifestyle of three jobs, full time engineering student, and a needy gf has finally taken its toll Time to slow things down...

 

[Lord Banshee]

I hear ya (the job/engineering student/needy girlfriend).. It is like having your soul rip from you and you are a dead zombie 24/7... well thats how i feel most of the time..

It looks like you ran out of luck with this issue... sorry to hear, but make sure you try the card and/or motherboard with different components.. friends computer or something.

 

[Zap]

I've done lots of parts swaps with the machine powered off, but the power supply plugged in (some PSUs don't even have the toggle switch). Never a problem as long as the system is off.

The scary thing is that I once removed RAM when the system was fully powered up!!! :Q Monitor was off and I didn't notice the PSU fan running (it's pretty silent). No damage. I do not condone doing this, probably just got lucky.

BTW, does ChiPCGuy = ChicagoPCGuy ??? You the same person?

 

[ss284]

Originally posted by: Zap
I've done lots of parts swaps with the machine powered off, but the power supply plugged in (some PSUs don't even have the toggle switch). Never a problem as long as the system is off.

The scary thing is that I once removed RAM when the system was fully powered up!!! :Q Monitor was off and I didn't notice the PSU fan running (it's pretty silent). No damage. I do not condone doing this, probably just got lucky.

BTW, does ChiPCGuy = ChicagoPCGuy ??? You the same person?

Ive the done the same thing before. Never had problems. Unless your power supply has issues, as long as your machine is powered off, you shouldnt be frying anything.

 

[ChiPCGuy]

Originally posted by: Zap
I've done lots of parts swaps with the machine powered off, but the power supply plugged in (some PSUs don't even have the toggle switch). Never a problem as long as the system is off.

The scary thing is that I once removed RAM when the system was fully powered up!!! :Q Monitor was off and I didn't notice the PSU fan running (it's pretty silent). No damage. I do not condone doing this, probably just got lucky.

BTW, does ChiPCGuy = ChicagoPCGuy ??? You the same person?

One in the same! Lost my damn password and had to re-register as something somewhat similar. Man, I had racked up some posts and now I am back to square #1. Oh well.

BTW--you were VERY lucky on removing the RAM while the system was fully powered and not destroying something! Yikes!

 

[ChiPCGuy]

Originally posted by: JEDIYoda
let me ask a question?

Who in darn blazes works on or pulls things likevideo cards and other items off the computer without first making sure there is no juice at all going to the mobo???

can we all say--Doh....

OH COME ON! We have ALL done stupid crap before. You, me, everyone. I once unplugged an ATX power connector from a mobo that was fully powered. Nice fireworks show, I must admit. Fortunately it only destroyed the mobo and nothing else, and it was a ECS mobo to begin with....so not much of a loss!

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: ChiPCGuy
Fortunately it only destroyed the mobo and nothing else, and it was a ECS mobo to begin with....so not much of a loss!

LOL, was that a Fry's combo deal? Ya know, I've been to the Chicago Fry's once - a bit of a drive but I combined it with a trip to the Schaumberg Costco and Ikea, so the wife didn't mind. It's pretty swanky for a Fry's. I've been to ones in LA that were small and cluttered. The San Diego one is huge, but not that nice looking inside. The Chicago one had nice flooring and all.

 

[Viperoni]

Friend of mine hot swapped an AGP video card once. Worked fine once we rebooted the computer.