You can't build a PC! Put the screwdriver down and step away from the computer! PART ONE

jonnyGURU

Moderator <BR> Power Supplies
Moderator
Oct 30, 1999
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I got a tech call today that was WAY harder than it needed to be.

He called wanting an RMA number for his motherboard because it wouldn't power up.

I asked him why he thought this was the motherboard's problem and not the power supply.

He didn't have a good answer for me.

I told him to test the power supply. He told me that he didn't need to test it because when he flips the switch on the back of the power supply nothing happened.

I told him two things. 1: If the power supply is what &quot;does nothing&quot; I don't see what that has to do with the motherboard and why you'd want an RMA for it and 2: It's an ATX power supply so flipping the switch on the back of it is sort of like flipping the circuit breaker in the basement to turn the dining room lights off and on.

I told him how to test it by jumpering the green (power on) lead with any of the grounds using a metal wire or paper clip.

He had neither a metal wire or paper clip.

I told him I'd like to review a few things concerning his assembly. The power supply is plugged into the wall and the ATX power connector is plugged into the motherboard. So I asked him where is the power switch hooked up to. He said that there was no place to hook the power switch up and that it was just a toggle switch in the back of the power supply. I told him that I was talking about the power switch IN FRONT of the case and he told me that there was nothing there to hook up to the board. I told him to look inside the case on the other side of the power button and there would be two wires. He told me that those two wires weren't for the power switch. I asked him what it said on the end of the wires.

He said &quot;Power Switch&quot;.

I explained to him that one of the fre things it DOES cover in the manual is where on the motherboard to hook the two wires. He told me he couldn't find it. I decided to navigate him around the board.

I made the mistake of asking him how he was holding the board. He told me that the ISA slot was at the top and the CPU socket was at the bottom. Sort of upside down of how it would go in the case, but I decided I'd go with it and proceeded to tell him where the power switch went.

&quot;Go up the board three PCI slots and then go left. You should see two rows of pins. On the bottom row, if you count from the right, the power switch lead will go on the fourth and fifth pins.&quot;

&quot;OK.&quot; he says, &quot;Where does the CPU fan plug in?&quot;

&quot;Well,&quot; still holding the board the way he told me he was looking at it before, &quot;if we look at the CPU socket and go off to the left, you'll see a white header with three pins. That's for the CPU fan.&quot;

&quot;If I go to the left of the socket, I'm off the board!&quot;

&quot;Huh? No no no. You must be going to far to the left. See the DIMM slots? Go to the right of the DIMM slots and just before the CPU socket, you'll see the header.&quot;

&quot;If I go to the right of the DIMM sockets I get the AGP slot.&quot;

&quot;Huh? Look. I'm holding the board the way you told me with the ISA slot to the top.....&quot;

&quot;Oh, no. I'm not holding the board like that anymore. The ISA slot is to the right.&quot;

&quot;Oh. You turned the board? Crap. OK. Look just ABOVE the CPU and BELOW the DIMMS then.&quot;

&quot;OK. Found it.&quot;

&quot;Good. Anything else?&quot;

&quot;Yeah. Let's double check where the power button goes.&quot;

&quot;OK. With the way the board is now, the front panel connector pins are located just above the third PCI slot and are running vertical. You have a left column and a right column. On the left column, count up from the bottom one, two, three and then four and five are the two pins for the power switch.&quot;

&quot;I'm sorry. I'm not seeing the front panel connector pins. Above the third PCI slot? Hmm.... All I have there is the CD Audio inputs for the on board sound.&quot;

&quot;Huh?&quot; I'm confused. &quot;That's not ABOVE the PCI slots. That's below it. WAIT A MINUTE! How are you holding the motherboard now?&quot;

&quot;I've got the ISA slot to the left.&quot;

Dead serious, this is how I said the following and if a voice could have a caps lock, it would be ON: &quot;YOU WILL NEED TO QUIT TURNING THE BOARD AROUND ON ME NOW! YOU WILL NOT TURN THE BOARD ON ME ONE MORE TIME OR I AM HANGING UP THE PHONE. YOU WILL HOLD THE BOARD IN THE SAME MANNER AS IT IS DISPLAYED IN THE MANUAL. THIS IS THE SAME WAY THE BOARD WOULD LOOK IF IT WAS MOUNTED IN A TOWER AND YOU WERE LOOKING IN. IF I NEED TO CLEARIFY THIS FOR YOU; THE ISA SLOT IS AT THE BOTTOM AND THE CPU IS AT THE TOP. DO YOU UNDERSTAND???&quot;

&quot;Um... yes.&quot;

&quot;YOU WILL NOT MOVE THE BOARD FROM THIS POSITION. DO YOU UNDERSTAND???&quot;

&quot;Um... yes sir.&quot;

&quot;Ok. Now. Count down three PCI slots from the top and go two inches to your right. Do you see a set of pins?&quot;

&quot;Yes. I do. Two rows of 10.&quot;

&quot;Good. Top row, fourth and fifth pin from the left is your power switch. Got that?&quot;

&quot;Yes. Thanks.&quot; *click*

TO BE CONTINUED.......

 

IBhacknU

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
6,855
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<< He had neither a metal wire or paper clip. >>

This guy is making a point of being difficult. Who in there right mind could not come up with a wire or paper clip?

Sounds more like he didn't want to help.
 

Soybomb

Diamond Member
Jun 30, 2000
9,505
1
0
Man all the students in the lab just started staring at when when I started laughing out loud at the &quot;QUIT MOVING THE BOARD&quot; section. In a way I envy the way you can have a new story to tell after each day at work. In a small way ;)
 

AMDJunkie

Diamond Member
Dec 6, 1999
3,431
5
81
Had he actually mounted the mother board on the case yet? Maybe the mobo was just sitting on the metal with no stand-offs, turns on the power, and ZAP! Dead mobo. Either that or he has a case shaped like a top. :Q
 

BiggieN

Banned
Apr 3, 2000
4,230
0
0
hahah..thanks for giving me some humor...e machines would be a great idea for him.

Alf, quit complaining.
 

jonnyGURU

Moderator <BR> Power Supplies
Moderator
Oct 30, 1999
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You guys aint seen nothing yet.....

Read PART TWO!
 

kranky

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
21,014
137
106
< dude, all your posts are long >

Sounds like a prime candidate for this book for Christmas: &quot;The Attention Deficit Disorder Association's Book of Wild Animals of North Amer - Hey! Let's Go Ride Our Bikes!&quot;

:)
 

Dameon

Banned
Oct 11, 1999
2,117
1
0
he was also flipping the 110 / 220 switch on the power supply most likely, swapping the input voltage the Power supply was expecting. This guy sounds damn near dangerous. Setup the return now man, he will set it up wrong and complain when it bluescreens, insisting the motherboard is bad.
 

jonnyGURU

Moderator <BR> Power Supplies
Moderator
Oct 30, 1999
11,815
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<a target=new href="http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.cfm?catid=38&amp;threadid=291294
">Right here!</a>