I think I killed my PC?!?!? help....

[fulanito_uk]

lol yes i guess your right!

[hhomebrewer]

I tried to overclock mine, today. It went into a seizure, going through this "attempt to boot" cycle. It would power-up, the LEDs for the DVD drives would flash for several seconds, then it would power-off, only to start it again. There seemed to be no way to get back into the BIOS to reset everything. So we flicked the main power switch and removed the CMOS battery. When we put it back in we had to reset all the BIOS settings, but it works again. This was an attempt to overclock by just a red hair. It failed abysmally. Moral of the story: If you want a faster chip, go buy one.

All of the above was after I touched the chrome embellishment on my Cooler Master CM 690 case and a tiny blue spark appeared between my fingertip and the case. The computer shut off and would not restart. I had to pull out the power plug, flip the power switch between 0 and 1 and try various combinations of main switch, power plug, Space bar (PS2 keyboard) and on/off switch on the case before it would come back on. Then all the BIOS settings were gone. So over to my computer guru's house it goes. He fixes it in about five minutes, then we decide to overclock. See above for how that went. Moral of this story: Touch some metal (not your computer's metal) before you touch your computer, especially if you've been running around in your socks. The static build-up caused by running around in my socks on a synthetic carpet is what caused it. I suspect I now have microscopic fissures or fractures in the board that will only serve to create problems in the future, so it looks like a new board and chip is in the offing. Sad part is, this board and chip have only been in this computer four or five days at the most...

[Slotback]

When I bought my PC I knew the CPU (Q6600 - 2.4ghz) would overclock really well, and I knew the motherboard and memory would be able to cope. However, I did not know how to do it. I also did not have the money to replace anything if it died, so originally I just was going to get a tiny overclock to 2.66ghz so I could match Q6700 spec. Then I got there, the processor was still cool and 100% stable and I realized:

1. This is easy.
2: I Know what I'm doing so I'm not going to fry or damage anything.
3. This is fun.
4. I can get a LOT more performance.

I was astonished when I got to 3ghz undervolted and now I think overclocking has been one of the best things I've done to a PC. It's been two years and the PC is still rock solid running at 3.0ghz and at these speeds it's about as fast as a current midrange CPU @ stock. Since I've locked down the settings I've never had any instability, blue screens, or errors.

Although I am a student absolutely strapped for cash; I don't think most people should buy a PC where they must depend on overclocking to get adequate performance (that's for people like me because I don't think I'll ever buy a computer again that I don't intend to overclock ) I see it more as a bonus type of thing.

hhomebrewer, your PC is probably fine. Provided the power supply is plugged into the electrical socket, the power supply will be grounded, and since the case is touching the power supply, the case will be too. I think this is a safety feature so if the case becomes electrified in the event of a fault, then the current goes to earth instead of through whatever is touching it (I use my case as a footrest). My understanding was that this also prevents damage to components even if you shock the case. I was always told to actually touch the case TO discharge static electricity when working on computers (but I guess they would be OFF at the time with the power supply plugged in but switched OFF). It was strange of it to reset the PC when you shocked it, my understand is that does not usually happen. At least, if anything does die, then it should still be under warranty. Still, I wouldn't worry about it.

Also there's a quicker and easier way of resetting CMOS. Just turn off the power supply and then short out the CMOS clear pins for a few seconds through the use of a jumper or some metal. I used scissors once.

[Fozzer]

My recommendation, after you have purchased your snazzy, new, computer, is to obtain the services of a local Welder to weld the computer lid firmly shut, to eliminate the danger of prying fingers...... ..!

Like Cars and Motorcycles; if its too slow, get a faster model!... ...!

Tampering, (like painful Piles), is bad for you, and mostly ends in tears!......

[Slotback]

If you know what you're doing overclocking shouldn't end in tears. I've never killed anything by it.

[hhomebrewer]

No warranty on this machine, NNNG. It's a homebuilt and has been imprudently touched, fondled and caressed in places no man's fingers should ever go. That stuff is for Fozzer, whose fingers I should think have some imprudent past to them. Anyway, this is a homebuilt. No warranty on it. Overclocking voids warranties anyway, doesn't it? When this boat anchor needs fixing, it goes across town to my computer guru, he fixes it then hands me a bill. Lately, it has been over there a lot. Ever since August 2, 2009 when I joined facebook. I quit it the next day. Noting but trouble ever since. Yesterday my computer guru called me the "Welcome Wagon for Problems." I could not disagree. My life is one of pure misery. Every time I turn around, something in my miserable life is going to hell. If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have none at all...

[Fozzer]

No warranty on this machine, NNNG. It's a homebuilt and has been imprudently touched, fondled and caressed in places no man's fingers should ever go. That stuff is for Fozzer, whose fingers I should think have some imprudent past to them. Anyway, this is a homebuilt. No warranty on it. Overclocking voids warranties anyway, doesn't it? When this boat anchor needs fixing, it goes across town to my computer guru, he fixes it then hands me a bill. Lately, it has been over there a lot. Ever since August 2, 2009 when I joined facebook. I quit it the next day. Noting but trouble ever since. Yesterday my computer guru called me the "Welcome Wagon for Problems." I could not disagree. My life is one of pure misery. Every time I turn around, something in my miserable life is going to hell. If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have none at all...

How come you know so much about the imprudency of my fingers, 'Brewer?.... ... ... ...!

Fortunately, as I am still running FS 2004 on my outdated, homebuilt machine, I suffer very little problems...everything runs hunky-dory!

...and I spend all of my time actually "flying" instead of constantly tinkering with "things"......!

I suspect that heartache will come in bucket-loads, (having browsed the misery on the FSX and Hardware Forums daily for the past few years), when I finally get around to installing my copy of FSX on my machine!

Its a funny old do....but I actually use my machine for running Microsoft's "Flight Simulator" program every day, and touring the World!.... ....(Well, at least, California!)... ....!

I leave Computer Tinkering discussions to the various technical "Computer Tinkering" Sites, and let them argue over their inferior, or not, hardware!... ...!

Paul....G-BPLF...FS 2004...FS Nav...and a sweet little FS 2004 Cessna 150... ... ... ...!

[Slotback]

No warranty on this machine, NNNG. It's a homebuilt and has been imprudently touched, fondled and caressed in places no man's fingers should ever go.

If you bought a boxed AMD processor retail then it should have a 3 year warranty, and your motherboard is probably similar. Doesn't matter if you installed it or you've touched it (warranty information should be on the AMD website...) Just don't throw out the box or receipt.

Overclocking voids warranties anyway, doesn't it?

Well it crashed when you tried, that's not really overclocking. But it only voids warranty if for some reason they find out which is not possible since:

1. You're not going to tell them.
2. BIOS has already been reset.

[Tomcat5]

Man!  That is some customer service.  My gaming PC couldn't play games when I bought it because the BIOS had a typo in it that made the GPU downclock at 60 degrees celcius.  Well, ASUS came out with a patched BIOS, but they gave a warning that you would be flashing on your own.  They wanted zero responsibility!  It was a relief that mine went through, but I can only imagine what I would have to do if it hadn't.

[Capt.Propwash]

basically anything that the EU (End User) does to their computer after it is purchased from a store and it leaves the store, is the 'consumers responsibility' NOT the manufacturer.  ... Now, if you pay-before-order and want the 1GHtz over clocked to 2.5 AT THE FACTORY, and the factory messes it up before it gets to you then it is THEIR problem, you have not received it yet.


the [glow=yellow,2,300]ONLY[/glow] reasons I would take the cover off of a desktop is to blow out the dust and upgrade the ram.  other than that.. Im not messing with ANYTHING internal.   I hate even using CCleaner to do a registry scan because I think it Deleted my FS9 registry file, and I have no way to rebuild it. -- DELETE FS9.CFG and restart FS9 will not do it.