Did bad overclocking kill my system forever?

stateofjermaine

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 22, 2009
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Completely baffled, guys.

Synopsis:
- Built system, ran fine.
- Bad hard drive, RMA'd.
- New hard drive, great.
- Tried to overclock (stock voltage, 200MHz), died during P95.

Result: Powered on for 1 second, and then died. Every time.

- Replaced the motherboard

Result: Booted into BIOS, lasted two or three seconds, died.

- Replaced the CPU

Result: No change.

- Replaced the PSU with a Corsair 650HX

Result: Will not power on at all; power LED flashes on, then immediately off.

Very saddening. Great first overclocking story, though, eh? Really, tho, what is going on? Beginning to lose hope. :(
 
Tried running it out of the case? I had a case short one time gave me the same symptoms.
 
I did with the MSI board. I have GIGABYTE now, and it doesn't have its own power button.
 
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Take a small screwdriver and connect the two pins together where the power button goes.
 
It seems really unlikely to me that a 200mhz OC w/ stock voltages would do any real damage at all to a system. Possibly coincidence? I would start from scratch - take everything out of the case, do a minimal build, and start parts swapping - ALL parts. Even CD drives. Make sure your spares also work first in another PC.

I think you are having possibly more than one issue, and you are conglomerating them into one.
 
Thanks, I'll try that. I am not too optimistic, tho, because the MSI board behaved identically outside the case.
 
Well one of your parts is obviously causing the problem - if not the board, then what? Hard to say. Maybe you have a bad PSU that killed the new board also? I recently had a bad CD drive cause a PC not to boot at work, that is why I mentioned it.

The only way to are going to narrow this down is to verify that your spare parts work, then swap. You may need some help from someone to find parts, but it will make the job a lot easier.
 
Hey Standpoint, sorry, I wasn't responding to you. I only saw gwarren007's post. I agree that some component (or more than one) must be causing it, but I am confused because the system ran perfectly with this same case and DVD drive.

The truth is that I don't have a lot of parts sitting around; this my first build. All I have are the parts which have been in the system. And from what you've said, they all could have been cooked by the PSU. It just seems like no test could pinpoint the problem, now.

SIGH. Man, I need a drink.
 
Diagnosing this will really suck without spare parts. Maybe a local ma and pa shop will charge you a reasonable diagnostic. But don't forget to pay attention to the little things when diagnosing - maybe it is something as simple as a cable not being plugged in right, front case headers not plugged in, etc.
 
$70 isn't too bad if you consider time and labor for yourself. However, I would make sure that the tech knows what he is doing and not just give you a quick diagnostic.

If you are in MN PM me, the shop I work at charges $45 for diagnostics.
 
maybe but you could use that money to get what you need in case something like this happens again and fix it yourself.

Otherwise go micro center but the next time something breaks, you have to call them again
 
I think I will go MC. The stress on me and my family is worth more than $70. I understand your position, TheResident, but this troubleshooting with no spare parts is getting ridiculous. Believe me, it's not for laziness, or lack of effort that I've come to this point. I have completely rebuilt this thing a dozen times. My wife had to physically separate me from this blessed machine so I would sleep. I don't have the resources available to properly test, and I am probably just wasting time and money. If I had four or five computers around, sure. But this is my only machine, and I need it for online courses.

Also, we have to design and print invitations for my 8-year-old stepdaughter's birthday party. :p
 
$70 isn't too bad if you consider time and labor for yourself. However, I would make sure that the tech knows what he is doing and not just give you a quick diagnostic.

If you are in MN PM me, the shop I work at charges $45 for diagnostics.
Thanks for all the help, Standpoint. It really is appreciated. Unfortunately, we are in MD.
 
Just as an aside, I RMA'd the processor with Newegg (who knows if there was ever anything wrong with it). Newegg only allows for replacements with the processor, so no refund. But at least I will have one that is factory sealed when I go to sell it. Also, I only paid $150 for the one I got from Micro Center, so I think I will at least get my money back.

On a "straw that broke the camel's back" note, part of the plastic SATA socket on the back of my hard drive snapped off yesterday, so the cable won't hold anymore. Is this covered under the 30-day warranty with MC? I've never even heard of such a thing.

Heh, yeesh, what a week.
 
Back from Micro Center. The tech found the trouble before I could get out of the store. No charge. I am using it as we speak, actually. :D

Unbelievably, the issue was with the way I connected my front panel USB connectors to the motherboard. Of course, this was the trouble with the GIGABYTE board. Who knows what may have originally been the culprit. He figured I probably fixed the problem and didn't even know it because of my bonehead wiring job. Either way, I am relieved to be back in the saddle. Heh, even considering a mild overclock . . . ;)

Some people are just suckers for punishment, huh?
 
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