My motherboard started smoking... T_T

[echrisinger]

So, today I got all of my components in my computer... everything together, and I was turning it on, excited to get it running. Then, right when I did, a green light flashed on the motherboard. I thought this meant it was 'ready to start' but I didn't press down the button long enough. So I pressed it down a bit more. Then, my motherboard started smoking, and I turned off my Computer from the back, then unplugged it from the wall.

I'm seriously scared that I messed everything up...

Now, it looked like the smoke came out from here (See attached picture)

IMG_0054 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

That light lit up before I turned it on.

IMG_0055 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Now something (me thinking - if only I'd thought earlier D,: ) tells me I shouldn't have plugged in the end of the plug from the PSU which connects to the fans, to the motherboard....... [I feel so stupid].

Anyways, would that be what created the smoke, and what would be the consequences of this? D:

I'm assuming I'll have to RMA the motherboard, and will the CPU be trashed?
Will the GPU/RAM be messed up too? I'd appreciate some elaboration...
Please, don't put it nicely, if I seriously messed stuff out, please tell me.

Anyways, I plan on taking it to a computer shop and seeing which components are fried, and which aren't...

[Preston]

Can you see any bulging or blown capacitors? (A rounded/blown top or bottom)?

Couldn't quite tell from the pic.


What are the specifics? Motherboard make/model, Power Supply, etc.

[jdeb]

Can't tell from the pic but if you see smoke, you hooked something up wrong.

[glc]

NEVER connect a flat 4 pin to the motherboard unless the manual specifically tells you to. You probably only fried the motherboard.

Admin note - you probably have 5 or 6 threads all going on this single build. We ask that in the future, you keep ALL questions about the build AND post-build issues in one thread. It keeps MUCH better continuity and keeps us from having to ask YOU a bunch of questions each time to get details. Also, please watch your language.

[echrisinger]

Ok.
A) Sorry about that, I'll stick to this thread then, for anything else.
B) Do most computer shops know how to test what is broken and what is not?
C) If fans have large 5 pin connectors, do I just connect it to the ones that go out of the power supply? See the second image for what I mean - the power cable.
D) Do you think said website I ordered the parts from would accept an RMA on these, if I err made a bit of an excuse? I don't mind ordering another motherboard, but $160 is $160. I'm not out to waste more money than I have to, and I think my wallet is much skinnier than the company I ordered it from.

[glc]

I've never seen a fan with a 5 pin connector.

So I don't have to go find your other threads, please list your components and who you bought them from and the date of your invoice.

[edfair]

It is my belief that most computer shops have no component level technicians that can diagnose down to the part that has failed, that if they perhaps do succeed in diagnosing the failure they may not have the parts or skills to fix it, and even if they do get it fixed at this time your board is likely to fail prematurely from the stress of the voltages applied.

4 pin connectors or 5 pin? If this is a MOLEX/AMP Special Products 4 pin socket as used on earlier hard drives you would plug one of the 4 pin mating connectors.

The LED that lit up when you first plugged the system indicates that standby power is applied. Pressing the power button enables the rest of the power supply. Once the wrong voltage is applied multiple parts are likely to start overheating and the one sinking the most power is usually the first to smoke, or catch fire. It is not a good feeling to see a resistor on fire. BTDT.

My last component level repair (other than a capacitor) on a motherboard was on a 286 based unit. They are getting too complex and too small to work with.

[echrisinger]

The '5 pin' was a peripheral connector, with a 4 pin connected to the end of it. Stupid of me to put it into the motherboard - I know.

The fans were peripheral connector fans, to be clear.

If any, what components would you expect to be fried, and how likely would you say it to be?

Components
i7 2600k
P8P67 [RMA'd :3]
Sapphire 6970
8Gb of Corsair Vengeance @ 1600 mhz
WD Caviar Black 6.0 gb/sec
Asus DVD-RW
Corsair HX650
Thermaltake v9 BlacX
Coolermaster Hyper 212+
Rosewill PCI Wireless adapter

Invoices for Mobo, Case, Power Supply, CPU, and wireless adapter are on 8/15/11
Invoices for RAM, HDD, DVD-RW, and CPU Cooler are on 8/12/11
Invoices for GPU is on 8/16/11

I bought everything from Newegg.

[glc]

Exchange RMA's from Newegg in the first 30 days are generally no problem.

[echrisinger]

So would you recommend I exchange any other components w/ Newegg? or is it highly unlikely that any other components were damaged?

[glc]

Not yet - see what happens when you get the mobo back. If you are over 30 days, then you RMA with the manufacturer.

[echrisinger]

Ah. I will go send off my motherboard today =)

[echrisinger]

So, I just ordered this fan controller off of Newegg, and I was wondering if there are any tutorials you suggest for installing? I'm getting rather conflicting tutorials off the internet. I have two Molex fans and one 3 pin fan in my case.

Also, I didn't have time to RMA my motherboard, and just did it today - that'll be a while.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811998038

Also, I didn't really get an answer, would you guess that the CPU will not be damaged?
(And if it is - Will Intel just replace it without detecting that I goofed things up?)

[glc]

Why do you need a fan controller? Plug the 3 pin into the motherboard and the Molexes directly into the power supply.

You won't know about the CPU till you have a good motherboard to work with or unless you take it to a shop for testing. Intel shouldn't hassle you.

[echrisinger]

A) I'm just a freak about ambient noise.
B) I'll be using it at night - for simple tasks like typing - and I won't need the fans on full for my parents to hear all the way upstairs.
C) I'm going to start speaking into a mic with my pc running, so I need it to be as silent as possible.

The only reason I didn't get one earlier is I didn't realize they existed.

[echrisinger]

(Sorry to bother you guys again)

Ok, so I have 2 more questions.

I have ordered my fan controller (Kaze Master), and I'm wondering whether I should plug in the back fan from my case into the fan controller, or into the motherboard itself. It's this standard 3 pin type fan.

IMG_0071 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Additionally, I have a standard USB 2.0 connector from the front of my case, that I have no idea where it goes. In all likelihood I will probably never use it as I have USB 3.0, but I figure it'd be good to have hooked up anyways. I just don't know which slot it goes into on the motherboard.

IMG_0073 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

[echrisinger]

Alright. So I just finished hooking everything up inside my computer.
Before I go to turn it on, I just want to make sure I plugged in everything right.

So here are the connections throughout the PC.
12v Rail -> Mobo
24 Pin -> Mobo
HD Audio -> Mobo
CPU Fan -> Mobo
HDD LED -> Mobo
Power SW -> Mobo
Reset SW -> Mobo
Power LED (- and +) -> Mobo
Sata 6.0 from HDD -> Mobo (intel 6.0 gb/sec)
Sata 3.0 from DVD-RW -> Mobo (Intel 3.0Gb/sec)
Esata from Power Supply -> DVD-RW
Esata from PSU -> HDD
Molex from PSU-> Fan controller
3 pin from back fan -> Fan controller
200mm fan -> Molex
120mm fan -> Molex
PCI-E Power from PSU (6pin and 8 pin) -> GPU

I messed up once, so I don't plan on turning it on until I get the green light from someone who clearly knows what they are doing (As in Glc, jdeb, khalil, etc. - Sorry to be elitist, but people frequently talk about stuff they don't know about on the internet)

[glc]

You REALLY should do this before you hook everything up in the case!

PROBLEMS with a NEW BUILD? Try This!!

However, your connections look right.

[echrisinger]

I'm living on the moon right now - IT WORKED
Now to download 20 hours of steam stuff and video editing software.
Thank you so much for the help, it's been several months of working towards turning this thing on xD

[echrisinger]

Ok, so we have 2 problems, both rather small, but none the less, they're problems all the same.
A) My RAM is apparently being recognized as 1333 Mhz Ram by the Motherboard. The Ram is Corsair Vengeance 8Gb 2x4gb @ 1600 Mhz.
B) For some reason I can't connect to my router/the internet. There are loads of wireless connections around my area, and none are being recognized, and my router isn't either. (Router being actiontec GT701-WG) I've tried connecting through my wireless card (Rosewill RNX-N150PCx), which I installed the disk drivers on to see if that would help, as well as connecting through ethernet, which when plugged in has an orange light where the ethernet port is on the motherboard, and by USB as well. Nothing has gotten it connected. It is working normally for my MacBook Pro, as well as my fathers old Vista PC and my mothers Windows 7 laptop.

[glc]

A. No big deal, you probably just have some bios tweaking to do. Unless you are overclocking, I'd leave it at 1333 for stability.

B. Have you installed all the drivers on the motherboard DVD? Are there any flagged devices in device manager?

[echrisinger]

Ah. No I have not. It said on the disk they auto-boot, but I'll make sure and install them again.
I'll report back if it won't work

Edit: So I used the disk, and installed all the drivers.
Those drivers being:
Norton Internet Security 2011
Intel Chipset Driver
Management Engine Interface
Realtek Audio Driver
Realtek LAN Driver
USB 3.0 Driver
Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver Software
Marvell Sata 6G Driver
Asus Bluetooth Driver
Browser Configuration Utility

I can't get the wireless card to work, but the Ethernet seems to be working fine. What should I do for the wireless card?

[glc]

Uninstall Norton and use Microsoft Security Essentials for your antimalware. If you are not using the Marvell controller, uninstall the driver and disable it in the bios.

Contact Rosewill support either via phone at 800-575-9885 or via email at techsupport@rosewill.com.

[echrisinger]

Edit: Nevermind - The audio jack is just a bit tough to push my headphones in all the way. Or should I say quite tough! No big deal though =)

[echrisinger]

One question. How exactly do I enter the Bios? There is something that pops up every time I power up my computer, but I can't see it because it goes away so fast...
Motherboard is P8P67 although I don't think it'd make a difference.

[quartet-man]

It varies I think. Your motherboard manual (or online version of it) should tell you.

[glc]

It should be DEL. You need to go in there and set the date and time anyway.