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So, I fried my computer today:

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ScoopKW:
Hmmm....

I reread my original post. And I can't for the life of me figure out how people assumed I removed the CPU or did a major parts swap.

Hell, I never cracked open the case. The only parts-swapping going on was plugging my controls into USB ports.  I did physically move the computer to my workbench, so I could work on any wiring glitches in the control panel --  there weren't any.

I can't see where that would lead to a direct boot failure. But perhaps someone else has experienced the dreaded, "If you plug your Happ USB trackball in during a full moon, you'll have boot errors...."

That's my main concern -- is it even POSSIBLE to wreck a computer through the Universal Serial Bus?

In response to peoples questions...

cdbrown: Haven't opened the case, but will try a cmos reset, certainly...

fastredpacman: It's a crappy computer with a "built in" video system. Maybe the memory went... but I can't swap the memory with my other computer because they're not compatible.

testicle187: I spent an hour googling "eMachines T2385" before posting here. Like I said, crappy computer. Can't for the life of me find out who makes the mobo in this thing.

AlanS17: Happ USB trackball encoder and IPAC4. No lights.

RayB: Didn't remove the CPU.

Scott84: Dunno how I could have fried it. That's why I'm askin'.  ::)



PaulG:
First off:  Supposedly you can fry your mobo from the rare rogue USB.  I know it's supposed to be hot-swappable, but I've seen tales of people frying motherboards upon putting in a USB thumb-drive.  Supposed to be very rare, but I guess it occasionally happens (This news made me a little apprehensive about how often I'm plugging and unplugging things).

That said, if you played for two hours after plugging things in, that should eliminate that.  If you fried something plugging it in, it would have been dead from the start and no gaming for you.

Have you ever done heavy work on this computer before?  If you were playing for a couple hours (And using games that were high CPU utilization), this could explain how it could overheat and expose an installation/ventilation flaw that you hadn't exposed yet.

Stobe:
I did a quick search for your EM T2385, and found that it is a Celeron machine, not AMD.  Was your post a typo?

Either way, I would agree with some of the other posts here.  If you have not opened the case, don't rule out the fact that something may have just come loose (especially since you physically moved the computer)

To boot up, a motherboard needs a CPU, ram, and a display adapter at minimum.  The video card working loose would be the most common, but are you just using the mobo's onboard video?

After that, check the memory and cpu to see if they have worked loose.

Do you get an video or POST screen at all.  I'm assuming not.

Worst case scenario, you fix will not be that costly if you wanted to repair it.  But if you don't have a pile of spare parts lying around, troubleshooting which device is failing gets tricky.  (could be mobo, cpu, ram, video, or a comination of them).

I (like many around here) have a background in computer repair.  So keep us posted on whats going on, and we will get you back up and running.

-Stobe

RayB:
Step 1 is ALWAYS: Open case and look for loose things. My post did say it could have "been jostled loose". That applies to other parts too.

Step 2: Narrow down which part is the culprit. Disconnect all USB devices. Disconnect hardrives, cdroms... Check all cards are in tight like they should be. Check RAM is in properly. Now power up and see if the error codes are different.

Could USB fry something? YES. USB carries 5 volts on at least one of the pins. If something were misconnected, it could send 5 volts down the wrong pathway and possibly fry something, though usually all it does is cause a short, which would shut down the computer. At least that's what happens to mine. I have a bad USB port where every time I disconnect a device from it, my computer instantly turns off. But it comes right back up again if I power on. Weird huh.

Havok:
Best case is to re-seat every component that can be removed, (all plugs on mobo, ram, pci\agp cards, etc) and boot up again. If that doesn't work, and you still get the beep error code, try removing every device that is removable, including drives.

You MUST have a load on the power supply, so connect at least one hard drive, and power up. If you still get the beeping, you're probably screwed. If not, then connect one component at a time, until the problem reoccurs. Then you'll know which piece is bad.

Good luck!

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