Less than 6 months and my new PC caught on fire

[Agent]

If indeed the fault is my own then I will end up paying for it, but I just cannot see how plugging in a USB connector to the wrong port can cause a fire, especially since there was nothing plugged in to the USB port and the line should've been dead.

Check the USB cables - they often use a single, or looped wires for the ground pin. If this is the case, it could have been shorting two pins on the Firewire port that really shouldn't have been shorted.

You're right though, this is a very shoddy design from ASUS. There should be basic voltage/current protection on any ports that the user can plug things into. Component wise, it's child's play.

Gutted for you mate - but as you say, I don't think there is much you can do apart from take it no the chin

[Jonj1611]

Maybe unrelated but my USB ports on the front of my HAF case collapsed a while ago, due to my fault or cruddy design I dont know, but I know when the bit that seperates the ports comes in contact with the usb connections, with nothing in, its a shower of sparks.

Having said that, I had my computer off once and accidently knocked the middle usb seperator thing onto the contacts without knowing and when the computer started it said over voltage detected on USB ports and shutdown, that was an Asus board. So it does sound as the board can detect over voltage protection, but not when its on I guess

[Mark@SCAN]

You're right though, this is a very shoddy design from ASUS. There should be basic voltage/current protection on any ports that the user can plug things into. Component wise, it's child's play.

I don't think it can be blamed on ASUS, I have just checked 2 other models of motherboard with firewire, one from Gigabyte and one MSI and they use the exact same pin out and connector type. The common trend between all the manufactures seems to be colour coding the connector differently to that of the USB header.

[Agent]

I don't think it can be blamed on ASUS, I have just checked 2 other models of motherboard with firewire, one from Gigabyte and one MSI and they use the exact same pin out and connector type. The common trend between all the manufactures seems to be colour coding the connector differently to that of the USB header.

I'm not blaming ASUS Mark, That's not what I actually said. As Allen said, and I agree with him, this is simple user error.

I do think it's a bad design though. The only way a fire like this can happen with a short is due to the voltage and current involved. It is very easy to put something on the lines for ensure that once a certain voltage / current is reached, that the port shuts off. Heck, you can use a basic diode to dump anything over a certain voltage to ground, and should you so wish, trip the PSU so the system shuts down.

I am no way implying that ASUS should be liable for this - but rather that a very basic and rudimentary change to the design could simply stop this from happening.

edit - I was tying a reply and then submitted before this thread was showing as locked, for the record.

Regards

[wesleyaldred]

I have now locked the thread as there is nothing else Scan can do and this is the after sales section, which does not allow posts by anyone other than Scan and the OP.