Less than 6 months and my new PC caught on fire

[Allen]

No, I do not jest.





Also did some damage to the GPU above it, but the card appears to still work as I'm using it in my old machine, although I haven't tested the 3D capabilities yet. (sadly I didn't take a picture of this before I put it back in my case, and right now I want to get this answered first)

So where do I stand? I know the mobo is fried (literally), but I can't check the CPU and RAM in my old machine as the old mobo won't support them. Everything else appears to be OK though. Can I only RMA the mobo as it's the only obvious item that is faulty?

[[GSV]Trig]

Did you get a PSU cable with the machine, there was a thread the otherday about one that burnt a hole in itself, could be connected.

[Biscuit]

Did you get a PSU cable with the machine, there was a thread the otherday about one that burnt a hole in itself, could be connected.

i doubt its a connected issue. I think the issue with the power cables is that they are not truly specced for the currents being sent down them, this is internal to the system so if the 'cable' on the circuit board isnt up to scratch then its a manufacturing fault in the hardware rather than a dodgily thrown in power cable

Looking at the pic, it looks to me like a capacitor is the cause of the issue.

[blueball]

It is possible that the USB cables have been damaged by heat, you might need to check them and include it in claim if they are.

TBH I would return case as well

[Allen]

Well, the front USB ports haven't been working for some time, I think I physically damaged it on the case, so I cannot check.

Here are some more pics of the damage caused by the fire:



I am very concerned about the GPU, it has clearly charred the metal casing and I have no clear indication of damage done to the internals, if any.



It's only a case, so it's only aesthetic damage, but still it shows how worryingly hot the fire was (I didn't mention earlier this happened whilst the PC was idling and I was not in the house, I dread to think what could've happened had the fire been any worse).



Just another pic of the mobo, hopefully a bit clearer of the damage caused.

[blueball]

There is no telling how much the life of the GPU has been shortened by the heat damage so I would claim for that as well.

[Agent]

http://images.anandtech.com/doci/401...PRO_2D_H_x.jpg

Its hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like the voltage regulator between the 2 slots has gone. You can see the square that should be there in the pic I've linked.

If this has gone, then they do go with a boom. It's really one of the parts you don't want to fail on a PCB

[Mick@SCAN]

No, I do not jest.





Also did some damage to the GPU above it, but the card appears to still work as I'm using it in my old machine, although I haven't tested the 3D capabilities yet. (sadly I didn't take a picture of this before I put it back in my case, and right now I want to get this answered first)

So where do I stand? I know the mobo is fried (literally), but I can't check the CPU and RAM in my old machine as the old mobo won't support them. Everything else appears to be OK though. Can I only RMA the mobo as it's the only obvious item that is faulty?

Allen,

I am sorry to hear about the issues you are having, management are currently looking into this issue for you and will be in contact shortly.

Kind regards,

[Mick@SCAN]

Allen,

Having taken a look at your submitted photos it would appear that the USB connecters have been attached to the firewire port on the motherboard, this has in no doubt caused the damaged components. In this instance Scan would not be liable for replacement of any damage components caused by end user error.

Kind regards,

[Allen]

Why the hell do they make FW connectors identical to USB if plugging the wrong cable in can cause so much damage?!?!

There's no way I can afford to replace this for at least a few months what with moving out soon, and the components won't work on my old mobo, so I feel right now like I've thrown away a few hundred quid.

[Platinum]

I thought the pinout on Firewire headers was different from USB but looking at the pics that's not the case, still they are a different colour and are clearly labelled on the mobo...

[G4Z]

Yeah but does it say in the manual that plugging in USB to firewire pins can cause a fire?

I doubt it.

[Allen]

Mick, can you please confirm that this would definitely be the cause even if nothing was plugged into the front USB ports? As far as I am aware, there would've been no draw on the power if nothing was plugged in?

I haven't had the front ports working for ages, I thought it was to do with me knocking them when the fascia of the case was off, don't even know why I bothered plugging the damn USB header cable in...

Does anyone know if I would have any luck raising a complaint with Asus directly?

[Allen]

Yeah but does it say in the manual that plugging in USB to firewire pins can cause a fire?

I doubt it.

I just checked, it says:

Never connect a USB cable to the IEEE 1394a connector. Doing so will damage the motherboard.

Damage the motherboard != cause a fire which has the potential of doing a lot more damage than it did.

As I said, I am willing to hold my hands up and admit fault here, I plugged the wrong cable in. But I still think it's terrible that they use identical connectors, especially when even under zero load it can cause a fire!

I think I am going to write to Asus. I may get nowhere, but they need to know this is possible.

[wesleyaldred]

The exact warning in the manual is:

Never connect a USB cable to the IEEE 1394a connector. Doing so will damage the motherboard!

That's an exact quote from the manual word for word its on page 2-23, under header 6.

[Allen]

Hi Wesley,

I see that, but don't you think "damage the motherboard" is a slight understatement in this case? It burnt the case and the graphics card too and I can't tell if it's working or not, neither can I confirm if the CPU or RAM are working, although as long as this fire didn't cause a short I doubt they will be affected.

Please don't get me wrong, I may be continuing this thread on the Scan area of the forums, but my replies do not reflect my attitude towards Scan. I have been a long and happy customer of Scan and this has not changed that.

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.