Folding during a storm...

L

LordHuey

n00b
Joined
May 20, 2013
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5
So last weekend I had my computer folding and didn't even think about it when storms came through...
Nothing fancy, just one I put together from some spare parts I had lying around (Most about 3-5 years old.)
What is weird to me though, is that it was working after the storm came through. The next next morning, I went to take a peek at it and the screen was dark.
From what I can tell, a PCI-E slot went bad. I tried another (even older) video card, no display.
Swapped to the second PCI-E slot and the display works on that second card.
Tried with the first vid card in the second slot, no display. So right now its running on the second video card in the second pci-e slot.
Anyone know any methods to definitively tell if that first slot is bad?
Im not putting a whole lot of money into this machine, just something that I have had running so I can constantly fold.
 
LordHuey said:
So last weekend I had my computer folding and didn't even think about it when storms came through...
Nothing fancy, just one I put together from some spare parts I had lying around (Most about 3-5 years old.)
What is weird to me though, is that it was working after the storm came through. The next next morning, I went to take a peek at it and the screen was dark.
From what I can tell, a PCI-E slot went bad. I tried another (even older) video card, no display.
Swapped to the second PCI-E slot and the display works on that second card.
Tried with the first vid card in the second slot, no display. So right now its running on the second video card in the second pci-e slot.
Anyone know any methods to definitively tell if that first slot is bad?
Im not putting a whole lot of money into this machine, just something that I have had running so I can constantly fold.
Click to expand...

It sounds like you have already done what most of us would have..The first GPU and PCI-E slot sounds like it is toast..If it was working after the storm, it probably was just a freak occurrence, and was going to die anyway..

What kind of GPU was it that was killed? You mentioned the parts are all older, and the older Nvidia cards had a lot of issues with solder traces breaking over time..Many people have removed the heatsink and baked them in an oven/toaster oven in order to reflow the solder..I personally have done it with a 8800GT that worked great, and a 275 that was better but still not 100% fixed..

Sorry to see this happen to a fellow Team 33 folder:(..
 
It was a BFG version of nVidia GeForce 9800GT.
Contemplated doing that as well, but I might in the next week or two pick up a newer card and replace.
Right now I have a 8600GT installed and that is the one working. but Im not allowing it do any folding :)
 
Surge protector, yes.
Battery backup, no.
If possible I would like to see computers on battery backup, not only is there surge suppression, but the power is "cleaner" and you don't have that hard, in the middle of a process or higher wattage draw from the power supply, shut down.
 
On one extremely dry winter I was adding a DVD (new tech back then) to my computer and because it was so dry, static electricity had built up to ridiculous levels really. I couldn't get the DVD to work. But I could get my old CD to work. But the next day the CD stopped working and that EIDE port was flaky then died. Then my hard drive EIDE port flaked out and died. The initial shock did in the DVD, but the rest of the system died slowly in a cascading manner.
 
kametsukida said:
Surge protector or not, I always turn off my computers during an electrical storm.
Click to expand...

I typically do as well. Not only for shock through the house wiring but the charge in the air. For whatever reason I didnt even think of it that night.

fernis said:
Are you sure your power supply isn't bad?
Click to expand...

Wouldn't it affect the whole system if it were bad? I just cant get the gpu to work on the first PCI-E slot.
I have been running the system consistently the last two weeks (posting from it now) and I haven't had any further issues.

jpm100 said:
On one extremely dry winter I was adding a DVD (new tech back then) to my computer and because it was so dry, static electricity had built up to ridiculous levels really. I couldn't get the DVD to work. But I could get my old CD to work. But the next day the CD stopped working and that EIDE port was flaky then died. Then my hard drive EIDE port flaked out and died. The initial shock did in the DVD, but the rest of the system died slowly in a cascading manner.
Click to expand...

Hopefully that isnt the case with me, though it wouldn't be the end of the world.
 
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