Troubleshooting a potentially damaged computer. Or maybe misplaced cables!

Hewn

MOST RECENT UPDATE

So the computer system has arrived! It is as advertised and all is well. Except for the mangled box that contained the tower.

Upon picking it up, I noticed a "thunk." That thunk was the huge 8800GTX video card waving around freely. The case seems to have taken a pretty substantial blow to the side, knocking lose a few cables and parts. Nothing appears to be broken, though. The card appears unblemished, as does the motherboard. There are no broken pieces or anything of that sort laying around. I assume the bang dented the case, knocking the screws that hold things off kilter.

So, I attempt to hook things back together and... nothing. Hitting the power button yields nothing. No beeps, fans, nada. The motherboard has a small blue LED on it, which lights up when I plug the system in. This is the only indication of power I am getting, though.

I've never reassembled a computer from the motherboard, so I don't know where to start. Not all the slots (which appear to take plugs of sorts) on the motherboard appear to be filled, but, I'm not even sure there are the right cables to fill them! So please, tell me what would cause a PC to have power to the motherboard but not even attempt to power up. Here's the parts list, if that helps.

HT OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card -
Retail
EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB 384-bit
GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP
EVGA 122-CK-NF63-TR LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX
Intel Motherboard - Retail
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2
6400) Dual Channel Kit
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core
Processor Model
CORSAIR CMPSU-620HX 620W ATX12V v2.2 and EPS12V 2.91
Power Supply - Retail
Logitech X-230 32 Watts 2.1 Black Speakers - Retail
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM
SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive -
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum
Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX
LG Electronics Black LG Super Multi 18x SATA DVD Burner GSA-
H62NK, 10x DVD+/-R DL,

oldsak

First. If you're going to give him extra money, wait until your stuff gets to you.

If you go to the shipper's website you can probably get a ballpark figure for the total shipping cost to see if he is in fact just trying to get more money from you.

If he did list a shipping cost that was too low, here are some things to think about:
1. It's his responsibility when he selects the shipping cost to be accurate. I think ebay even offers tools to help you calculate the shipping cost.
2. It's not your responsibility to cover for his mistake.
3. You said yourself the low shipping cost at least partially induced you to bid. Would you have been so quick to bid if it listed a shipping cost of $150?
4. The shipping cost is essentially a minimum bid. It's just not displayed as such. The auction ended at x + 50 dollars which means that is the most anyone was willing to pay for the item.
5. While giving this guy extra money is a nice thing to do, that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

Bob Sapp

Have him scan the receipt to prove the cost. Then you can either work something out or stiff him.

The other guy shouldn't have shipped the item when the shipping costs got that astronomical, so the blame is on him. It's up to you whether or not you want to help the guy out.

Hewn

You have extremely valid points. I'm bad at playing hardball with money, which is why this thread was created for such feedback.

zerg rush

As a guy who works shipping and receiving for a company, that sounds like total bullshit. A single 50 pound home delivery box tends to cost around $60 bucks to ship all the way cross country. Split it into 3 boxes for the same shipment and you're looking at around $75 bucks as a rough estimate. Splitting boxes does cause an increase in price, but nowhere near 300% increase.

The only way you could possible have something like this occur would be if the guy decided to split it into 15+ boxes. Either that or he's splitting a multi-box shipment into separate shipments*. Either way, he really needs to learn to ship. Personally, I vote for him trying to scam you.



*If you ship all the boxes out on the same day, to the same recipient under one master control number it treats them as a single shipment. This drastically reduces price and increases the chance that all your items will arrive together instead of one getting lost. However, this is the DEFAULT action that UPS takes, so you'd have to go out of your way to avoid it.

Crashtard

Here's what it really comes down to. I've done the same thing as him as far as underestimating shipping costs. Not lately, but when I first started selling I did it by about 30 bucks. You are under NO obligation whatsoever to pay him anything. It's his job as the seller to find out what the shipping costs are going to be, not yours. If you decided to give him a little extra then I applaud you for being a better than most person, but you have no etiquette reason to do so other than being nice.

RUNN1NGMAN

He should have figured out what the shipping costs were before he listed the auction. You have no responsibility to pay him anything. You bid on the auction with one price for shipping and now he's trying to pull the ol' switcheroo on you.

LadyM

How much feedback does he have? And is most of it from selling or buying? If he's a guy selling off some random stuff instead of having a garage sale, then it might be an honest mistake. If he's a powerseller with a hundred listings, he's probably trying to fleece you without eBay dinging him for having over the top shipping fees.

Personally, I would help out if I felt he really was paying three times the shipping cost and was a newbie seller (if he provided proof, like a scanned receipt), but you aren't legally obligated to in the least. It's really up to you.

CoJoeTheLawyer

Having been on both sides of this situation, it's natural to feel bad for someone, especially if what they're paying for shipping is wiping out whatever marginal profit they may have made on the auction.

If you really feel bad for him, and you want to help him out, ask for a copy of the receipt first to ensure he's not scamming you, and wait until you receive the items to ensure they're as described before you send him any extra for shipping costs. Splitting it in half is reasonable, but I'd make sure he understand that you are doing this out of pity, not obligation.

LewieP's Mummy

On the whole, I'd agree with everyone, but I've found postage prices for the pictures I'm painting people have (crazily) varied, depending on which Post Office i use - eg. the first one cost $80 to post to USA from UK, the second, $38, and now i've found a Post Office that only charges me about $12. The pictures are all the same size, and wrapped in exactly the same way. Postage within the UK has also dropped - from £7.50 to just under £2 - I have no idea why, but the different Post offices treat the parcels differently. I'f i'd gone to the PO I currently use, people would have had to pay me way less.

Hewn

Updated the OP to reflect my fears that I'm trying to be conned.

UPDATE PART 2:

E-mail received from seller claiming her account was hacked and thus is the explanation for the vanishing act via Ebay. She provided two tracking numbers for UPS, but neither are pulling up information. Still, this seems like a "good sign" of sorts.

Iceman.USAF

At the very least I'd let ebay know what's going on, so that is this IS an ongoing theme there's documentation.

Cauld

Sometimes UPS tracking numbers don't work. This happens if they fail to scan it in properly at the original sorting facility. What does it say when you look for the tracking?

AtomBomb

I find it weird that the selller has no seller feedback, only seems to be buying artsy craftsy stuff (fake flowers) and is all the sudden selling high end computers. When she says she was hacked is she saying that she put up the auction and then was hacked or that someone hacked her account and put up a fake auction?

onceling

When someone's account is taken over, as your seller claims to have been, the account does not stay suspended, as your sellers is. The account (when restored to the original owner through Customer Support) is reactivated. I smell bullshit.

However, if you want to take their word for it, here's some advice for that path:

Email the seller and let them know that you will be in touch about their request when the packages arrive. Since they are "already shipped" its not like a few extra days without the money would make a difference to the seller, right? :P

When you have everything you have purchased, test everything and ensure it's in working order. Then, assess the shipping costs. If the boxes themselves don't indicate the costs, call up and ask with the numbers you have to find out how much the shipping was.

Make a decision about whether you want to send them additional money based on what you've found out. You are under no obligation to do so and I feel it would be a bad idea given all this drama with their account.

Do not send them any money before receiving the goods, its a great way to get scammed.


Here's the "worst case scenario" advice:

If nothing arrives, most credit cards offer 100% protection. Simply call and discuss your chargeback options. As you say, your PayPal protection is limited. I wouldn't bother fluffing around with PayPal if you are over their protection limits.

Hewn

UPDATE 3:

I received two new tracking numbers from the seller who placed a "V" instead of a "Z" at the start. Both of these tracking numbers work, showing 35 pound packages heading to my doorstep.

So despite the billion shady things going on, this might actually work out. Or I'll get two boxes of bricks. I'll let you know on Thursday!

Iceman.USAF

If it's bricks, I want pictures.

"Pix or it didn't happen"

Hewn

Iceman.USAF wrote: »

If it's bricks, I want pictures.

"Pix or it didn't happen"

The boxes seem to be surprisingly heavy for what I ordered, so, either I've underestimated weight or there is a good story coming.

LadyM

Some sellers just suck at packing. I once got a package with rocks in it in addition to my item.

The fact that something's in the mail is a good sign, I hope you get your computer stuff!

Advent

As far as the cost,

Shipping from a ups/fedex drop location or not using a fedex/ups account number makes the shipment more expensive. This is usally pretty significant. The differences in quotes I've done if I forget to log in to their website so we get our rates is pretty hefty.

Also, any kind of expedited services increases the cost quite a bit. Perhaps they put the order on as third day. Something to check the reciept for.

Hewn

So the system has arrived but was damaged in shipping. See the OP, as I need help!

Hewn

So now the motherboard LED is on, as well as the case LED. This shows power is somewhere. But hitting the power button yields nothing.

What could cause this? How do I troubleshoot?

vonPoonBurGer

There are usually a number of two-wire leads that run from the front of the case and end in little square-ish plastic plugs. The plugs usually have two, three or four holes, depending on which lead it is. Unless it's a really cheap case, the plugs should be labeled with things like "Power SW", "Power LED", "HDD LED", etc. The most important one you're looking for is the one labeled along the lines of "Power SW." This is the lead that connects the switch on the front of the case to your motherboard, and allows you to turn the system on. If this lead isn't properly connected to the correct pins on the motherboard, you will not be able to power up the system.

STERN WARNING: It may be possible to fry your power supply or other components by connecting the power lead to the wrong pins. Try not to fuck it up. I speak from painful experience here, by the way... :x

In order to know which pins you need to plug each lead into, refer to your motherboard's manual. Page 72 in that PDF has a picture of the pin block you're looking for. Looking at the motherboard in a tower case, they're near the right-hand edge of the board, halfway down, between the rightmost memory socket and the IDE port. The most important two pins you're looking for have a RED plastic base. Make sure the power switch lead is correctly connected to those two pins. Be careful that you've got the power lead connected to the right two pins, it's easy to accidentally shift the plug one pin to the right, because it's hard to see what you're doing when your hand is in the way.

So that's step 1: make sure the case's power lead is connected to the correct jumper pins on the motherboard, and try it again.

Dman

your motherboard should be a fairly popular one, check through the information/manual that came with it and find some websites/youtubes on assembling computers, possibly even the exact motherboard you got.

Some fans have separate connectors that might not be connected, but your power supply fan should spinning at the very least. Maybe check the wire from the computer's on button to the power supply and check the on switch on the power supply itself.

Cauld

just for future reference, if its damaged in shipping make sure the delivery people make a note about it. Even just signing for it means you've accepted the package as is and won't be making any claims of shipping damage.

Hewn

Thanks guys.

I checked the power button connection and things seem to be in order there. That sounded like a good suspect, but I think I've eliminated it. I'm getting the standby lights, which means there's power, but it doesn't want to whirl up. I'm puzzled why the PSU isn't even attempting to spin.

I've contacted the seller about the damaged package and have taken photos. It was packaged by UPS at a UPS Store, so it is my hope they cover it. From here, I just need to identify the damaged part and replace it, that is, once I get reimbursed.

Damn, I've done lots of ebay and this is the most complicated one by far. Ironically, it turns out due to a piano being dropped on the box, I'd wager.