Desktop won't power up and has a loose chip rattling around indie

[slicendice73]

Hi everyone

My PC has been working fine since I got it last August, but when trying to power it up today, the PSU just makes a clicking noise (regular, every 1 second or so) and nothing further happens. In time with the clicking noise, I can see LED lights inside the case pulsing (i.e. the lights that would normally come on and stay on when powering up).

It's normally plugged into a surge protected extension lead so I've tried plugging it directly into two different wall sockets and also tried using a different power lead, but with the same result.

I opened up the case, just on the off-chance there was something obvious wrong (I'm ever the optimist!) and found this chip rattling around loose inside:

Can anyone shed any light on what this chip is? And how come a) it looks scorched in the top right corner and b) how the heck did it come loose?!

Would this indicate an issue with PSU? Or some kind of power surge maybe?

I'm assuming this is going to have to go back for a warranty repair, but just wondering if anyone could shed any light on what's happened here...?

Thanks

 

[slicendice73]

By the way, in case it's useful, my spec is as follows:

Case: PCS GENESIS G1B CASE + SD CARD READER
Processor (CPU): AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard: ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM): 16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card: [ASUS GT710-4H-SL-2GD5 GeForce GT 710 2 GB]
1st M.2 SSD Drive: 256GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (1900 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive: 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply: CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable: 1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling: STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste: STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card: ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless Network Card: 10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT (Wi-Fi NOT INCLUDED)
USB/Thunderbolt Options: MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System: Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language: United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media: Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Keyboard & Mouse: LOGITECH® MK270 WIRELESS KEYBOARD & MOUSE COMBO
Warranty: 3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

 

[SpyderTracks]

That chip is a part of the Ethernet port off the motherboard. Looks like there’s been a massive short on the board which has melted the solder and brought it loose.

You’d need to RMA it, would need a replacement motherboard at the very least.

 

[Bigfoot]

That looks like it is part of your motherboard. I would assume that it is part of the surge protection on your LAN connection. Have you had any thunderstorms in the vicinity recently? I suspect your motherboard may be damaged from a surge on the LAN cable. There may be others with more experience of this with a different view.

 

[AgentCooper]

 

[slicendice73]

Thank you for the speedy replies.

Something has obviously gone rather haywire! I'll get in touch with support tomorrow and start the process of getting it sorted...

 

[JakAttack]

Yes please contact us we need to look at replacing that board! You're covered by the warranty so this should be fine, please keep the broken chip somewhere safe and return it with it if you do so!

 

[slicendice73]

Thanks Jack - I have spoken with your support department this morning and the return has been authorized