This is kind of how UA-cam should work. Somebody in need gets help, Greg gets content and makes a living, we get to enjoy it. Nobody's getting taken advantage of
Man, a good repair shop would undercharge you cause it was such a simple fix. Assuming they were able to figure it out pretty quick, that is... but I'd hope an actual repair shop would be able to.
@@elusivelectron "and" I dont distinguish for obvious reason they are identical. HP and Dell. Those two are CRAP like holy shit. Words cannot even describe how fucking terrible Dell and HP actually are. Like there are no words, nothing sufficiently describes the level of shitpile trash that is each. I'd strongly advise never even no matter how seemingly cheap do NOT pay for an HP or Dell. The sole exception is $100 used office PCs from like 2012 that have an i7 3770 and can at least take a like $80 GPU and get a whole entry gaming setup for under $200. That's fine. You can play most games made before 2020 on that kind of PC at 1080p. But ironically anything made by Dell after about 2014 is literally worth less than a 2012 XPS just because of the stupid fucking proprietaty garbage thus making it worthless and useless.
This is a quintessential fix or flop episode! Definitely one of the most interesting outcomes, nice that the sleeper build was preserved as it's a nice build.
Kudos to you for fixing it properly. I'd have probably been lazy and just put 2-3 layers of electrical tape over the metal sticking up and called it a day.
There are definitely lots of OEM cases that look great, including this one, and I do love the idea of a sleeper build, but this video shows one of the main reasons I'd be afraid of trying to create one. When you take a case from HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc., that was designed for proprietary parts, and then try to install standard PC parts into their place, a lot of weird issues can happen. If it's not something physical, as you showed in this video, it's probably going to be the wiring to the front of the case. I love building and fixing PC's, but I don't want to have to use a dremel or redo wiring just to make something work in an older case.
This is going back a few years, well decades actually but had a board fry on a 386 sx40 by grounding out, new board reusing a old case. My board smoked though, I was so mad.
And man Greg is right, before watching this series I was a total noob at replacing RAM even. Now I can comfortably swap out any part I want and rewire with confidence with a little bit help with the manual. We're all improving slowly but surely. Thank you for keeping this series going! it's like computer school classes for life.
The fix is easy, but the process of isolating the real fault is NOT EASY. I'm a Big fan of your fix or flop series! The morale of the story is...steer clear of OEM casings. LOL!!
Hey Greg, don't be too hard on yourself. We are HUMAN and not perfect. For those who commented, "you should do this, you should do that" - I'm more than positive that YOU don't know it ALL. That being said, continue with this playlist, it's awesome Greg! P.S. I hope you pin this and keep up the great work!
I build about 80 computers annually and refurbish another 40-50. My FIRST troubleshooting test on systems like this is to "breadboard" them outside the case. It really saves time in the long run. It is super helpful to know whether your base components are the issue or if it is something more complicated like a case short or a flakey PSU. (Oh, and most ASRock ATX boards DO use that standoff that gave Greg such a hard time.)
I got the issue right away at the start of the video after having to deal with OEM builds in the past. Those raised built in standoffs ALWAYS cause issues with motherboards….. especially with solder points on the motherboard underside and I’ve had to remove them or use a screwdriver and hammer and hammer them inversely to remove the short issue. These Fix or Flop series thou, have given me some unique perspectives on identifying faulty parts (despite building and repairing pcs for myself, family and friends for 25+ years) and thank you Greg for continuing to do this series to help the newer and younger generation of pc users and gamers 🥰😇👍. Keep up the great work!
I had this happen to one of my older PC's back in the day. Could not figure what the issue was. So upon removing the motherboard everything worked fine, but as soon as I put it back inside the case. Nothing. I ended up ordering a new case, and everything worked fine again. I suspect I had the same issue as was shown in the video. But thank god i only spend about 60 euro for it. So it was not a total loss, and the case looked nicer as well.
That's how we learn to troubleshoot pretty much anything. I've been an electrician for 30 years and I still encounter issues and situations I've never dealt with and through research and hands-on investigation, disassembly and reassembly do we learn how to repair and discover and solve problems. Well done! That was a tough one!
Greg, to show that you are human is the best part. You don't show how perfect and infallible your skills are. You show that no matter what, things can be missed. I watch you not to see you fail but how to learn for troubleshooting. My teeth were cut on an Apple II, and my last build was a 2003 American Megatrends MB. At least your not hooking up the oscilloscope for diag. Your doing great, when you stop learning that is the beginning of the end.
This was one of your best episodes. Really eye-opening troubleshooting took place and you showed your previous experience tracking down funky shorting issues. Very good very good
Wow that's a strange but interesting issue, guess sleeper builds do come with some risks. Pretty amazing that the board didn't fry from that (even more amazing that it RAN for 2 weeks before it broke).
One of the best parts about this series is something you touched on at the end of this video, your growth from season 1 up til now. This series takes me back to the 90s when I was a lowly repair technician and my journey of improving my diagnostic skills. That was funny for me, when you flipped the power switch at the 10 1/2 minute mark my tv screen went black, then a second later an ad started. I’d put a piece of electrical tape over the metal making contact to keep the sleeper look.
Greg, I do not think you need to explain. We are all seeing your skills increase with what might have stumped most people. You are killing it. Life is a journey, enjoy the ride, not just the destination.
My current PC was my first build and channels like yours are the reason I felt confident enough to take it on. It sounds like you are beating yourself up towards the end and you really shouldn't be. Anyone can make minor mistakes, and you are probably a top 1% hardware expert worldwide because of your experience. Thanks, and keep up the good work.
Best option was to NOT swap cases. You're definitely right. The sleeper look is great. I'm kinda rethinking my next setup now. Maybe get an NR200 (no glass, no RGB)... My mind is grinding gears now. Good episode.
Very satisfying troubleshooting process, priceless. I also appreciate how you showed footage from the previous episode and highlighted a mistake that you made in order to allow us to learn from it, it takes a lot of courage to admit making a mistake.
Greg, you know the best thing with this Fix Or Flop Series, whether you are successful or you fail at Fixing the PC, you get a learning experience that helps your viewers fix their PC's in the Future. I'm Grateful with this Series that you put together, it helps teach me "When the time comes" to diagnose my own PC or Friends and Family member PC's as well. Thanks for taking the risk to show us what Failing Forward truly looks like.
The thought of a case problem crossed my mind, but I wasn't sure. After all, we're dealing with used components here, any of which could be bad. Nice detective work
This is why I'm here, for Greg's journey. It is satisfying to watch him work through a problem and hopefully make some progress or learn something new. ...anyway, this is why I strongly recommend against reusing any non-standard parts from any mass produced pre-built in a custom pc build, especially cases and psus.
At least he admitted that mistake in the past. Don't forget basic things we should be in terms of troubleshooting. Sometimes we got clouded our minds in more complex things than rethinking. We always be keep learning. Thanks to Greg for remind us.
Greg, congrats on getting through that issue! Even though you got rid of that chassis piece, I would've placed a small piece of Electrical tape on that "rugged edge" just in case to ensure that the motherboard doesn't 'shift' and touch it when he reinstalls his PC by his desk etc! Enjoying the series, keep up the good work!
You know I really love this series. I love seeing an issue, trying to figure out the issue while I watch(like a murder mystery), then seeing the fix. It's always educational for future reference. More so than benchmarks and reviews. Always makes me want to work on a computer.
Excellent video, well done for finding the solution! I especially liked the part at the end where you take your experience and apply it to past ones that flummoxed you. No-one is perfect, the important thing is to learn.
Glad to see such a satisfying ending! Admittedly in watching past FoF episodes I've been frustrated at not seeing you take the semi-routine step of "test benching" the setup outside the case to check for shorts against it, but recent episodes have much remedied that. Anyone wanting to learn the sometimes ad hoc nature of troubleshooting would benefit hugely from the entire playlist, and I hope you keep on trucking for the fine computer denizens of Orlando, Florida :)
This is such a useful breakdown of a problem that is rarely considered, but I'm sure people have experienced. Hopefully the right people in need of this solution find this video. Great job, Greg. Also, it was a smart addition at the end of this video to add the retrospective on a similar misdiagnosis.
I know the feeling. I just troubleshoot and system for my son that stopped working. And after going through the steps I was able to find that the hard drive had failed and was not allowing the system to boot. The boot nvme was fine but the storage hard drive had failed. Watch your video all the time and learn a lot
Wild, it's funny because I THINK I know a lot about pcs and whenever I fix a buddy's PC or troubleshoot one of my own, I find there is always something more to learn. Randomly watched one of your videos where the issue was the cooler pressure on the CPU, and I was at my wit's end...I remember your video when I was about to call it dead....and I tried it, and THAT WAS THE ISSUE!!!!!! So keep doing these videos and ill keep watching even if it's just on in the background while I'm filming my own content. Never know what you will learn!
We had one Similar, building new 13th gen in an only case from 2004 ish. (Antec Shark Case). out of the case everything would work, once in the case no power at all. Come to find out the removable motherboard tray had a metal lip that ever so slightly shorted the VGA, and Audio solder points on the bottom of the board. We installed electrical tape on both bottom of the board and lip of the tray. POST fine after. Long run we switched it out to newer case, when it arrived.
It is always a good feeling to know you have a greater knowledge on something now than you did previously. With IT being so broad, you are always learning something new. I reason I will still learn something new into my 60s
when dealing with cases like these I usually tape the pins on the back of the motherboard, I know it is not good because of grounding but I really rather not risk a short blowing up everything.
As a retired computer person, one of my favorite sayings is: If the computer won't work, give it a good swift kick. It never fixes the problem, but it makes you feel better. Now here we have an issue that it might have fixed!
I fixed my Keurig like this once, it refused to start a cup a couple years ago no matter what I did. Short solution I hit the top of it.....hard in frustration. Fixed it and haven't had problems 2 years later.
Hey Greg, love to see that season 5 of FoF finaly starts. I like the other content too, but my absolute favorite is the FoF series. You do it so well, to explain all the steps you´re doing and why you´re doing them. This is so educatinal. I wich I would have had something like this in the late 90s or early 2000s, when I started building PCs or trying to fix them for my colleagues. It´s so much fun to watch your videos and trying to guess what´s the root cause of the issues. Most of the time I´m at least on the right path, but other times, like in this video, I would never in a thousend years have that rig fixes. Thank you for sharing this content.
Greg, regardless of previous failures or rumination, you can rest assured that you have helped at least 1 person (guess who :D) feel 1000x more confident when repairing their system. I don't think there is a single person on earth who could fix EVERY issue EVERY time, but you have come pretty damn close. And this series contains a vast wealth of knowledge that (unless you work in repair or something) you simply can't get unless you watch someone like yourself get down in the weeds. We appreciate you!
This one is one of those great moments in life. An issue like this will stay tattooed in your brain for future troubleshooting. Glad you didn't give up.
Hi Greg, I'm a german IT-Specialist, but I'm not fixing any hardware, so it's just nice to see and I'm also thinking about "what could be the issue" haha. Just wanted to say that I like these Series and I think you make many people happy. Wish u a good day.
Great find on that on piece touching the board! I personally wouldnt put a gaming rig in a Dell PC (heresy!)! As for not fixing the one with that stand-off. Man, that takes a lot of experience to see. And thanks to the comments pointing it out, you (and everyone watching) learned something else that you should diagnose before placing parts in an existing rig that has failed. We learn together!
A friend and I worked on a build years ago and a motherboard screw was shorting it out. Neither of us could figure it out and took it to a local PC shop and they figured it out. Went through so many steps and was so annoying to figure out. Makes sense. You live and you learn. Probably the rarest issue that I have come across and in over 20 years only seen it happen that one time. Not surprising it took you a while to figure it out.
I hate to correct you, Greg, but you have had an incident pop up several times before during the run of these...remember those clogged AIO's? I think that stuff happened back-to-back-to-back episodes, if I remember right. :) I can still remember that brown-red water hitting your clean white desk...fun times. I'm gonna wind up binging your seasons now, I think. :P
Wow! 2 Things I want to comment on: 1. A Standard Micro-ATX Motherboard works with a 'Dell Case' & 2 This Episode was Intriguing & Satisfying with Deep Dive Troubleshooting to finally Isolate the Problem!!
Really have been enjoying all your flips&flops episodes. You're one of the most genuine UA-camrs I've come across 3 yrs ago, love to see the growth of this channel. You have my full support greg, all the way from Malaysia 🇲🇾
Nice find 👍 Hats off to the builder using a OEM case. Used to do the same since the mid 2000’s to early 2010’s aftermarket case quality wasn’t there yet and OEM cases were built very sturdy compared to the tin cans that were sold as custom cases. Plus always enjoyed the sleeper look myself. Very good taste.
Great that you accept that learning anything is a process of trial and error. Everyone starts at level zero and no one should get frustrated by the process. There are not failures, just successes and opportunities to learn. I have learned a lot watching your videos and now help repair and upgrade computers for local non-profits. Many Thanks.
I have learnt so much watching these and now I have ended up being the guy that my family and friends go to here in the UK. keep learning as knowledge is power.
I'm glad I'm found your channel, I had so many questions about my pc but after binge watching your videos, I've learned so much on how the current components work and how to troubleshoot
Wow that was a good catch! It's nice to see you learning from past mistakes, it's really encouraging and I'm sure this will help someone out there with a similar issue
Greg Buddy, for future issues as such and future sleeper builds, I always put black electrical tape over the factory case stand offs to avoid any shorts. It would be better than taking a hammer and breaking metal pieces off the case. Bending that back was a good idea, but before you put the motherboard back on the stand offs, just put a piece of electrical tape on the stand offs and problem solved.
Love your videos, Greg. Thanks for all of the amazing help and information you always provide. I have to say, though... I have always (respectfully and constructively) questioned your reluctance to take the platform out of the case more quickly. The first PC I built would not POST due to the manufacturer putting a stand-off in the wrong spot (and me too inexperienced to catch it). After 11 hours, I finally decided to take the components out and it all worked. Thanks to a random Reddit thread, I knew to check for an extra stand-off. Since then, I have built (and rebuilt) over 10 computers for myself, my family, and my friends. I also love to deep clean everything and rebuild it thanks to your PCDC series. Your videos are a big help, and also very entertaining. Keep up the awesome work. And remember: just take the stuff out of the case and see if it works lol. After the quick-swappable parts, of course.
Good Troubleshooting on this one Greg! I probably would have just replaced the case myself thinking the standoffs for the Dell case just wasn't up to snuff! Great job!
Because of this series, fix or Flop I can confidently say I am more confident in fixing/diagnosing alot of issues that arise with my own pc. Thank you for this amazing series
Omg season 5 already so much great and informational content Love your stuff Greg if only every state had a Fix or Flop Saint like you. Also what a crazy awesome sleeper build.
It's always a learning experience Greg a computer is a very complicated device that has multiple components and we really enjoy watching you and learning with you.
Incredible job! And think about this: without the painful lesson in S3, you might not have had the valuable lesson that let you fix this one. Failure is a very important part of mastering anything
Back in the old days, when all cases were bare metal and solder points were not perfect, we used to tape up the motherboard tray, to be sure nothing touches. Nice vid!
One of the most beautiful builds I have seen in a while. It looks so nice, the case is compact and the build is pretty good. Even the CPU cooler adds some style to it. What a ride was this one. Excited for the new season!
That was a good catch on this one. I watch these to try to keep my hardware troubleshooting skills up and I called there being a short after the reading of the message. Sometimes these things are hard to spot, but it is a significant risk when reusing a case from companies like Dell, HP or Lenovo. I have literally seen this same type of thing and did the same thing with a hammer to bend the tab out of the way so that there was no longer any danger of shorts. They are extremely lucky that nothing was permanently damaged from that, as these things can cause damage to any or all components depending on where the short is.
Awesome episode! The moment you took out the motherboard i saw that metal piece sticking out and KNEW it was the issue. That Asus TUF MOBO is a TUF MOFO!
This man is genuine. He admits his mistakes, apologises, AND learns from them. You say you could have fixed his computer but no you couldnt. You didnt have the knowledge back then. So dont beat yourself up over it. You did how ever learned from it and didnt try to hide your mistake so respect sir. Full respect. As always i love your video and i too haveing went to college in 2010 for pc repair still to this day learn from videos like yours. So thank you.
Favorite series ever, I have learned so much from your troubleshooting methods. It helped me diagnose a friend's failed AIO and walk them through the replacement process. I hope to never have to troubleshoot my own rig (don't we all) but it's so much fun.
Hey Greg, I really enjoyed your video! I find it more engaging when you tackle challenging PC problems and explore multiple solutions to fix them, rather than quickly resolving them. It adds depth to the content and makes the video more enjoyable. Keep up the great work!
Such an underrated and entertaining series. Who would have thought that a little bit of percussive maintenance would have fixed the root cause of the problem. Well done Greg. You seriously deserve to have over 1 million subscribers at this point as your channel is awesome.
This will sound crazy, but when you finally booted up the system, the date and time on the screen (12:53 -Thursday, December 28) is the date and time I was born. WOW!
Quality footage Greg! Every day is a school day, or so they say, and today was a real example of exactly that. Well done, and good work with the hammer :)
I had a similar experience while building a system for my friends' son 3 weeks ago. He supplied all the parts. Tested all parts on my test bench except the GPU on my test bench. When I put the system together and powered on the system, nothing. at first, I thought it was the PSU. I forgot to turn off my backup, and when I plugged the GPU in, it fried my PSU. I had him replace the GPU and the PSU. Got everything installed and the same thing you experienced, I did. the system would not power on. When I jumped the PSU, and plug the 24 pin connector back into the board, everything worked fine, until I turn off the system and unplug the PSU. System does not start up after powering down. Power rail failure on the motherboard. This was an Asus board. Replaced with a Gigabyte board and everything works fine. Trouble shooting method was watching you and your videos. Thanks.
Geek Squad hates him. see how this man fixed an entire PC with one weird trick.
if Dhar Mann created a tech channel 😆
The trick in this case was the hammer, right? 🤣
Imagine fixing a Mac like that.
@@Nosi75 nailed it. Hammer is always the answer
look buddy, I'm an engineer. @@ignisafb
This is kind of how UA-cam should work. Somebody in need gets help, Greg gets content and makes a living, we get to enjoy it. Nobody's getting taken advantage of
if we could get some PCB level repair technician for the non functional pc parts diagnose videos that would be a cool collab
I don't think is very rentable.
@@ominae1"Rentable?"
Dell is unable to sell a new computer though.
@@magnusnilsson9792 the only thing dell here is the case. they didn't sell a new computer before this.
The famous $250 hammer repair, $1 for the hit with the hammer and $249 for knowing where to hit.
Man, a good repair shop would undercharge you cause it was such a simple fix. Assuming they were able to figure it out pretty quick, that is... but I'd hope an actual repair shop would be able to.
Another reason to avoid Dell and Alienware.
all he had to do was hit it with a hammer LOL
@@elusivelectron "and"
I dont distinguish for obvious reason they are identical. HP and Dell. Those two are CRAP like holy shit. Words cannot even describe how fucking terrible Dell and HP actually are. Like there are no words, nothing sufficiently describes the level of shitpile trash that is each. I'd strongly advise never even no matter how seemingly cheap do NOT pay for an HP or Dell. The sole exception is $100 used office PCs from like 2012 that have an i7 3770 and can at least take a like $80 GPU and get a whole entry gaming setup for under $200. That's fine. You can play most games made before 2020 on that kind of PC at 1080p. But ironically anything made by Dell after about 2014 is literally worth less than a 2012 XPS just because of the stupid fucking proprietaty garbage thus making it worthless and useless.
That's AT LEAST a $15 hammer
customer: "my pc wont turn on"
greg: "have you tried hitting it with a hammer?"
hammer always fixes it.
"my pc wont turn on"
florida man "hammer"
@@tomr3422 read this and burst out laughing, 10/10 comment. thank you.
😂🤣😭👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
@@viperdemonz-jenkinsand duct tape 🤭
This is a quintessential fix or flop episode! Definitely one of the most interesting outcomes, nice that the sleeper build was preserved as it's a nice build.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Kudos to you for fixing it properly. I'd have probably been lazy and just put 2-3 layers of electrical tape over the metal sticking up and called it a day.
I was thinking this while watching the video 😂
I would have kept that mechanical support and isolated the metal as well.
I was thinking of he had some thermal pads laying around using one of those to isolate the case from the board.
Yeah I would probably have jammed some cardboard in between.
The sharp solder points on the back of the board would likely pierce through a few layers of tape, if tightened with a screw.
There are definitely lots of OEM cases that look great, including this one, and I do love the idea of a sleeper build, but this video shows one of the main reasons I'd be afraid of trying to create one. When you take a case from HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc., that was designed for proprietary parts, and then try to install standard PC parts into their place, a lot of weird issues can happen. If it's not something physical, as you showed in this video, it's probably going to be the wiring to the front of the case. I love building and fixing PC's, but I don't want to have to use a dremel or redo wiring just to make something work in an older case.
CRAZY the board wasn’t fried. Good eye being able to see the issue, Greg!
It often isn't!
i guess these things have some protection measures against shorts
Yes that's why it didn't start up @@thewildcard600
This is going back a few years, well decades actually but had a board fry on a 386 sx40 by grounding out, new board reusing a old case. My board smoked though, I was so mad.
And man Greg is right, before watching this series I was a total noob at replacing RAM even. Now I can comfortably swap out any part I want and rewire with confidence with a little bit help with the manual. We're all improving slowly but surely. Thank you for keeping this series going! it's like computer school classes for life.
The fix is easy, but the process of isolating the real fault is NOT EASY. I'm a Big fan of your fix or flop series! The morale of the story is...steer clear of OEM casings. LOL!!
what do you mean its not easy? You take the system out of the case and it works - so the case is the problem. Whats ''not easy'' about that?
Hey Greg, don't be too hard on yourself. We are HUMAN and not perfect. For those who commented, "you should do this, you should do that" - I'm more than positive that YOU don't know it ALL.
That being said, continue with this playlist, it's awesome Greg! P.S. I hope you pin this and keep up the great work!
I build about 80 computers annually and refurbish another 40-50. My FIRST troubleshooting test on systems like this is to "breadboard" them outside the case. It really saves time in the long run. It is super helpful to know whether your base components are the issue or if it is something more complicated like a case short or a flakey PSU. (Oh, and most ASRock ATX boards DO use that standoff that gave Greg such a hard time.)
21 minutes. This should be a good start to season 5
I got the issue right away at the start of the video after having to deal with OEM builds in the past. Those raised built in standoffs ALWAYS cause issues with motherboards….. especially with solder points on the motherboard underside and I’ve had to remove them or use a screwdriver and hammer and hammer them inversely to remove the short issue.
These Fix or Flop series thou, have given me some unique perspectives on identifying faulty parts (despite building and repairing pcs for myself, family and friends for 25+ years) and thank you Greg for continuing to do this series to help the newer and younger generation of pc users and gamers 🥰😇👍. Keep up the great work!
Add standoffs into the existing raised motherboard bed in the case, problem solved.
IMO the cheap bastard could have just bought a cheap decent case instead of using a piece of junk oem case.
@@johnt.848 Then the IO doesn't line up.
I had this happen to one of my older PC's back in the day. Could not figure what the issue was. So upon removing the motherboard everything worked fine, but as soon as I put it back inside the case. Nothing. I ended up ordering a new case, and everything worked fine again.
I suspect I had the same issue as was shown in the video. But thank god i only spend about 60 euro for it. So it was not a total loss, and the case looked nicer as well.
Very entertaining. Thank you for the content. Love the beard too!
That's how we learn to troubleshoot pretty much anything. I've been an electrician for 30 years and I still encounter issues and situations I've never dealt with and through research and hands-on investigation, disassembly and reassembly do we learn how to repair and discover and solve problems. Well done! That was a tough one!
Greg, to show that you are human is the best part. You don't show how perfect and infallible your skills are. You show that no matter what, things can be missed. I watch you not to see you fail but how to learn for troubleshooting. My teeth were cut on an Apple II, and my last build was a 2003 American Megatrends MB. At least your not hooking up the oscilloscope for diag. Your doing great, when you stop learning that is the beginning of the end.
SEASON 5!!! I'm a little late, I was on vacation and super excited to come back to see a new Fix or Flop!!!
The humility and self-reflection is refreshing. Good stuff!
This was one of your best episodes. Really eye-opening troubleshooting took place and you showed your previous experience tracking down funky shorting issues. Very good very good
Wow that's a strange but interesting issue, guess sleeper builds do come with some risks. Pretty amazing that the board didn't fry from that (even more amazing that it RAN for 2 weeks before it broke).
Man, I've learned so much from these videos. But I never would of been able to track this issue down. Now I might in the future. KUDOS Greg!
One of the best parts about this series is something you touched on at the end of this video, your growth from season 1 up til now. This series takes me back to the 90s when I was a lowly repair technician and my journey of improving my diagnostic skills.
That was funny for me, when you flipped the power switch at the 10 1/2 minute mark my tv screen went black, then a second later an ad started.
I’d put a piece of electrical tape over the metal making contact to keep the sleeper look.
Greg, I do not think you need to explain. We are all seeing your skills increase with what might have stumped most people. You are killing it. Life is a journey, enjoy the ride, not just the destination.
My current PC was my first build and channels like yours are the reason I felt confident enough to take it on. It sounds like you are beating yourself up towards the end and you really shouldn't be. Anyone can make minor mistakes, and you are probably a top 1% hardware expert worldwide because of your experience. Thanks, and keep up the good work.
Best option was to NOT swap cases. You're definitely right. The sleeper look is great. I'm kinda rethinking my next setup now. Maybe get an NR200 (no glass, no RGB)... My mind is grinding gears now. Good episode.
Very satisfying troubleshooting process, priceless.
I also appreciate how you showed footage from the previous episode and highlighted a mistake that you made in order to allow us to learn from it, it takes a lot of courage to admit making a mistake.
Greg, you know the best thing with this Fix Or Flop Series, whether you are successful or you fail at Fixing the PC, you get a learning experience that helps your viewers fix their PC's in the Future. I'm Grateful with this Series that you put together, it helps teach me "When the time comes" to diagnose my own PC or Friends and Family member PC's as well. Thanks for taking the risk to show us what Failing Forward truly looks like.
The thought of a case problem crossed my mind, but I wasn't sure. After all, we're dealing with used components here, any of which could be bad. Nice detective work
This is why I'm here, for Greg's journey. It is satisfying to watch him work through a problem and hopefully make some progress or learn something new.
...anyway, this is why I strongly recommend against reusing any non-standard parts from any mass produced pre-built in a custom pc build, especially cases and psus.
At least he admitted that mistake in the past. Don't forget basic things we should be in terms of troubleshooting. Sometimes we got clouded our minds in more complex things than rethinking. We always be keep learning. Thanks to Greg for remind us.
Gotta love that feeling of accomplishment when you discover the source of the problem that wasn't even on your radar in the beginning. Good work Greg!
Greg, congrats on getting through that issue!
Even though you got rid of that chassis piece, I would've placed a small piece of Electrical tape on that "rugged edge" just in case to ensure that the motherboard doesn't 'shift' and touch it when he reinstalls his PC by his desk etc!
Enjoying the series, keep up the good work!
You know I really love this series. I love seeing an issue, trying to figure out the issue while I watch(like a murder mystery), then seeing the fix. It's always educational for future reference. More so than benchmarks and reviews. Always makes me want to work on a computer.
Excellent video, well done for finding the solution! I especially liked the part at the end where you take your experience and apply it to past ones that flummoxed you. No-one is perfect, the important thing is to learn.
Glad to see such a satisfying ending! Admittedly in watching past FoF episodes I've been frustrated at not seeing you take the semi-routine step of "test benching" the setup outside the case to check for shorts against it, but recent episodes have much remedied that. Anyone wanting to learn the sometimes ad hoc nature of troubleshooting would benefit hugely from the entire playlist, and I hope you keep on trucking for the fine computer denizens of Orlando, Florida :)
breaking that tab WAS a way to fix it. Couldve just used some electrical tape with a bit of foam too I guess. Nice find
This is such a useful breakdown of a problem that is rarely considered, but I'm sure people have experienced. Hopefully the right people in need of this solution find this video. Great job, Greg.
Also, it was a smart addition at the end of this video to add the retrospective on a similar misdiagnosis.
I know the feeling. I just troubleshoot and system for my son that stopped working. And after going through the steps I was able to find that the hard drive had failed and was not allowing the system to boot. The boot nvme was fine but the storage hard drive had failed. Watch your video all the time and learn a lot
Wild, it's funny because I THINK I know a lot about pcs and whenever I fix a buddy's PC or troubleshoot one of my own, I find there is always something more to learn. Randomly watched one of your videos where the issue was the cooler pressure on the CPU, and I was at my wit's end...I remember your video when I was about to call it dead....and I tried it, and THAT WAS THE ISSUE!!!!!! So keep doing these videos and ill keep watching even if it's just on in the background while I'm filming my own content. Never know what you will learn!
We had one Similar, building new 13th gen in an only case from 2004 ish. (Antec Shark Case). out of the case everything would work, once in the case no power at all. Come to find out the removable motherboard tray had a metal lip that ever so slightly shorted the VGA, and Audio solder points on the bottom of the board. We installed electrical tape on both bottom of the board and lip of the tray. POST fine after.
Long run we switched it out to newer case, when it arrived.
It is always a good feeling to know you have a greater knowledge on something now than you did previously.
With IT being so broad, you are always learning something new. I reason I will still learn something new into my 60s
Season 5! We're back!
What a fantastic problem to troubleshoot for a video. Great work, Greg. I love seeing weird things like this.
when dealing with cases like these I usually tape the pins on the back of the motherboard, I know it is not good because of grounding but I really rather not risk a short blowing up everything.
As long as the solder points are isolated it's fine.
You're still grounding the motherboard by screwing it in, so no contact in the back is needed :)
I'm so glad you didn't swap out the guts into a new "gamer" case. The Dell rig is so sick.
new season lets go....
I've been following this series since season 1. Love it and have learned a TON. This video may just take the cake so far!
As a retired computer person, one of my favorite sayings is: If the computer won't work, give it a good swift kick. It never fixes the problem, but it makes you feel better. Now here we have an issue that it might have fixed!
I fixed my Keurig like this once, it refused to start a cup a couple years ago no matter what I did. Short solution I hit the top of it.....hard in frustration. Fixed it and haven't had problems 2 years later.
Hey Greg, love to see that season 5 of FoF finaly starts. I like the other content too, but my absolute favorite is the FoF series. You do it so well, to explain all the steps you´re doing and why you´re doing them. This is so educatinal. I wich I would have had something like this in the late 90s or early 2000s, when I started building PCs or trying to fix them for my colleagues. It´s so much fun to watch your videos and trying to guess what´s the root cause of the issues. Most of the time I´m at least on the right path, but other times, like in this video, I would never in a thousend years have that rig fixes. Thank you for sharing this content.
Greg, regardless of previous failures or rumination, you can rest assured that you have helped at least 1 person (guess who :D) feel 1000x more confident when repairing their system. I don't think there is a single person on earth who could fix EVERY issue EVERY time, but you have come pretty damn close. And this series contains a vast wealth of knowledge that (unless you work in repair or something) you simply can't get unless you watch someone like yourself get down in the weeds.
We appreciate you!
This one is one of those great moments in life. An issue like this will stay tattooed in your brain for future troubleshooting. Glad you didn't give up.
I love that you kept it a sleeper and did fix the case, sleepers have a special charme
Correct.
Hi Greg, I'm a german IT-Specialist, but I'm not fixing any hardware, so it's just nice to see and I'm also thinking about "what could be the issue" haha. Just wanted to say that I like these Series and I think you make many people happy. Wish u a good day.
My favorite part is when Greg went “it’s hammerin’ time” and hammered all over the broken PC
Great find on that on piece touching the board!
I personally wouldnt put a gaming rig in a Dell PC (heresy!)!
As for not fixing the one with that stand-off. Man, that takes a lot of experience to see. And thanks to the comments pointing it out, you (and everyone watching) learned something else that you should diagnose before placing parts in an existing rig that has failed. We learn together!
Greg went full Bob the Builder on that case 😂
A friend and I worked on a build years ago and a motherboard screw was shorting it out. Neither of us could figure it out and took it to a local PC shop and they figured it out. Went through so many steps and was so annoying to figure out. Makes sense. You live and you learn. Probably the rarest issue that I have come across and in over 20 years only seen it happen that one time. Not surprising it took you a while to figure it out.
I hate to correct you, Greg, but you have had an incident pop up several times before during the run of these...remember those clogged AIO's? I think that stuff happened back-to-back-to-back episodes, if I remember right. :) I can still remember that brown-red water hitting your clean white desk...fun times. I'm gonna wind up binging your seasons now, I think. :P
Amazing video my dude, don't beat yourself up about it, you've helped millions of people around the world fix their flops
Dude, ... you fixed a Dell. 😅
great job Greg, very impressive attention to detail. you even noticed that piece of metal sticking out. keep it up, we’re all learning a lot from you!
Wow! 2 Things I want to comment on: 1. A Standard Micro-ATX Motherboard works with a 'Dell Case' & 2 This Episode was Intriguing & Satisfying with Deep Dive Troubleshooting to finally Isolate the Problem!!
Really have been enjoying all your flips&flops episodes. You're one of the most genuine UA-camrs I've come across 3 yrs ago, love to see the growth of this channel. You have my full support greg, all the way from Malaysia 🇲🇾
A good thing for a friday morning
A good thing for a Friday evening also
@@WouterVerbruggena Saturday morning rewatch too
This is why I keep coming back to this channel. Keep it up Mr. Salazar.
Nice find 👍
Hats off to the builder using a OEM case. Used to do the same since the mid 2000’s to early 2010’s aftermarket case quality wasn’t there yet and OEM cases were built very sturdy compared to the tin cans that were sold as custom cases.
Plus always enjoyed the sleeper look myself. Very good taste.
Troubleshooting is so much fun. It's great when you can find a fix that doesn't cost
Great that you accept that learning anything is a process of trial and error. Everyone starts at level zero and no one should get frustrated by the process. There are not failures, just successes and opportunities to learn. I have learned a lot watching your videos and now help repair and upgrade computers for local non-profits. Many Thanks.
The "mystery shorts" are the most difficult to troubleshoot. Well done Greg!
I have learnt so much watching these and now I have ended up being the guy that my family and friends go to here in the UK. keep learning as knowledge is power.
I'm glad I'm found your channel, I had so many questions about my pc but after binge watching your videos, I've learned so much on how the current components work and how to troubleshoot
Wow that was a good catch! It's nice to see you learning from past mistakes, it's really encouraging and I'm sure this will help someone out there with a similar issue
Greg Buddy, for future issues as such and future sleeper builds, I always put black electrical tape over the factory case stand offs to avoid any shorts. It would be better than taking a hammer and breaking metal pieces off the case. Bending that back was a good idea, but before you put the motherboard back on the stand offs, just put a piece of electrical tape on the stand offs and problem solved.
Love your videos, Greg. Thanks for all of the amazing help and information you always provide. I have to say, though... I have always (respectfully and constructively) questioned your reluctance to take the platform out of the case more quickly. The first PC I built would not POST due to the manufacturer putting a stand-off in the wrong spot (and me too inexperienced to catch it). After 11 hours, I finally decided to take the components out and it all worked. Thanks to a random Reddit thread, I knew to check for an extra stand-off.
Since then, I have built (and rebuilt) over 10 computers for myself, my family, and my friends. I also love to deep clean everything and rebuild it thanks to your PCDC series. Your videos are a big help, and also very entertaining. Keep up the awesome work. And remember: just take the stuff out of the case and see if it works lol. After the quick-swappable parts, of course.
Good Troubleshooting on this one Greg! I probably would have just replaced the case myself thinking the standoffs for the Dell case just wasn't up to snuff! Great job!
I've been a Subscriber for almost 2 yrs, and I do enjoy your Computer Diagnostics Videos. Thank you for Making them.
This is one of my favourite UA-cam channels, since I've learnt so much from it.
This was also one of the most entertaining and a great season opener.
Because of this series, fix or Flop I can confidently say I am more confident in fixing/diagnosing alot of issues that arise with my own pc. Thank you for this amazing series
Omg season 5 already so much great and informational content Love your stuff Greg if only every state had a Fix or Flop Saint like you. Also what a crazy awesome sleeper build.
It's always a learning experience Greg a computer is a very complicated device that has multiple components and we really enjoy watching you and learning with you.
Your learning is our learning too. Thats what I take from watching these videos. Thank you for doing them
I always look forward to a new video in this series. I appreciate how honest and real you are, its part of why this series is so great.
Incredible job!
And think about this: without the painful lesson in S3, you might not have had the valuable lesson that let you fix this one. Failure is a very important part of mastering anything
we all are learning so much! bro youve made me feel good about trouble shooting any hardware
Back in the old days, when all cases were bare metal and solder points were not perfect, we used to tape up the motherboard tray, to be sure nothing touches. Nice vid!
One of the most beautiful builds I have seen in a while. It looks so nice, the case is compact and the build is pretty good. Even the CPU cooler adds some style to it. What a ride was this one. Excited for the new season!
That was a good catch on this one. I watch these to try to keep my hardware troubleshooting skills up and I called there being a short after the reading of the message. Sometimes these things are hard to spot, but it is a significant risk when reusing a case from companies like Dell, HP or Lenovo. I have literally seen this same type of thing and did the same thing with a hammer to bend the tab out of the way so that there was no longer any danger of shorts. They are extremely lucky that nothing was permanently damaged from that, as these things can cause damage to any or all components depending on where the short is.
Awesome episode! The moment you took out the motherboard i saw that metal piece sticking out and KNEW it was the issue. That Asus TUF MOBO is a TUF MOFO!
This man is genuine. He admits his mistakes, apologises, AND learns from them. You say you could have fixed his computer but no you couldnt. You didnt have the knowledge back then. So dont beat yourself up over it. You did how ever learned from it and didnt try to hide your mistake so respect sir. Full respect. As always i love your video and i too haveing went to college in 2010 for pc repair still to this day learn from videos like yours. So thank you.
I love that you’re learning along the way. We all are too because of these videos! Thanks Greg!
I appreciate the content. You're getting better and you're helping us get better by thinking in ways that we probably hadn't considered before.
Favorite series ever, I have learned so much from your troubleshooting methods. It helped me diagnose a friend's failed AIO and walk them through the replacement process. I hope to never have to troubleshoot my own rig (don't we all) but it's so much fun.
Hey Greg, I really enjoyed your video! I find it more engaging when you tackle challenging PC problems and explore multiple solutions to fix them, rather than quickly resolving them. It adds depth to the content and makes the video more enjoyable. Keep up the great work!
Such an underrated and entertaining series. Who would have thought that a little bit of percussive maintenance would have fixed the root cause of the problem. Well done Greg. You seriously deserve to have over 1 million subscribers at this point as your channel is awesome.
Honestly, this is how I usually end up fixing things. Love these kind of sleeper builds so I'm glad you got it working.
I've watched quite a few of your videos and this is the first time I've been wholly impressed by your troubleshooting. Great job, Mr. Salazar!
This will sound crazy, but when you finally booted up the system, the date and time on the screen (12:53 -Thursday, December 28) is the date and time I was born. WOW!
Quality footage Greg! Every day is a school day, or so they say, and today was a real example of exactly that. Well done, and good work with the hammer :)
I had a similar experience while building a system for my friends' son 3 weeks ago. He supplied all the parts. Tested all parts on my test bench except the GPU on my test bench. When I put the system together and powered on the system, nothing. at first, I thought it was the PSU. I forgot to turn off my backup, and when I plugged the GPU in, it fried my PSU. I had him replace the GPU and the PSU. Got everything installed and the same thing you experienced, I did. the system would not power on. When I jumped the PSU, and plug the 24 pin connector back into the board, everything worked fine, until I turn off the system and unplug the PSU. System does not start up after powering down. Power rail failure on the motherboard. This was an Asus board. Replaced with a Gigabyte board and everything works fine. Trouble shooting method was watching you and your videos. Thanks.