Spark located in the USBC slot on the motherboard.
Spark located in the USBC slot on the motherboard.
Attempted connecting the logi stream cam to the USBC slot on my motherboard. The slot was already installed, so I checked if it needed more pressure and gently moved it—then it sparked and the PC shut down. It seems the USBC cable touched the metal faceplate on the motherboard, causing the issue. I’m unsure about the best fix and want advice since this is my first PC. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
It seems there might be an electrical issue or grounding problem. The metal ring around the USBC connector should be properly grounded; if it's sparking without static, it could indicate a fault that might affect the device. Was the spark damaging the equipment?
The USBC cable for streaming the camera stopped working. I’m not sure about the PC itself—I recall that after it shut down, the graphics card still had two white lights blinking, suggesting it was still receiving power. It seems like the system might have a protection feature that triggered an overvoltage trip and powered off the PC. You might want to check the motherboard battery first, as removing it could resolve the issue.
Changing the battery on the motherboard clears the CMOS file, which holds your BIOS preferences. Removing it restores everything to its default state. If you’ve never adjusted the BIOS, you’ll still run with standard settings and no modifications will occur. A protection mode activates when voltage spikes are detected. It can sometimes save data quickly, other times not at all. High static voltage can travel rapidly; chip traces are extremely delicate. Voltage levels there might be enough to damage components—a phenomenon known as electrostatic discharge. Alternatively, the device could have become charged externally, possibly through a camera. You mentioned damaging the camera; it’s possible the issue stemmed from its own power source, perhaps due to a faulty cable or connection. The computer may have sensed the ground change and triggered a fault. To help identify the problem, consider: what type of camera you used? Its brand and cable model matter. Also check the power supply unit—especially if it’s outdated. Trying a restart is usually the first step; it might either boot normally or completely fail. Edited November 6, 2022 by Bombastinator
The camera model is from Logi Tech, likely named a stream camera. The cable is integrated into the device and can't be removed, similar to a webcam setup. The housing is an Asus case. I’ll gather the remaining details later. When the PC powered off, it stopped right away after the USB triggered. Trying to restart it afterward didn’t cause any issues. I’ll follow up again after sharing this.
All items were bought new on February 20, 2020, and should still function properly. They were primarily used for gaming and programming tasks. The case is an ASUS ROG Strix Helios GX601 with a GTX 1060 GPU, ASUS GeForce RTX 2060, and overclocked triple-fan setup. The memory includes Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4-3200 PC4-25600 CL16 PSU from ASUS. The motherboard is an ASUS X570-Pro Prime AMD AM4 ATX board, paired with an AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8-core processor, a Matisse 3.6GHz 8-core AM4 chip, and a Wraith Prism power supply.
Failed to power on. Connected PSU to wall, but only two white LEDs flash on the GPU. File: PXL_20221106_144321260.mp4
This outlines the role of CMOS. Resetting the CMOS and retrying would likely follow. The CMOS battery probably doesn’t supply power anymore; only the clock remains active. This suggests the issue originated on the computer side. It’s conceivable the device needs disassembly to check individual components. Results can be unpredictable. Alternatively, if you prefer not to handle it yourself, the repair might be more costly. The estimated cost is significant. Edited November 6, 2022 by Bombastinator