The DUMBEST screwups/mistakes you've made when working on a computer....

[Bastiaan_NL]

5 hours ago, InverseTundra said:

Ive got a pretty simple yet hilariously stupid one. About 4-5 years ago on the release of skylake (6700K) I had managed to nab a 6700k just after release while i was on vacation no less. Well all the parts got delivered while i was still gone. After a 12 hour drive home, instead of sleeping out of exhausted excitement i decided to build the system and test it out. Well i was apparently so tired that i spent over 20 min attempting to install my 8-pin cpu connector backwards/swapped and I just could NOT get either side to plug in and i was dumbfounded. Ended up calling EVGA support and saying i think the connector is defective. Had me line up the notches one more time and try it. "Click" no issues. There was like 15 seconds of silence from me before i said, it worked. I apologized and had a laugh with the guy ( EVGA support is top notch ) But yea, not my brightest moment xD.

Perfect example of the impact from being tired. For that same reason, I take a day off to build a system or do it in the weekends. Switching a GPU or a fan is fine, but that's it   
 

3 hours ago, ENTERPRISE said:

I have learned that building tired or in a rush is just not worth it for that exact reason lol

I totally agree, it takes more time to fix the mistakes! 

 

On 11/12/2020 at 12:12 PM, Supercrumpet said:

This whole time I've been thinking I know I've done plenty of stupid stuff around PCs but I just can't remember any specific incidents, but this one's relatable. Both a friend and I have cut ourselves on separate incidents on the old Intel stock CPU coolers. Those fins were obscenely sharp for some reason.

Not grinding down cut edges from casemods is also a good way to cut your hand. 
Now I mention that, I've once had a few metal pieces in my eye working on a casemod  (now I wear glasses everyday) 

[schuck6566]

 

7 hours ago, InverseTundra said:

Ive got a pretty simple yet hilariously stupid one. About 4-5 years ago on the release of skylake (6700K) I had managed to nab a 6700k just after release while i was on vacation no less. Well all the parts got delivered while i was still gone. After a 12 hour drive home, instead of sleeping out of exhausted excitement i decided to build the system and test it out. Well i was apparently so tired that i spent over 20 min attempting to install my 8-pin cpu connector backwards/swapped and I just could NOT get either side to plug in and i was dumbfounded. Ended up calling EVGA support and saying i think the connector is defective. Had me line up the notches one more time and try it. "Click" no issues. There was like 15 seconds of silence from me before i said, it worked. I apologized and had a laugh with the guy ( EVGA support is top notch ) But yea, not my brightest moment xD.

lol, I went on line looking for an 8 pin to six pin converter before I looked again and realized 1 of the 8 pins was a 6+2 pin. I was like "F*^K me..." cause I spent close to 20 minutes trying to figure out HOW I was gonna power the video card.

[KSIMP88]

My first custom build. You know that foam that came with some motherboards? The softer stuff behind the PCB, plyable? I installed it with the motherboard. Also didn't use screw sets. couldn't figure out why it wouldn't POST. Guess the foam wasn't exactly blocking all shorts. Luckily when I removed the foam, and used the screw sets, everything worked just fine. IDIOT

[J7SC_Orion]

Just now, KSIMP88 said:

My first custom build. You know that foam that came with some motherboards? The softer stuff behind the PCB, plyable? I installed it with the motherboard. Also didn't use screw sets. couldn't figure out why it wouldn't POST. Guess the foam wasn't exactly blocking all shorts. Luckily when I removed the foam, and used the screw sets, everything worked just fine. IDIOT

 

...I used to use that foam insert as a 'test-bench' when working with DICE or even LN2...just cut out an opening at the back of the mobo where the CPU sits. That usually worked fine, unless you had a really heavy (or multiple) pots that pressed some of the caps on the back of the mobo into the foam if they mobo didn't have a shield. Foam removal-from-mobo technique was critical