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HP Recommended
HP z640
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

I had an arduino nano connected to my HP z640 via a USB 3.0 port when I apparently shorted the 5V on the arduino to ground.  My HP z640 immediately shut down.  I'm now unable to power up the z640...no LEDs, no fans, no anything.  I opened up the PC and noticed that if I unplug the P1 power connector from the motherboard, the power supply's LED and Fan, as well as the CPUs' cooling fans, do turn on.  But nothing else.  I Plug the connector back in and everything is back off (of course, removing and reinserting the power cord between each procedure).  It would seem my motherboard may be damaged.  It is hard to believe that a $15 development board connected via the USB port could take down a $4,000 PC.  Any suggestions on what my options might be to get my z640 back up and running would be most appreciated.  Note that the z640 is no longer under warranty.  Thanks.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Accepted Solutions
HP Recommended

without someone actually looking at the motherboard it's impossible to determine exactly what the short damaged.......................

 

at the very least the usb hub on the  c612 chip is likely was fried,... and since the c612 chip is a multifunction part it most likely damaged other parts of the chip and possibly other parts on the board

 

bottom line, unless you have a very skilled repair shop near you the board is toast and the system needs a new motherboard

 

you might find it worthwhile to buy a complete z640 chassis/motherboard  and either sell the old one's parts or keep them for future issues

 

last, using a cheap external usb hub and modifying the +5 line on it with a diode or fuse might prevent future issues

 

https://www.mouser.com/applications/usb30_circuit_protection/

 

https://media.digikey.com/pdf/Application%20Notes/AMP%20Application%20Notes/USB_2.0_3.0_CP_Considera...

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5 REPLIES 5
HP Recommended

without someone actually looking at the motherboard it's impossible to determine exactly what the short damaged.......................

 

at the very least the usb hub on the  c612 chip is likely was fried,... and since the c612 chip is a multifunction part it most likely damaged other parts of the chip and possibly other parts on the board

 

bottom line, unless you have a very skilled repair shop near you the board is toast and the system needs a new motherboard

 

you might find it worthwhile to buy a complete z640 chassis/motherboard  and either sell the old one's parts or keep them for future issues

 

last, using a cheap external usb hub and modifying the +5 line on it with a diode or fuse might prevent future issues

 

https://www.mouser.com/applications/usb30_circuit_protection/

 

https://media.digikey.com/pdf/Application%20Notes/AMP%20Application%20Notes/USB_2.0_3.0_CP_Considera...

HP Recommended

DGroves, thanks for the informative reply.  I see that ebay has new, used, and refurbished z640 motherboards in the $125 range.  Does your suggestion to buy a complete z640 chassis/motherboard imply that components outside of the motherboard may also be damaged.  I do have a second processor, a Z Drive, a couple of SSDs, a Quadro K620, and 64Mb of RAM.  Is it possible any of those items have been damaged as well?  Thank you for any help you (or anyone else) can offer.

HP Recommended

as i stated, there is no way to tell remotely what might be damaged, when things are shorted anything can happen.... you shorted the power on the supplies output side so depending on how quickly the supply reacted to the short (if at all) and what was damaged on the board anything might have been damaged or stressed to where it might soon fail

 

however based on my experience, your add in cards/drives/cpu/ram/power supply "should" be good but the only way to know for sure is to actually try them

 

since there is no way to determine what is bad in your current system in it's current state, buying a bare bones system that has motherboard power supply (and other items) might be worthwhile if the cost of a MB/Pwr supply is close to the cost of a bare bones system

HP Recommended

DGroves, thanks for the super quick reply.  I truly appreciate the advice.  I might be able to test some of the other components in a 2nd PC to check out their state.  Thanks again for your help.

HP Recommended

DGroves, Not that I could determine the problem, but I did take my DMM to the motherboard and noticed two of the USB 3.0 ports in the back had the D+ and D- lines shorted to ground.  So it would seem that your suggestion that the c612 was damaged was most likely correct.  I did replace the motherboard and that has resolved the issue, so it appears nothing else was harmed.  Lesson learned and will take the necessary precautions to hopefully avoid this from occurring again.  Thanks again for the help.

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