Worst Tech mistake you have ever made?

[Hiitchy]

1 minute ago, Type 2501 said:

I did once bought he wrong speed ram that didn't match the other stick. So it will not boot. 

Back in the days, ram capability is a nightmare. Especially those sd-ram.

Right? Some of them didn't have the stickers on them, I was trying so hard to line up the notches to see if that even mattered, but didn't know that timing and all these other variables made it a nightmare.

 

The other thing I did that was a mistake was buying a new computer and thinking the motherboard came with IDE ports... I was so disappointed because I saved my hard drive with data expecting to be able to move everything to my sata drive...

[chilicheeseburger]

The RAM i received was lower frequency than what I had ordered but I didn't notice that until I added another 8GB of RAM. Apart from that, the build went fine but I had a huge problem with random bluescreens. It took me a couple of months to figure out that it was a BIOS issue and all I needed to do was update the BIOS. It's been running flawlessly ever since.

[elkenrod]

Cutting my fingers on every sharp edge in the case.

[Type 2501]

47 minutes ago, Hiitchy said:

The other thing I did that was a mistake was buying a new computer and thinking the motherboard came with IDE ports... I was so disappointed because I saved my hard drive with data expecting to be able to move everything to my sata drive...

Sometimes rams just didn't get along with other hardwares, even you get the right speed.

 I had a USB to IDE HDD box at my home, it was such a pain when IDE die.

But I have to say it's gone for good.

[MoonlightSylv]

Forgetting to plug in the GPU power connectors, not putting the ram in, and for my very first computer, using the parts that I did.

[Type 2501]

13 minutes ago, elkenrod said:

Cutting my fingers on every sharp edge in the case.

I will not consider that as a mistake, it is what I got everytime building on cheap cases.

[Ithanul]

2 hours ago, Zando Bob said:

Done this multiple times. Also forgot to plug in the 4 pin CPU power and freaked because it wouldn't boot. 

Yep, those tricky I/O panels.     Done that myself a few times on some builds.

 

Hmmm, probably I would consider my first build mistake was the fact I did not know there was different size motherboards and went with mATX in a mid tower case.

[Gikero]

Built my dad a Phenom II x4 based PC. Left the plastic cover on the heatsink and assembled the system. Ran fine for two weeks till I tried running Crysis, then I got a thermal shutdown. Disassembled and the AMD logo had been burned into the plastic. Removed, added fresh paste and the system is still running to this day. 8 years is a great lifespan.

[TheKDub]

Built in a case that was too cheap and too large for what I put in it. (So much wasted space, and the quality is pretty poor)

 

No other mistakes that come to mind. (I'm sure there were more, but I built my PC ~3 years ago, so its been a while.)

[arnavvr]

Went with an AMD APU instead of spending a little bit more money and buying a dedicated GPU+CPU

[Radium_Angel]

Before the days of ATX power supplies, you had AT, which came with two power connectors, which, if you weren't careful, could be plugged in "backwards" (they were colour coded so you knew which one went where) and when turned on, blow fuses and holes in your motherboard.

 

Guess how I know this....

[KawaiiRaven]

My brand new iPhone was destroyed. 

I put it on my car because I was unlocking it and putting something inside of it. Then I went drove away and realized the music cut out (because Bluetooth range) and was looking around for it in the car. Then I realized that it fell off and yeah the screen was shattered. 

 

I got insurance (almost didn’t though) and got it replaced.

 

but still I’m really stupid. 

[NotTheRelaxngEnd]

someone who knew someone who knew the guy that this happened to told me about this

 

[NotTheRelaxngEnd]

1 minute ago, NotTheRelaxngEnd said:

someone who knew someone who knew the guy that this happened to told me about this

oh im sorry it got deleted, he basically had a great opportunity and made anapp to show his product, he really edcated time into it but accidentalydeleted it 8 hours before submssion time and had no backup, he had to do it again and it turnedout as a crappybutfuctional 

oh im sorry it got deleted, he basically had a great opportunity and made anapp to show his product, he really edcated time into it but accidentalydeleted it 8 hours before submssion time and had no backup, he had to do it again and it turnedout as a crappy but fuctional version

[KitFisto28]

Not testing everything before putting it into the case

Forgetting to take out the PCIe slot cover

RAM in the wrong slots

Cable management

And especially buying an R7 240. If only I had seen Linus' rant sooner

[mrchow19910319]

• Forgot to turn on PSU.
• Screw in the cpu cooler the wrong way. "HOW COME THIS DOESNT GO INNNNNNNNNN???"
• "Upgrading" my PC way too often. 
• RM650 Power supply for a i7 GTX660 system. Too overkill. 

[donalddumb]

first post.  

 

i actually did a pretty good job putting my first pc together in 2001 but when i finished it wasn't booting.  the case and psu were working but no beeps or image on monitor.  i called my buddy over who's time i'd already wasted too much of by constantly seeking advice in choosing parts for months on end, and i was kinda dreading bothering him.  he was stumped as well and after looking over everything he can't see anything out of place.  he looks in the mobo box for a manual and finds a little bag of screws and stuff.

 

turns out i had screwed the motherboard straight onto the case without any risers.  i should've known there was a good reason why one of these greedy corporations would include extra parts for what i assumed was no real reason.  

 

it was a non xp amd athlon 1700 with a 32mb geforce2 gts (i believe) on an msi mobo, which even the guy at fry's was surprised still worked.   

[Teddy07]

I did not use the standoffs between motherboard and case. It destroyed the motherboard. It was in 2004 where Videos didn't really exist or I didn't know.

I send it back to the manufacturer and got a new one for free because I said it was DOA.

[ElZamo92]

I made three major mistakes. First I used the wrong screws to secure the motherboard (didn't read the manual). Second, I didn't notice that the center standoff was a peg with a screw hole, so the motherboard ended up bending quite a bit (it didn't kill it though). Lastly, I paired a Pentium G3258 with a GTX 970. I also did a shit job at cable management.

[Nuluvius]

16 hours ago, NotTheRelaxngEnd said:

oh im sorry it got deleted, he basically had a great opportunity and made anapp to show his product, he really edcated time into it but accidentalydeleted it 8 hours before submssion time and had no backup, he had to do it again and it turnedout as a crappy but fuctional version

That's why source control exists... I really don't have much sympathy for the ignorant.

17 hours ago, KawaiiRaven said:

My brand new iPhone was destroyed. 

I put it on my car because I was unlocking it and putting something inside of it. Then I went drove away and realized the music cut out (because Bluetooth range) and was looking around for it in the car. Then I realized that it fell off and yeah the screen was shattered.

This scenario has happened to a few people that I know over the years and more than once 

 

While it's not happened to me as yet I did 'loose my Edge' one time: I was on my way to the dentist, running late. I had a migraine comming on as I was driving. When I get migraines they are usually quite severe; sickening visual and auditory aura herald the arrival of absolute hell: I usually go completely or partially blind in one or both eyes, loose hearing in one or both ears and sometimes, when very bad, can have one side or the other of my body go numb and stop responding - then comes the pain, much like a sledge hammer impacting the side of ones skull, over and over while the world spins left and right and up and down. So I drove into the car park, packed as always, and luckily managed to find a space. By this time the migraine was progressing from blinding lights to complete loss of peripheral vision... I thought that I'd have enough time to pay and then get to the dentist waiting room before the worst hit... I was wrong.

 

It was one of those days where absolutely everything possible was going wrong. I went to pay but found that I had no cash. So in my attempt to dial up the pay number on the side of the ticket machine I found that my arm had gone numb and thus fumbled with my phone. The phone, a brand new top of the range Edge which I had protected inside a very expensive almost bullet proof case slipped from my grip. I could only watch, vaguely, as it skittered across the road, right underneath a massive speeding 4x4 which promptly smashed it to pieces despite the sturdy case.

 

Then on my way back to my car I found that someone had driven into the rear light cluster and had completely smashed that in as well. Then later, as I had missed my appointment I was deregistered and banned from the dental surgery - while I had two very badly infected teeth!

17 hours ago, KawaiiRaven said:

I got insurance (almost didn’t though) and got it replaced.

I was not insured.

17 hours ago, KawaiiRaven said:

but still I’m really stupid. 

I hope that my plight makes you feel somewhat better about that.

[ZombieLloyd]

My first build, I got an mATX £20-£30 Gigabyte case, and a non modular power supply. Working with that small space was a real pain. That computer is now my work computer because there's no way I was going to fit a graphics card in that.

[Beef Boss]

My worst mistake was when I forgot my cheese slice in my DVD player. I had to get a new DVD player AND more cheese... 

[Cruorzy]

1 hour ago, valdyrgramr said:

Why?

Had to make a twitter account and metiom the ceo and community manager guy to get their attention since the servicedesk was ignoring my rma request.

 

I got response and took them 6 weeks to replace sonething if i remember correctly. Then by mistake i saw the whole email chain between the service desk and the guy who i found on twitter.

 

And litterly said they started to ignore me.

[termisplator]

my future mega overkill pc

[KhandakeF]

On 1/16/2013 at 12:29 PM, frink said:

I was young when I built my first PC and I forgot to put in my I/O shield. I realized that it was likely the cause of a massive dust build up months later when I opened it up for some cleaning. I rebuilt my PC for the sole purpose of a upgrading to a I/O shield. I wish my case had a removable motherboard tray...

The new PCMR trend: upgrading to an I/O shield