Broken front panel USB/audio/mic ports board

[Splinterdog]

I'm upgrading an AM4 platform gaming PC for a client - Ryzen 2600 to Ryzen 5700X3D, 16 to 32GB ram, RX 590 to RTX 4070 Super - and have come across a few issues.
I originally built the PC myself with a Gigabyte B450 Aorus Elite mobo in a Thermaltake V200 case and it's been back to me for intermittent freeze ups, or Steam not opening correctly and Chrome crashing. However, none of those issues have ever manifested themselves in my workshop, in spite of rigorous testing over a number of days. Not once, which is usually the case, like when you take your car to the mechanic and he can't find anything wrong with it, lol.
Anyway, since the PC was in a very mucky state, I decided to strip it back to the metal chassis and on pulling off the plastic front, discovered that the tiny board for the USB 2.0 and audio/mic was broken with two audio cables disconnected as well. One end had actually snapped off, but I couldn't find the broken end of it anywhere. It's also broken on the other end of the tiny circuit board, so I'm assuming some kind of extreme force or anger was involved at some point.
Having now reassembled the PC, I haven't reconnected the two USB 2.0 leads to the mobo, or the audio lead, so the client will have to rely on the single USB 3.0 front panel connection which is undamaged.
I'm wondering if this could have been causing electrical glitches?

 

[Chrispy_]

It's not impossible that this was the cause of glitches, but I doubt it.

USB controllers can detect when there's a short (or a faulty device plugged in) and they power down safely.

Audio wires are isolated from everything else - they might cause a sound driver problem if you tried to use front panel audio but again, most motherboard audio is a Realtek implementation that can detect what's plugged in and also turn off circuits that are behaving badly.

In your case that looks like a single layer PCB so there are no shorts that stick out to me. I think the PC's gremlins lie elsewhere...

I've had a few systems in my lifetime that are 100% rock stable when I'm testing them, and awful in situ with the client - most of those times trial and error has shown those situations to have been a wiring fault in their house, faulty device plugged into the same power strip, ground leakage in their house causing 0V to be something else, and in one instance just noisy electrical devices on the same circuit (hair dryer) that would cause the PC to crash.

 

[Bill_Bright]

I'm wondering if this could have been causing electrical glitches?

If simply broken, probably not. I agree with Chrispy_ and typically, if there is a problem with a USB port, or an audio port, the circuits, being isolated, tend to only affect themselves. This does assume, however, the motherboard is otherwise working properly.

HOWEVER, if the broken PCB resulted in a loose wire contacting a different circuit (I note front panel reset and power switches tend to be in close proximity to front panel USB and audio jacks), that might indeed cause other problems.

PERHAPS - during transport from your client to your bench, that wayward wire moved out of harms way and that is why you cannot duplicate the problem.

Or PERHAPS, this broken PCB is not related to these freeze problems at all. Maybe there was a different loose cable connection that now, after transport, is making solid contact.

I would button up the computer, run more tests to verify the system is still stable, then return it. But while at your client's location, use an AC Outlet Tester to ensure the wall outlet is properly wired and grounded to Earth ground. If there is a fault with the outlet, tell him to have a certified electrician repair it. Then recommend he support his computer with a "good" UPS with AVR.

 

[Splinterdog]

Thanks for your replies.
I suspect that his house, like many in Argentina, is not grounded to Earth, at least in my experience, but I will check when I see him next.
For the moment though, I'm happy to take those connections out of the loop as there seems little point of reconnecting a broken board.
As for transport and general use, the PC could have been looked after better, since the case is not in the best condition, however I haven't had any glitches with the motherboard or Windows stability on my bench over the last couple of days of running.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Well, lets hope it is not like your car and the mechanic scenario.

 

[Chrispy_]

As for transport and general use, the PC could have been looked after better, since the case is not in the best condition, however I haven't had any glitches with the motherboard or Windows stability on my bench over the last couple of days of running.

Are you stability testing this outside of the case?

I've seen problems with poorly-seated CPU, RAM, GPU connections before that were the result of a misaligned case - either from damage or just shoddy case quality. Perfectly working components that stop working perfectly when you put them in a case that's a little bit wonky.

 

[Splinterdog]

Are you stability testing this outside of the case?

I've seen problems with poorly-seated CPU, RAM, GPU connections before that were the result of a misaligned case - either from damage or just shoddy case quality. Perfectly working components that stop working perfectly when you put them in a case that's a little bit wonky.

I did that before reassembly, not forgetting that I took the case down to the metal, which I always enjoy anyway. Zero glitches while in my custody.