Fan burnt? The weirdest story

[vandienk]

I'll tell you what happened today. I took the PC to a technician and when he opened it, we astonishingly saw that the MSI NX GeForce 6600GT 128 Mb card FAN had fallen out of the case that keeps it. How could this happen? BEATS ME, but when we removed the card to have a closer look at it, we saw that the fan was actually off and there were small parts all over the PC floor. In the place where the fan was supposed to be, there were "melted" pieces, like if the fan had been "fried". There was some burnt smell and the classical black colour burns have. I mean, both the technician and myself were ASTOUNDED. He confessed he had never seen something like that before, so he was pretty shocked.
Now I am trying to see if MSI has an extended warranty over that (like the ones on HD) because the warranty from the store I bought is due but the card is only 1 year old and as I am not a gamer, I have never actually used it for that or for watching movies.

Anyway, I just want somebody to tell me (if they know). If I can use the card without that fan? I am actually using it as I write, but I fear the PC might blow away- LOL.
The case where the card is has 3 fans pointing directly to it + the fan on the processor above the card + the small chipset fan + the fan on the PSU.
Please, advice me as I really don't wanna throw this card away. It's pretty new.

I am actually kinda sad.

Thanxs to anywone who can help me.

[BigDid]

...Anyway, I just want somebody to tell me (if they know). If I can use the card without that fan? I am actually using it as I write, but I fear the PC might blow away- LOL...
Hi,

Your card may:
-Fry
-Freeze the PC
-get a blue screen

1/ Open your side panel, use a table fan to blow towards the card, it may survive this way...
2/ Get a VGA replacement fan as quick as possible, some links; in french but you'll get the pictures and the prices (check the real compatibility):
http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00026844.html
http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00039225.html
http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00030778.html
http://www.ldlc.com/fiche/PB00029653.html

Good luck

Did

[CWR03]

If the card got so hot that the PC locked up, chances are it's ruined anyway. If you use it for gaming, give it a quick try with lots of airflow across it as suggested and see if it still works before you spend money on a replacement cooler. For one thing, replacing that will void your warranty if one still exists. For another, if you discover that it's still under the manufacturer's warranty you could mail it back for a replacement and buy a cheap card while you wait. I had a similar problem with an MX-440 in my media PC with a failing and noisy fan, and instead of spending $15 on a new cooler I bought an MX-4000 on sale and with rebates for just $10. It's also fanless, so the PC is dead silent now.

I couldn't find warranty specs on MSI's website (www.msicomputer.com) but I'd bet it's more than one year.

[squid_80]

I mean, both the technician and myself were ASTOUNDED. He confessed he had never seen something like that before, so he was pretty shocked.
If he's never seen anything like it, he's not a very experienced tech. Video card fans die all the time in my experience. First thing I do when I buy a new video card is replace the cheap and nasty fan with something decent.

[UofC]

I would think the card got fried due to the fan not being attached and surprised the card is still working.

MSI should cover it as it was not your fault the fan took off. Mind you there were not the best when I had problem with my motherboard.

I would stop using it and if you have onboard video use that. If not borrow one or something.

I think warranty is 3 years but not 100% sure. Call them or email them and they can give you the information. If you bought it from a local computer store they may RMA it for you and give a replacement.