Solved Replaced thermal paste = broke something?

Hello everyone. I’m new here. I ran across an odd problem, so here it is. Hope I’ll find some answers.

So, I’ve had a custom built PC since 2018. It’s great. Today I decided to change the thermal compound on the CPU. And so I did. I followed every step correctly. Are used isopropyl alcohol to wipe the old layer and put on a good amount. I did not touch anything else except for the heat sync of course. I put everything back like it was before.

I turned it on and my monitor, mouse, all the peripherals did not get power. The USB ports did not work. Only my keyboard lit up, and nothing else worked (I know that because my mouse would glow and other stuff) even though the pc was on and everything seemed fine. I did not see any of this coming. I’m confused and I don’t know what I could have done to screw it up so badly. To summarize: Everything worked fine until I changed the thermal compound. I’m sure I didn’t forget anything.

That’s all. Thanks. Hope to find answers

Bastet said:

Did you earth yourself by touching a metallic object before opening the PC?
Something may have shorted out if not.

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I used a wristband and clamped it on the case, that’s all.

Bastet said:

The clamp needed to be on something metal. Is the case metal?

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Well...idk why but in my mind I thought the case was metal, even though it’s plastic. Yeah, it’s plastic. I forgot the most critical part, so simple.

Bastet said:

Also double check all connections to the motherboard.

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Connections are all good. I’m also planning to get a beeping-error device for the motherboard

I got a

ASUS Prime Z370-P LGA 1151 (300 Series)​

MB. It says it has 5x power surge protection. IDK how true it is, but I’m 50% sure that’s not it...I hope. I’m taking my PC to a technician.

Ok so...the memory died apparently. Static electricity is to blame I believe. Getting an upgrade :3 to 32GB ram

Bastet said:

Glad you‘ve found the cause.
Hopefully once the RAM is installed all will be fine.

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Oh yea, it was tested by the technician. He tested another RAM and it worked.