Comp shuts off and get a burning smell

ramdexramdex Tucson
edited November 2004 in Hardware
I was presented with a computer that was shutting off randomly. They said after it shut down they could would smell something burning. I havent turned it back on worried it is the PS in fear it could blow. from this info, which i was presented with, what would you think it is or what should I do second?

Comments

  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    Haha. I had a PSU blow with my hand right next to it one time. Scared the living bajeesus out of me. Sounds like the PSU may be going though.
  • ramdexramdex Tucson
    edited October 2004
    Thats what i thought and I am afraid to trouble shoot it because if it blows IT TAKES IT ALL. The bad part is i dont have any extra PS to put in it at the moment that I know that work. I have had a computer go out on me on a overload or some other thing and the power supply blew up!!!! Took out my whole computer. I dont want to risk it too much with this one to even recreat what happen. I think im going to buy a PS so I can swap it. If it works then we know what it is and if it doesnt we know what the problem is.
  • Loki047Loki047
    edited October 2004
    Check the PS definitly, but ive had faulty MOBOs that have smoked when powered up...

    maybe theres something dead in the PS (lets hope_)
  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    If you've got a voltmeter around, you could power it up by shorting the green wire with one of the black ones and testing each rail. If you have a high amount of fluctuation, or you're not within spec, then it's obviously the PSU. I definitely wouldn't power it up connected to the system though.
  • ramdexramdex Tucson
    edited October 2004
    Yeah, one think tho is I found out the CPU fan RPMs arnt up to spec so the cpu fan is going as well. Im going to get a new cpu fan for it but he said that the computer was hot to touch. Well in most comps including mine, the PSU is accually cold to touch while its on. Do think its the power supply that the cpu running a little slower isnt going to affect it as much to where you smell something burning and then it shuts down. and because i dont want to run the risk with a bad PSU I cant accully use a program I have to look at the cpu temp under load.

    SO what do you think, replace PCU, then trouble shoot and see if CPU RPMS are a problem then get a new cooler, or just get the both.
  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited October 2004
    Well, if voltage is wrong to fan, then you're going to get fluctuations in fan speed. And the PSU definitely shouldn't be excessively hot. I just replaced one that would burn you when you touched it. I say test the PSU somehow.
  • kryystkryyst Ontario, Canada
    edited November 2004
    I'd say just get them a new PSU they aren't all that expensive and regardless if there are other problems or not going on the PSU is almost always the first thing to go when you smell burning and things are getting hot.
  • ramdexramdex Tucson
    edited November 2004
    yeah thats what I think as well, thanks everyone.
  • Loki047Loki047
    edited November 2004
    well is there any word on what the problem was? Updates?
  • youvegotjermzyouvegotjermz Baton Rouge, La
    edited November 2004
    i hope you backed up your info before doing anything. i wasn't there to see it at my office but when the PSU went out it took took the entire computer with it. everything but the floppy drive for some reason. smoke, sparks, the works!

    sounds like you got your problem pegged though, good luck!
  • ramdexramdex Tucson
    edited November 2004
    I didnt fry the computer, I ordered a new PSU for the computer.

    When he told me about it I told him to turn it off and DO NOT use it till I can replace the psu. I put another one in there that was really too small to keep in there but it allowed me to trouble shoot it. The cpu fan is going out so I am going to replace that but he said that it was warm and that he smelled like burning. SO thats the update.

    youvegotjermz, everything is fine on it but it could have been worse. 2 years ago my old computer's PSU blew up, sparks, fire, smoke, EVERYTHING. I hit the deck when it happened lol. I lost everything but the RAM and PCI/AGP cards, pretty much everything that was hooked irrectly to the PSU except my floppy didnt die either. Well It wasnt as bad because I got to build a new one that the old one was getting, well old lol. Most people i know who work on computers have expierienced this event known as PSBU (power supply blowing up) and it isnt something that we ever want to expierience again. Ill let you know when I get the new PSU.
  • adhamadham Ft Bragg, NC
    edited November 2004
    I had a power surge so bad one time that the ceiling fan was spinning so fast that it sounded like a blackhawk landing. PSU went up in a puff of black smoke, but it didn't take any of the other parts with it. Everything worked fine once a new psu went in. I expected it all to be toast. Now I am surprised to hear that a psu can take a whole computer with it. I guess that is more likely than the luck I had.
  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    It depends where the issue occurs. Generally, there are enough failsafes within the PSU to protect the components beyond, but that's not a guarantee.
  • ramdexramdex Tucson
    edited November 2004
    Yeah Ive had ones come to me that have blown where I repalced it and thats was it, other times I have had the whole computer with no working parts remaining, except he floppy, ram, and exp cards. basicly everything not dirrectly connected to the PS. Dunno how the floppy ends up always surviving.
  • lordbeanlordbean Ontario, Canada
    edited November 2004
    sounds like the surge is normally on the +12 line that fries everything. It could be possible that floppy drives only use the +5 line, and are thus not connected to the +12.

    However, judging by the cable setup, I'm probably wrong. Maybe CD-ROM drives are always "on" in some sense when the computer is powered up? I don't think a floppy drive turns on until the IDE cable orders it to.
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