Member Avatar for tcepser

Hi all. Installed a nice clean fresh copy of WindowsXP at my friends house. When i got home and plugged it in, it went on, although no image on the monitor appeared. I also seem to remember that i cud not hear a hard drive or CDROM load. After about 10second i smelt a hideous burning smell.

Im 99.9% positive that its the PSU but is this normal and possible!? Within 30mins it was working fine and now gone. Before i spend £15 on a new PSU do you think that i have more 2 worry about?

Thanks for your time :D

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Nick Evan

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If a PC emits smoke or a strong burning smell, treat the power supply as failed and do not power the machine again until that source is replaced. A smoked PSU can hide charged components and internal damage — do not open it. Replace it with a known-good unit or have a tested spare on hand before any further troubleshooting.

Carry out a careful, methodical inspection before reassembly. Remove the motherboard from the case so you can see the whole PCB. Use a bright light and magnifier to look for charred traces, melted connector housings, bulging or leaking capacitors, cracked solder joints, or scorch marks around connectors and voltage regulation areas. Check under drive bays and along power cable runs for loose screws or standoffs that could have created a short. If contacts or traces show heat damage, replacement is safer than risky cleaning.

When ready to test, power the board outside the case with the minimum hardware: new/reliable PSU, CPU and cooler, one stick of RAM, and onboard or test video. Use a PSU tester or a known-good PSU rather than guessing voltages. Listen for POST beeps and watch for fans/spindle spin. If the system POSTs, add components one at a time to find the failed part. If it still does not POST, focus on the motherboard (VRMs, socket area) and try a different stick of RAM and a different slot to isolate a bad DIMM or slot.

Choose the replacement PSU with proper protections (OVP, OCP, OPP), adequate +12V capacity for the system, and the right connectors for the drives and GPU. Follow and by doing a full visual check and feel-for-heat step, and use ’s flashlight approach for detail work. If data recovery is needed, test drives externally with a powered USB/SATA adapter once a safe PSU is fitted. Dispose of the smoked PSU responsibly and document any motherboard damage with photos if professional repair is considered.

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Member Avatar for DuncanIdaho

It does sound like a bad Power Supply, but you should check all your power cables, as if you plug, (for example), a floppy drive power connector onto only 3 of the pins, it will fry the rubber off one of the wires, which smells rank, and smokes like a chimney.

More than likely, it's the power supply though, but take a real good look inside the case of your PC for any obvious damage, then try shining a light into the vents in the PSU to see if you see anything fried in there.

Lastly, most modern machines need a pretty hefty power supply, I hope you're not buying a cheap 250 watt PS, cause those probably will fail due to not being able to provide enough power for your hard disks, graphics card, etc...

Member Avatar for mikeandike22

I will tell you one thing it wasnt good. it probably was the power supply. So i would get a new one or if you are not entirely sure what it is then open up your computer and see what part is exceedingly hot.

Member Avatar for tcepser

Thank you people. I took out the PSU and it smells soo sooooo bad! So im assuming its that. Thankfully nothing else seems toasted! Ill be purshasing of them soon. Ill get a 300w :D

Member Avatar for DuncanIdaho

Best of luck, I'll be watching for you to tell us how your machine is smokin' again. (Meaning fast this time, though, not actually 'smoking' lol)

Member Avatar for tcepser

lol yeah well its only a 1.3ghz so not much happenin there. Btw on closer inspection f the inside of my pc i looked at my RAM and noticed that one of the gold connectors was black, and that smelt just like the psu! Make your own conclusion :lol:

Member Avatar for DuncanIdaho

I'd be worried about both ram and motherboard if that's the case.

Sounds like your PS fried or got spiked, and that it let power surge into your mobo, but that's just a guess.

Member Avatar for tcepser

Yeah i was a bit concerned. I have not had the chance 2 have try fix it yet so ill be doin that soon. Got my new psu and ram comin soon but as you say it mite also be a MB problem, i shall wait and see :D

Member Avatar for kik786

get packed yours pc and throw it from 100th floor. i am sure that you will be hapy ever after.

commented: Don't play games, you're not good at it. :( +1
Member Avatar for tcepser

Thanks for your advice kik786, but there are a number of reasons why id rather not do that :D for a start in the little town in North Wales where i live there are no buildings that are more than 30floors high, nevermind 100.

Anyways, if i wanted to do that i would have done it long ago. Thats also kinda the reason why ive come to this forum - to get help. But i do appreciate your input.

Member Avatar for StrangePaper

You might wanna get a flashlight and check all the circuits on your mobo just to make sure that no circuits are fried. That way you dont plug something in one day and it doesn't work. ;-) Just a thought.

Member Avatar for tcepser

Well ill go and purchase a flashlight now and have a proper look. I certainly hope i havent fried the mobo. I have since binned the ram and the psu

Member Avatar for wakethesilence

It does sound like a bad Power Supply, but you should check all your power cables, as if you plug, (for example), a floppy drive power connector onto only 3 of the pins, it will fry the rubber off one of the wires, which smells rank, and smokes like a chimney.

More than likely, it's the power supply though, but take a real good look inside the case of your PC for any obvious damage, then try shining a light into the vents in the PSU to see if you see anything fried in there.

Lastly, most modern machines need a pretty hefty power supply, I hope you're not buying a cheap 250 watt PS, cause those probably will fail due to not being able to provide enough power for your hard disks, graphics card, etc...

What you mentioned here with the floppy drives cables burning is exactly what happened to me, does this mean that its only the floppy disk drives thats been affected or is it likely other parts have been affected to?

Member Avatar for Nick Evan

What you mentioned here with the floppy drives cables burning is exactly what happened to me, does this mean that its only the floppy disk drives thats been affected or is it likely other parts have been affected to?

It's all connected to eachother, so you will be very very lucky if it's just the floppydrive. Can you post a picture?

Niek

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