Computer crashes - PSU smells

focuSxyz · Joined: May 04, 2008 Posts: 4

Hi, I have a problem that has been urking me for the last week. While I was playing some COD4 my computer crashes it won't turn back on, and I smell burning rubber coming from my PSU. Heres the weird part, my PSU switch's (to turn off and on, near the power cord input) light is green if I turn it on, the front of my computer case's light is on (near the ON switch). When I plugged in my PSU in another mobo, it eletrocuted me when I touched it (the PSU case was open, I was checking for burned components as someone told me to). NOTHING powers up accept the PSU switch light & the on button light.

My system specs are:

AMD Socket 940 3200+
2GB DDR2 Dual Channel OCZ Gold Revision 2
64GB SATA Seagate HDD
Nvidia Geforce 8800GTS w\ DuOrb GPU Cooler
Sound Blaster 4.1 Sound card
Demon 480WATT Powersupply
ECS K8M890M-M

PLEASE HELP, I'm getting to the point to spend 200+ dollars at Geeksquad. Mad

goretsky

Hello,

At the very least, it sounds like you need to replace the power supply. The burning smell and fact that you were electrocuted indicates it is damaged.

After replacing it, see if the system will start. It not, then it is possible other components such as the motherboard and processor were damaged and need to be replaced, too.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 1134 Location: Central FL, USA

Never, Never, Never spend one dime at Geeksquad.

They are idiots and will charge you ten times what the job is worth.
Even IF per chance, you do get a guy who knows what he's doing, he'll still over charge you.

Buy a new PSU and install it yourself.

There are many different voltages that the PSU produces. Lights ON, means the +5 volt line is active. Any other voltage could be shorted out.

Just the smell, without any further testing, tells you its time for a new PSU.

You can buy a really great PSU for less than $100 and install it yourself in less than 10 minutes. I'd go a bit higher in wattage than what you have now, like maybe 650w. Your old supply may have blown out because it was overworked. The stated wattage is the startup wattage that's there to power up the drives and fans and charge the motherboard capacitors.
It's NOT the all day operating wattage.
That could actually be 30% less than the wattage printed on the supply.

Good Luck,
The Doctor Cool

focuSxyz · Joined: May 04, 2008 Posts: 4

Thanks for the reply guys, I don't really want to replace me Mobo/CPU. But I will eventually get a AMD C2D soon. I didn't see one burn mark in the PSU as someone told me to check. I didn't look carefully cause it was all filled with dust. I just really hope that its 100% the PSU's failure. I think i've been on the computer when it turned off for about 8-10 hours, maybe that was the problem. Over working/Over heating???

12quidkidinnit

Yes, I vote for the power supply as well. It had one explode on me the other week. I had similar symptoms to yours, computer giong off by itself etc. Sometimes when I switched it on, it would try to start, then cut out. Other times, it would start normally. One time, I started it up again, sat down to drink some tea, and there was a loud bang, followed by lots of smoke and a terrible burning smell. I took the case off the psu and found the top had blown off one of the capacitors. Luckily none of the computer components were damaged, and after I'd fitted a spare power supply, it was fine.

I had psu problems on an editing computer a while ago. The computer would work for quiet a long time, but just go off. I noticed that the large connector that went onto the motherboard looked like it had been getting hot, so I replaced that psu with a higher rated one. Seeing as I was running a few extra hard drives in there I suppose the old one was entitled to give up eventually.

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 1134 Location: Central FL, USA

Anytime you get a bunch of tech's together, telling horror stories, it's enough to make a grown man cry.

My worse case scenario was a PSU that had an internal hemorrhage and totally lost all voltage regulation. The 5v rail went up to around 10v and the 12v rail went up to ~20+v. Well, the tops of many chips on the mobo and HD controller card were blown off, or opened up, letting the smoke out. Crying or Very sad

I think the only part I saved out of that PC was one piece of ram.

IBM replaced the "Blue Lightning" mobo and Quantum replaced the HD.
I had to replace everything else out of my own pocket.

I saw a similar thing happen on a customers PC one day.
It too went 'Bang' and stunk like the devil.
The motherboard was SMOKED! I sold the guy a used PC to replace his "Crispy Critter".

It was a Codegen 300w supply. I later found out that they have a bad reputation for blowing up and wiping out the PC.
So every time I see a Codegen 300w supply in a PC, it gets replaced ASAP.

Ok, that's my horror story for today! Twisted Evil

Cheers Mates!
The Doctor Cool

focuSxyz · Joined: May 04, 2008 Posts: 4

Geez... I just bought a A power 580watt PSU. It does the same thing!!! I just wasted 100.00 dollars!!! BUT, when I turn on the PSU it makes a.. weird buzzing noise. No signs of heat ect. So... Anymore suggestions?

goretsky

Hello,

It sounds like the motherboard was damaged by the previous power supply. You may need to replace it, as well as the processor or other components.

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

focuSxyz · Joined: May 04, 2008 Posts: 4

Nahhh.. I wouldn't say the processor, or other parts. The computer has a boot issue, mostly due to half of my motherboard isn't functional. I think i'm just going to buy another motherboard.

kida · Joined: Apr 03, 2008 Posts: 16 Location: Texas, U.S.

first of all...never ever EVER touch any hardware component until everything is unplugged. even with the pc off, but the power still plugged in, you're still at risk of electrocution.

there are 2 problems you might have: 1) you said your new PSU made a buzzing noise. is it loud? if it is, it could be defective. what brand did you buy? from where? 2) like others mentioned, your motherboard might have been fried by the previous PSU.

suggestions: if it's the first problem, return/RMA your PSU and get another one. if it's a crappy brand, then get your money back and buy a better one. antec, pc power & cooling, thermaltake, and OCZ are good brands on top of my mind right now. if it's the second problem, obviously, buy a new MB. asus, gigabyte, and MSI are good brands. if you're in the mood for the CPU upgrade as well, go for an intel MB and intel CPU. it's better than AMD, and intel just slashed their dual/quad core prices recently, making them very competitive with AMD. i'd suggest getting a C2D and up. that single-core you have (or had) is really bottle-necking your 8800GTS.

i didn't know they make 64gb SATA HDDs. are you sure that's correct?