computer "burnt out!

Steve · 30 Aug 2009

A work colleague has a fairly new computer (pre-vista, and out of warranty) which she has had problems with - basically it started making a funny noise and smoke came from it, before she turned it off and hasnt used it since. I have offered to try to fault find.

I know the sorts of things that can burn up - processor if the fan fails, caps and tracks on the mobo, graphics processor.

Never seen (or thought it possible for) a hard drive burn up.

I havent yet recieved the PC, so dont even know what make it is. She's giving it me tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be something simple like a hard drive or fan, but if the processors fried will that mean a new mobo too? (not too bothered, tbh, cos a cheap mobo is pennies)

What about the OEM windows which it likely shipped with, and is probably on a partition of the HDD with recovery only disc. What hardware replacements will cause windows to have a hissy-fit?

EddieM · 30 Aug 2009

buy a new computer.

Goldberg · 30 Aug 2009

Steve said:
What about the OEM windows which it likely shipped with, and is probably on a partition of the HDD with recovery only disc. What hardware replacements will cause windows to have a hissy-fit?

Without reinstalling, the only thing likely to cause you a headache would be a fundamental HAL incompability. Such things can arise if you change from an AMD CPU to an Intel one, for example.

If you're reinstalling Windows on a freshly formatted partition, using the OEM CD, then you're unlikely to encounter any problem at all.

Smoke is usually caused by a PSU problem, but the knock-on problem is that it can take the motherboard with it.

Do you have PSU tester?

Steve · 30 Aug 2009

Goldberg said:
Do you have PSU tester?

No, however I have a multimeter, so can test voltages. Then again, there wont be any voltages with the PSU off . . . Hmmm. I take it a PSU tester can "fool" the PSU into powering up!.

djrock · 30 Aug 2009

Steve said:
Goldberg said:

Do you have PSU tester?

Click to expand...

No, however I have a multimeter, so can test voltages. Then again, there wont be any voltages with the PSU off . . . Hmmm. I take it a PSU tester can "fool" the PSU into powering up!.

You can do the paper clip trick to turn it on but you can get problems like the psu without a load might get damage and or the voltage readings won't be correct without some kind of load.

If it is the psu just hope it has not taken the whole computer out.

djrock

Goldberg · 30 Aug 2009

djrock said:
No, however I have a multimeter, so can test voltages. Then again, there wont be any voltages with the PSU off

Correct.

Also, if you ram a multimeter probe into a power connector then you risk opening contacts too far that then don't make good contact afterwards.

PSU testers are incredibly cheap.

foxhole · 8 Sep 2009

PSU is about the only component likely to produce smoke, so should be easy fix if thats the problem.

tim west · 8 Sep 2009

after a new PSU you could try one of these(they sell on ebay as well):

Diagnostic card

3guk · 15 Sep 2009

At a guess it's gonna be the PSU, the majority of other components won't fail, the hard drives occasionally do, but they wont produce smoke. 9 times out of 10 your MOBO won't be damaged by the PSU going pop.

Swapping a PSU is a fairly easy thing to do, should take about 15minutes, failing this its a little harder to diagnose. Relatively cheap to replace too !!

Goldberg · 15 Sep 2009

3guk said:
9 times out of 10 your MOBO won't be damaged by the PSU going pop.

Swapping a PSU is a fairly easy thing to do, should take about 15minutes

So, 1 time out of 10, how do you prevent the blown motherboard from causing the new PSU fromo "going pop"?

djrock · 15 Sep 2009

3guk said:
At a guess it's gonna be the PSU, the majority of other components won't fail, the hard drives occasionally do, but they wont produce smoke. 9 times out of 10 your MOBO won't be damaged by the PSU going pop.

Swapping a PSU is a fairly easy thing to do, should take about 15minutes, failing this its a little harder to diagnose. Relatively cheap to replace too !!

There is a possibility if other components have not failed that they have been weakened so could end up failing. Hard drives can smoke.

You can’t assume that the psu fitted is a standard one, which it might not be if it’s say a dell. Also dell did at one point (not sure if they still do) use standard size psu’s and a normal 20-pin atx plug but wired differently.

computer "burnt out!

Steve

EddieM

Goldberg

Steve

djrock

Goldberg

foxhole

tim west

3guk

Goldberg

djrock

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