PiroMunkie Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) [color="#006400"]k so You're sitting at your computer when [b]ALL OF THE SUDDEN[/b] everything just shuts off, and there's a feint burning smell. What do you do? x_x I'm guessing it's the power supply, but that's where my knowledge of this problem stops. ... help? ._. [size=1]I'm not typing this from my computer. Also, after I finished opening it up and inspecting it to make sure nothing was melted (the PC wasn't even hot, or moderately warm) the fans turned out as soon as I plugged the power cable back in and couldn't be turned off, but the computer itself was dormant, lol.[/size][/color] Edited July 23, 2011 by PiroMunkie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 If I had a smart phone I'd quickly go to Stitcher.com, download the app, and make sure I have the latest OB Podcast episode via the Stitcher app. Other than that, I'd check the oven because I probably destroyed something when I forgot about cooking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiroMunkie Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) [color="#006400"]If only shameless plugs helped resolve my issue. :P When I opened my PC up earlier the burning smell seemed to be coming from my PSU, so I'm 99.99% sure that's my problem, lol. There doesn't seem to be any visible damage to the motherboard or any other component. I didn't hear/see any sparks or crackles or anything when it happened so I'm hoping the damage is just centralized to the PSU. However, my knowledge of this piece of hardware is limited merely to being able to identify it, and being that the manufacturing date on the label says it's at least 4 years old I haven't been able to find it online; nor do I know what what to look for if I was to look for a comparable replacement. And if I were to replace it I have no idea how difficult it may or may not be to do so. x_x Would I have to buy new cables to hook up to all the other components, or would they come with? I don't want to actually remove my PSU until someone can tell me with some certainty that it is definitely the problem, lol. So I'm not 100% sure how it's hooked up inside the box.[/color] Edited July 23, 2011 by PiroMunkie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) I think the most of them look pretty similar and are it as well in how to handle them, though I've never had to remove a baked one, let alone place a new one. From what I can imagine, you will probably get the cables n stuff along with the actual thing and [url="http://www.fonerbooks.com/r_power.htm"]here is a tutorial with pictures[/url] of someone replacing a PSU. I suppose it's all pretty much the same unless you have pretty much a piece of art as a computer as I did before, then it might suck. Doesn't look [i]too [/i]hard right? (Though there's a whole bunch of cables) You'll want to turn off your computer 100% though by unplugging it, switching the PSU button off and then pressing the actual PC power button one more time to get the last bit of power out. Also, see if you can grab the dark grey bit of a radiator or something, it should deal with most of the statis energy that might be in your fingers n stuff before you destroy your PC completely. JIC intel, because I probably would destroy my PC completely. Edited July 23, 2011 by ß°° Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiroMunkie Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 [color="#006400"]Haha, yeah ... I'm pretty cautious about removing anything right now. I'm almost positive the problem is the PSU, but I don't want to remove anything until some tech-savvy person who has dealt with similar problems can come along and say "Yes, it's definitely your PSU." I wish I knew someone with a PSU Tester or something. It's not that I'm not confident in my ability to take a computer apart. I've done it before when I had to add some RAM to my old PC that was about the size of a thimble. I just don't know enough about the hardware to run the appropriate diagnostics. I think there also might be an underlying problem with the power strip it was plugged into. I have a really old fan I was using in my room that also was plugged into it and it doesn't want to work anymore either, though the other things that are plugged into it still work fine. So if there was a short or a surge coming from the power strip I could see how that could potentially fry my PSU. ._.[/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petie Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 [font="Verdana"][color="#0000ff"]If the smell was coming from the PSU, that really is the most likely culprit. Added to that fact is that you said the computer wasn't hot (I'm assuming you checked almost immediately) which more or less rules out the CPU fan failing and causing an overheat. If you didn't check right away though, you can't rule that out.[/color][/font] [font="Verdana"] [/font] [font="Verdana"][color="#0000ff"]The first thing I'd recommend is that you avoid plugging it back in right now. It has most likely shorted and plugging working components into a shorted power supply can damage the other components. Removing a power supply isn't difficult. Disconnect all of the cables coming from it one at a time and carefully pull them out of the case. Then, just remove the (usually) four screws from the back and pop it out. Depending on the layout of your components, you may have to remove something else from the inside to do this but that shouldn't be terribly difficult.[/color][/font] [font="Verdana"] [/font] [font="Verdana"][color="#0000ff"]Replacing it is equally as easy. When you have it out, take a look at the label. The important thing here is the wattage. Power supplies generally come in a pretty standard size so when you're looking for your replacement, all you need to do is make sure you have the same or greater wattage. Obviously, you should check to make sure it will fit first but I don't think you'll run into problems there. The new one will come with all of the required power cables though I'd hold on to any adapters you may have in use currently, just in case, though the new one should come with those as well.[/color][/font] [font="Verdana"] [/font] [font="Verdana"][color="#0000ff"]Anyway, I hope this helps and do let me know if you need anything else.[/color][/font] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OMNOMNOMALY Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 [font="Garamond"]Things I would do in this situation: [list] [*]take it to a repair place [*]????? [*]Profit [/list][/font] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiroMunkie Posted July 23, 2011 Author Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) [color="#008000"]I checked it almost immediately. The first thing I did was touch the side and put my hand back where the fans are and those weren't even remotely warm. When I opened it up shortly thereafter to check for any visible damage, the components were barely warm ... Like as warm as I'd expect them to be from just being in use. Thanks for your reply, though. You answered a lot of questions I also had about the wattage and whatnot (wasn't positive that more would be better than less, but I would have assumed so). I'll probably get around to removing the PSU and shop around for a suitable replacement. Should probably invest in a new power strip too just incase that was the cause of the short. I don't really want to take it to a repair shop when I know I'm more than capable of replacing it. :P It's mostly just a matter of knowing for sure what the problem was and what to look for in a replacement.[/color] Edited July 23, 2011 by PiroMunkie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petie Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 [font="Verdana"][color="#0000ff"]Yeah, no need to go to a repair shop here. That will just cost you unnecessary amounts of money. I did just want to clarify one thing though. More wattage can't hurt but it isn't necessarily better. It's senseless to pay more for one with higher wattage if you don't need it. However, if you plan on adding components in the near future, having more may be a good idea. Otherwise, just make sure you have at least the same as your current one and you'll be fine.[/color][/font] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiroMunkie Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 (edited) [color="#006400"]k so I got a new PSU, and a new surge protector just to be safe, and to the best of my knowledge I plugged everything back in correctly (though I had a 4-pin floppy connector chillin' that I couldn't remember if it was plugged in to anything, though since I don't have a floppy drive I can't imagine it was). When I tried to power up my computer again I had the same problem I had the last time I tried. Fans on, but no power to the rest of the PC. Which I could imagine could be anything from a broken power button to a fried motherboard. :D GOOD TIMES. I think I might kill myself. It makes me wonder if my old PSU was faulty to begin with (though I think the burning smell would say yes) considering all the fans are working fine. >_> [size=1]Update: So it's weird because my fans work. Even the ones that are exclusively attached to my motherboard, so it's clear that the motherboard is receiving power, right? Or at least funtioning enough to make the fans work. Additionally, if I hit the power button (holding it, as though I was forcing the computer to shut off without shutting it down), those fans turn off (the PSU fan remains on) and can't be turned back on without shutting off the PSU and turning it back on. One of the decorative lights comes on and stays on even after the fans are off. Also there's a feint whirring sound that fades after I turn the PSU on, which I'm guessing is my hard drive turning on.[/size][/color] Edited July 25, 2011 by PiroMunkie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petie Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 [font="Verdana"][color="#0000ff"]Silly question but you're sure the monitor is plugged in to the computer and turned on, right? And that, if you have a dedicated graphics card, it's working and seated correctly? You could try just reseating everything (RAM, expansion cards, cables) and see if that helps.[/color][/font] [font="Verdana"][color="#0000ff"] [/color][/font] [font="Verdana"][color="#0000ff"]It does seem like the PSU was definitely fried if it really smelled like it was burning so I'm not sure that replacing it was a bad idea but if you kept the receipt and the old one, definitely keep it in mind.[/color][/font] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiroMunkie Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 (edited) [color="#006400"]Yeah I thought it was curious as well that I couldn't get anything to display on my monitor. It would keep giving me "No signal" which I know I've fixed on at least one other person's computer just by unplugging and replugging the monitor cables. But I went back and removed and reconnected most everything (outside of physically removing the CD-ROM and HDD), and I'm getting the same thing. The only connectors not in use are a bunch of extra SATAs that came with the new PSU, that 4-pin floppy, the old 6-pin PCI that's connected to what looks like some kind of converter or extension that's impossible to remove (I tried hooking the old 6-pin back up instead of using the new one, but it made no difference), and some 3-pin power cable (looks like a broken 4-pin with brown, black and yellow wires) that's also connected to the same extension as the 6-pin PCI; as far as I can tell the 3-pin has no place in my PC, lol. But the one thing that's definitely not working is my power button, at least not fully since like I said I can turn all the fans off by holding it down. The fan on my graphics card is working so I'm assuming it's getting power but just has nothing to display because nothing is booting (that's my theory anyway, lol). There's supposed to be a light behind the power button the computer is on and running, but it's not working at the moment (and didn't after my old PSU failed so this is nothing new since I installed the new PSU). Also the CD-ROM drive doesn't open, but I don't know that it should either without anything really being active, lol.[/color] Edited July 25, 2011 by PiroMunkie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petie Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 [font="Verdana"][color="#0000ff"]Hmm... this is certainly tricky. Reseating everything sometimes helps but since it didn't here, I'm pretty much at a loss. I suppose it could be a problem with your processor, which is the only component I can think of that would outright halt a system startup but unfortunately, it's also sort of difficult to test that.[/color][/font] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PiroMunkie Posted July 25, 2011 Author Share Posted July 25, 2011 [color="#006400"]Some Google searches about people having similar problems had people suggesting to turn the PC on with no RAM or graphics card in to see if your motherboard yells at you to put something in. So I did that and was met with silence. >_> So assuming that test is legit, I guess it's safe to assume my motherboard's gone too. D:[/color] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boo Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 Well in that case you're screwed ^_^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petie Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 [font="Verdana"][color="#0000ff"]Yeah, not sure why I didn't think about that before. Power to components plugged into the motherboard doesn't necessarily mean that the motherboard is fine, though I haven't seen too many cases where that was the case. If you could post the make and model of your motherboard though, I can do a little digging and see if I can come up with a more conclusive self-diagnostic test.[/color][/font] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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