Computer Burn

[CoasterCreator]

ok ..ok ..Ok I know I have a " I TOLD YOU SO " coming my way but I did ignored the montly "back-up ' warning . [DAM what a noob ] well I really dont care of the c drive stuuf because ( it will take some time ) but I can get all of those things back . Besides I save alot of stuff on removable drives ...

But last night as I was working on some Video editing I kept smelling something burning...I just figured it was my wife turning on the heater and the smell came from the vents. but the smell just kept getting stronger ...I was up by 5am and continued working on my video project and left the computer encoding while I took a shower.

before I left to work I noticed that my computer room smelled like fresh pork grinds ..and my power source was off I just disconnected everything as I had to run out to work...

Most likely I will not have a chance to look at it until this ( holiday) weekend...ok guys my question to you is .....what do you think it could possably be ??? and thanks in advance for any suggestions ...( and yes it could of possibly be a pron overload ) any suggestions from our new Dell Rep. Bazooka ?

[Dr. DOS]

The only time I've smelled burned pork rinds in the computer room is when a bug falls on the 500W halogen bulb (lamp) and smolders there for a bit.... beats me .... monitor more than likely.

[yoda313]

Hello,

I TOLD YOU SO " coming my way but I did ignored the montly "back-up ' warning . [DAM what a noob

I TOLD YOU SO!

MONTLY BACKUP REMINDER



Sorry to hear about that.

When was the last time you cleaned the inside of the pc????

You probably also needed to replace or get a larger fan for the cpu...

Good luck getting it working again

Kevin

EDIT - Ask a mod to move this to the computer forum - you're sure to get more VALID responses (nothing personal ddos - I just thinks thats more appropriate )

[CoasterCreator]

last time I cleaned my computer was about 1 1/2 - 2 months ago
like a dummy I dropped the side cover and messed up the " cool lighted fan ... so I replaced that fan with a fan from an old case which I took from the power cage ( I had to force it open , miracle I did not get shocked ) ... so it did sound weird from time to time and I also never re-placed the other side cover ( so it was exposed from one side , [ not the side where the fan was] ) ...I am sure lazy oh and the monitor was still working but the tower had no power ....I quickly pressed the power button and nothing happened but I just figured it was just a waste of time , and I did not have enough time , as I was on my way out.... .


EDIT thanks yoda ...I did make a request to have this moved...

[Doramius]

Maybe your power supply is toasted. The transformers tend to have a funky smell to them when they are overheating. try a new PSU and see what happens. Otherwise, check your mobo and see if a screw or something got hidden under some dust bunnies.

[offline]

If the box does indeed smell remove all hard drives
first before doing anything else. If time is a problem,
simply unplug the power and data cables.

[zzyzzx]

I had this happen and it was a smoked (literally) component on the motherboard. Probably a voltage regulator and some other parts near it. It was a DFI motherboard. I won't be buying anymore DFI motherboards! I ended up replacing the motherboard and CPU.

[Doramius]

I burn motherboards all the time. I just did that to an old 386. It's cool how it bubbles in the fires. It stinks to high heaven though.

[ZAPPER]

1) unplug
2) remove any remaining covers
3) do quick visual inspection for signs of soot, melting, warping or anything else that looks out of place
4) give it the "sniff test" (hey it works) differnt components tend to have differnt smells when they burn. Transformers to me smell kind of sweet when they are burned out, resisters and other epoxy type components stink with a "deeper rancid" type smell. Even if you can't identify the smell you may be able to locate the area that it is coming from and concentrate on looking in that area
5) start probing with a meter ( I wolud start at the power supply and work in, but if you have a hunch of what the problem is start there)
6) remove and save any components that you deem to be worth reuseing and build a new PC

[rallynavvie]

We once watched a BFG video card catch fire (melted the plastic retaining bolt for the heatsink and lit it up to an amazing effect) on a friend's PC. He had a windowed Antec so we got to see the whole thing happen. He quick tried to shut everything down but then I just told him to sit back and watch it burn. Took out pretty much everything inside his case but it was certainly fun to watch things like capacitors pop like ticks on a griddle. That fire smelled more like ozone and melting plastic. Pork rinds? Are you sure you just weren't hungry at the time?

[CoasterCreator]

hey guys ...I had a little bit of time on my handa last night so I decided to take a quick look ans with your guys advise I had an idea at what I might be looking at ...( fearing the worst ) I did give it the sniff test ( my dogs kept looking at me , and I thought to my self ....Dam this should be the dog test ) anyhow just like Dorm said the smell lead to the power supply ....I am not even going to mess with that ....may be take out the fans ...but that is it ...last thing I want is to be shoked..I will keep you guys posted on the out come this weekend ....thanks for your help ..


and yes I think I was hungry @ the pork grinds..

[Doramius]

Save yourself a lot of trouble. Remove the optical drive, HDD, and other parts that might be worth salvaging. Kick the tower a few times. Take it outside. Place somewhere with a nice backstop. Fire at it with bullets repeatedly. Grab an extension cord. Try to locate the power supply connector. plug it in. It it crackles and sparks, unplug and repeat firing. If it doesn't turn on, unplug and repeat firing. After amunition is gone, go online to newegg.com and build a new computer. You'll find this to be the most satisfying way to troubleshoot and build a new computer.

[zzyzzx]

Save yourself a lot of trouble. Remove the optical drive, HDD, and other parts that might be worth salvaging. Kick the tower a few times. Take it outside. Place somewhere with a nice backstop. Fire at it with bullets repeatedly. Grab an extension cord. Try to locate the power supply connector. plug it in. It it crackles and sparks, unplug and repeat firing. If it doesn't turn on, unplug and repeat firing. After amunition is gone, go online to newegg.com and build a new computer. You'll find this to be the most satisfying way to troubleshoot and build a new computer.

[Doramius]

Nice visual. Reminds me of last summer when I got pissed at a Jabil Motherboard.

[ZAPPER]

If you decide to shoot it , make sure that you use a large caliber. When I was a kid a bunch of us were out playing with our 22s. We came upon a dump site that had an old TV set in it. Every one wanted to be the one that shot out the picture tube. As luck would have it the oldest was the first to see the TV and the first to get a shot off. As soon as he shot at the TV his younger brother hits the ground holding his head. Shit we all thought that we just killed someone and then we thought maybe he was faking it. When he finally quit all his bitching and moaning and rolled over for us to see his wound he had been hit right in the middle of his forhead at brow level! He had the slug in his hand and said that it had stuck to his head. It was almost perfectly as round and flat as a nickle. It only left a red mark on his head that even the grown ups never noticed, but he claims that it cracked his skull because he had head aches for about ten years after! After that ricochet episode we paid attention to what we were shooting at! Oh to be young and stupid again

[Garibaldi]

What a great shot from Office Space! I have felt like that on more than 1 occasion!