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Old 08-11-2001, 06:31 PM   #1
zikhermm
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Something's gone horribly wrong


During some coding work in Perl that I was doing on my Linux machine, I heard a loud click and the computer shut off. I smelled something burning and immediately yanked the plug. Now the computer won't turn on. I think the power supply shorted out. Are there any logical reasons for this? If there's a problem, I want to fix it before installing a new power supply. My friend seems to think it's dust-related, as when I opened up the non-working power supply, it was horribly dusty. Any ideas?
 
Old 08-11-2001, 07:18 PM   #2
DMR
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Ouch!

Yeah, dust is a major evil. Any component can fail given time, but a layer of dust on the components restricts heat dissipation, causing them to age more rapidly. If what you heard was more of a *snap* than a *click*, you've probably blown a chip or capacitor. Hopefully it was only in the power supply, and not on the motherboard.

Under no circumstances should you try to turn the box on again! Open the computer and inspect everything carefully, checking for burnt or cracked components on the motherboard. Also, as strange as it sounds, use your nose. Even if a blown chip doesn't show any outward signs of damage, it can have that very distinctive (and foul) smell of smoked silicon, which you should be able to home in on quite quickly. Sniff the power supply; if you get the strongest smell from it, it's toast. If you have access to a voltmeter, you may be able to test the supply by itself, depending on whether or not your box has a "hard" on/off switch wired straight to the supply. If it does:

- Disconnect all power leads to the motherboard and peripherals.
- plug in and turn on the supply.
- Set the voltmeter to measure DC volts, and select a voltage range of >12V.
- Connect the black (negative) lead of the meter to one of the black leads coming out of the supply's wiring harness.
- Connect the red (positive lead) to other wires (red, yellow, etc.).

If the supply is working, you should, at the very least, be able to measure +5 and +12 Volts somewhere. If not, she's toast; replace it.
 
Old 08-11-2001, 10:12 PM   #3
trickykid
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myself i clean out the insides at or almost once a month to prevent and dust damage. you wouldn't believe the amount of dust that computers can accumulate in a short amount of time. too much dust will cause your system to run hot as you already know. cleaning is always a good idea to keep in mind for top notch performance out of your machine.
hopefully yes you only blew the power supply and nothing else. and to get most of the dust out, i usually disconnect as much as i can, without taking everyting out, and usually a static free rag or towel can get the dust that won't easily come off circuit boards. and i always clean the fans on the inside or just replace them.

good luck, and hope its just the power supply.
 
Old 08-12-2001, 04:47 PM   #4
zikhermm
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Yes, it was just the power supply. I got no voltage when I measured it on my DVM. I replaced the power supply and cleaned out the computer (it was unbelievably dusty!) and now everything seems to work fine. At least now I'll be a little wiser and won't let it happen again. Thanks for the help.
 
Old 08-13-2001, 08:13 PM   #5
DMR
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