computer exploded (i mean that literally)

  • Thread starter Thread starter jc
  • Start date Start date
J

jc

So I sat down this morning, moved the mouse to 'wake up' the computer, and
next thing i know it sounds like gun shots going off and i see white flashes
inside the computer. Now the whole house smells like melted plastic.

Any idea as to what actually blew up?
 
jc said:
So I sat down this morning, moved the mouse to 'wake up' the computer, and
next thing i know it sounds like gun shots going off and i see white flashes
inside the computer. Now the whole house smells like melted plastic.

Any idea as to what actually blew up?
Click to expand...

This might sound obvious, have you tried taking the top of your computer
and having a look? Generally when this sort of thing happens you'll see
a capacitor or chip that has blown and bits of debris will be spread
over the motherboard. The mainboard will also have scorch marks around
the component that has blown.

If it's blown up as loudly as you suggested I think you'll see
immediately what's gone.

Whatever it is though, it sounds like you might need a new motherboard
and a decent power supply.

Jason
 
This might sound obvious, have you tried taking the top of your computer
and having a look? Generally when this sort of thing happens you'll see
a capacitor or chip that has blown and bits of debris will be spread
over the motherboard. The mainboard will also have scorch marks around
the component that has blown.

If it's blown up as loudly as you suggested I think you'll see
immediately what's gone.

Whatever it is though, it sounds like you might need a new motherboard
and a decent power supply.

Jason
Click to expand...

That's the odd part. Nothing looks damaged on the inside. I would guess that
it would almost have to be the power supply then? I had an Antec, but maybe
it wasn't powerful enough.
 
JasonB said:
This might sound obvious, have you tried taking the top of your computer
and having a look? Generally when this sort of thing happens you'll see
a capacitor or chip that has blown and bits of debris will be spread
over the motherboard. The mainboard will also have scorch marks around
the component that has blown.

If it's blown up as loudly as you suggested I think you'll see
immediately what's gone.

Whatever it is though, it sounds like you might need a new motherboard
and a decent power supply.

Jason
Click to expand...

I bet it was the PSU :)
 
jc wrote:

That's the odd part. Nothing looks damaged on the inside. I would guess that
it would almost have to be the power supply then? I had an Antec, but maybe
it wasn't powerful enough.
Click to expand...

In that case, get yourself a new PSU and try it out with the
Motherboard. Probably the cheapest and quickest option to see if your
system is still alive....

How old was the Antec power supply? I don't know what the life span of
PSU's is these days, however I guess they eventually wear out like every
other component.
 
How old was the Antec power supply? I don't know what the life span of
PSU's is these days, however I guess they eventually wear out like every
other component.
Click to expand...

Jason,

I built the system in January so it was only a few months old. It was only
300w, so maybe I overloaded it (I have an Athlon XP2500).
 
jc said:
Jason,

I built the system in January so it was only a few months old. It was only
300w, so maybe I overloaded it (I have an Athlon XP2500).
Click to expand...

That should not cause an explosion. Flaky system performance (or lack of
much of any performance) but not an explosion or damage of the sort
you're talking about. An acquaintance of mine had a PSU go violently
once and it shot a resistor our through the back fan grille (he said it
sounded like a gunshot, too).
 
sooky said:
I bet it was the PSU :)
Click to expand...

Yep, experience that once with compaq desktop thing
I could see the flashing from where a sat in the living room
New PSU - but I think the whole rig should have been send in as it hasn't
been quite stable since
Just small things

- Peter
 
jc said:
So I sat down this morning, moved the mouse to 'wake up' the computer, and
next thing i know it sounds like gun shots going off and i see white flashes
inside the computer. Now the whole house smells like melted plastic.
Click to expand...

Khewel!
 
jc said:
So I sat down this morning, moved the mouse to 'wake up' the computer, and
next thing i know it sounds like gun shots going off and i see white flashes
inside the computer. Now the whole house smells like melted plastic.

Any idea as to what actually blew up?
Click to expand...

I've seen power supplies do that. The last one took all connected drives
with it, though. :( -Dave
 
jc said:
So I sat down this morning, moved the mouse to 'wake up'
the computer, and next thing i know it sounds like gun
shots going off and i see white flashes inside the
computer. Now the whole house smells like melted plastic.
Click to expand...
I built the system in January so it was only a few months
old. It was only 300w, so maybe I overloaded it (I have
an Athlon XP2500).
Click to expand...
Any idea as to what actually blew up?
Click to expand...

Probably one of the electrolytic capacitors inside the power supply,
due to a large surge of current at turn-on. This could have also
caused a large transistor or the rectifier bridge to blow out, but
unlike capacitors, those components often show no mechanical signs of
failure. Try looking through its fan and vent holes, but if you don't
see anything, take a sniff because the odor may be strongest there.
Antecs are good but seem to fail more often at turn-on than other
quality supplies do, still you should be covered by the 3-year
warranty.

Antec's Smartpower and Solution Series models are good but not the
very best, unlike Truepowers or Fortron-Source power supplies, and a
300W Smartpower may not be adequate for an XP2500+ system. Still,
your supply should have simply shut down when overloaded because Antec
claims that their supplies are protected against shorts and overloads
(everybody makes that claim, whether it's true or not).

You may want to ask Antec if you can pay the difference and get a
350W, but if it's more than $20, consider getting a 350W
Fortron-Source, such as from
www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-104-986&depa=1
or www.directron.com/fsp35060bn.html , for $30-40.
 
If you determine your power supply blew take a look at
www.pcpowerandcooling.com They make IMHO the best power supply in the
business and don't B.S. the performance numbers like some of the "best" that
some people here recommend. 5 year warranty which I have never seen anyone
use... My 300 watt unit is pushing 5 years old now and it's still performs
flawlessly with today's hardware. Buy a 500 watt model and be done with it
for the next 5 years.

Dgoner
 
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