A Burning smell,Help

[tony32 0]

hi,my fs pc started all by itself,i wasnt touching anything,it was shortly followed by a strong burning smell-like burning rubber. i quickly unplugged from the wall socket and took off the side panel.the power supply was hot and the smell was in the case. so i waited a whine and as soon as i plugged it back in it started again for abot 10sec and everthing went dead,now there is nothing. so,a computer starting by itself,power supply?.and if so is everything fried.i hope someone can help.dfi nf4 sli moboamd 4000 @ 2.6ocz platinum 1gbsapphire x850xtocz 520 power supply2 74gb hard driveswin xp64thanks,tony.

[aerdt 0]

It's really hard to tell if and what is fried. It's most likely only the power supply. Replace it and check what does/does not work.Get a good quality power supply! I cannot stress that enough. There are many cheap duds out there. Personally, I swear by Fortran, Ultra and X-Clio, because they're relatively inexpensive, but of excellent quality.Good luck!Pat

[tony32 0]

hello pat,i guess i will have to just keep replacing parts starting with power and see what happens.it was odd to have it start all by itself though,was working fine last night.thanks,tony.

[aerdt 0]

I wouldn't be too worried. It's most likely only the power supply. They're usually the most overlooked (but failing) part. Get a good 550W+ supply. I am looking forward to hearing how it worked out.Pat

[tony32 0]

i will post when i get one could be a week.thanks for your help.tony.

[Guest Buck Bolduc]

Could well be your PSU/PSU switch.Also check your lead from the Power switch (On the case) to the mobo, and make sure it's plugged in correctly, if you just put the rig together?When ever you open up your case to move or unplug memory or cards etc., always kill the PSU Power switch, THEN push the Power switch on your case and hold for a second or two. This discharges the capacitors on your mobo. Leave the Power plug for your machine plugged into the wall, this makes sure it's grounded, touch any bare metal surface with your hands to discharge any static electricity on you before you touch stuff in your box.Good Luck

[tony32 0]

hello buck,i have had this system for 2yrs now,i just dont get why it powerd up by itself,and after reading some info on ps failure everthing might be fried. thanks,tony.

[scott967 62]

I think in the ATX spec, as long as the power supply is plugged in and the switch on the back is on, it is to provide +5v to the motherboard on pin 4 of the ATX connector. The motherboard has to pull the PS_ON# signal on pin 16 low (i.e., connect to ground) to get the power supply to start up. The power supply watches this line, and once it is asserted it starts up and supplies the various voltages (mainly +12v and +5v) on its outputs. Once the outputs meet specification levels, the power supply aserts PWR_ON on pin 5 to signal the motherboard that power is good.So if from whatever reason the PS_ON# is grounded the power supply will attempt to start. It could be shorted to ground either on the motherboard or in the power supply (unlikely to be a problem with the wiring harness). If there is a massive shorting problem, the power suppply should shut down on overcurrent or undervoltage protection, but the quality of power supply may impact how good the protection is.scott s..

[tony32 0]

well i got a new psu,i plugged everting in and saw the lights on the mobo were all lit.but when i pressed the power switch-nothing. so after pressing it a dozen or so times the system powered up,bios beep and all.so i shut it down to plug the monitor in and when i plugged the psu back in no mobo lights no nothing. so another psu gone?i do not know what to do now.thanks for any help,tony.

[Guest kilotango]

Tony.I'm affraid to tell you this, you're in trouble. You're mobo has a ground problem.Are you sure everything on the mobo is tight connected, ram, cards a.s.o.Have you ever overpressed something into the mobo? If you have, there might be a connection broken.Tony, this is a hard one, and you know. Dont you?

[tony32 0]

hi,yes i know,and it figures that just when i was getting things working pretty good in fs9.i believe i have pushed hard on more than one occassion. maybe this is a good excuse to get the c2d6600,if she will let me. i wonder if it would be safe to use the video card and hard drives in a new mobo&processor or would it be to risky.thanks,tony.

[Guest kilotango]

Well Tony.If you're trying to fool her, let me have no participating in that, please.I just give my opinion on your problem. I have not got my finger down in your system. Then, maybe, i could give a more precise answer on what to do. But i dont think i'm far away.Your video card/audio and HD should be safe to use. Let us all know what your other half says to all this!!Tony, you are in trouble.........

[tony32 0]

i learned the hard way that i am no good at fooling her,so i will not even try.regards,tony.

[Guest kilotango]

Love that Tony, just love it!Now the two of us can walk down that stumping way. But if we cry out loud, i'm sure she'll be there for us all.You know your, i know mine. Their hands is allways helpfull when we cry enough!!Would like to put a big smiley in here, but its not possible...The ways on avsim is unpredictible and very hard to find out!!!Cheers Tony