Help...Burning!

Slime · 16 Apr 2007 at 10:08

Last night whilst sitting at my computer, listening to a bit of music my computer restarted without warning. This happens quite a lot but usually it's not a problem. It'll just start up straight away and work fine again.

But this time it's refusing to post and when it happened i could definitely smell burning. I turned it off via the PSU and left it for 5 mins then tried again. This time it's posted fine and i've gone straight into the BIOS to monitor my temps but it's then turned itself off again and it's now refusing to post.

I had a similar problem when building it whereby the CPU cooler screws were touching the mobo tray and shorting the whole lot but i never got the smell of burning.

I usually keep a close eye on my temperatures to check everythings not too hot and they're usually very good. Around 40C for my CPU and around 35C for my system temp. When i booted into BIOS the temps were 42 and 35 which doesn't sound too hot to me.

I'm in desperate need of some help as there is some work on my computer that i urgently need to recover and work on. If anyone could give me the slightest indication on what could be burning and what i should look for i'd be very grateful.

Thanks

Spec: 6300 @ 2.8Ghz, 2GB Geil, DS3, 1900XT, Tuniq Tower, 3x Noctua Case Fans.

IAmATeaf · 16 Apr 2007 at 10:32

What PSU do you have, did you try and track the source of the burning smell and when the system booted into the BIOS what were your voltage rails like?

Slime · 16 Apr 2007 at 10:42

Hi, it's an Enermax Liberty 500W. I couldn't quite track where the smell was coming from. I'm just taking it to bits to see if there's any visual evidence of any burning. So far i can't see a thing. I didn't actually check the voltage rails, infact i don't think i've ever checked them, could i take a look inside the PSU to see if anythings burnt out?

Thanks

Slime · 16 Apr 2007 at 11:18

If it was my PSU would the fans spin up at all? I thought it would literally be dead, no lights, fans, no nothing?

Slime · 16 Apr 2007 at 12:43

Anyone? I've just tried booting outside of the case. Only things plugged in were the GFX card, Memory, CPU and Fan.

The light on the GFX Card next to the PCI-E cable is on, the PSU and CPU fans both spin up, but it does not post! There is absolutely no sign of anything being scorched or burnt although i haven't checked the CPU yet.

Any ideas? Pleeeease :confused:

IAmATeaf · 16 Apr 2007 at 15:01

What voltage is your RAM rated at? If it's 2.1v then do you have any generic RAM you can install to see if the system boots. Also try booting with only 1 stick of RAM and lastly have you tried resetting the BIOS.

Slime · 16 Apr 2007 at 15:08

I have no other RAM that i can install. It's rated at 2.1v.

I've checked the CPU and it still looks brand new, had a very careful look around the motherboard for leeking capacitors etc. Also removed the heatsink from my GFX card and again, looks almost new.

I can try it with one stick of RAM. My girlfriend is bringing her PC over later so i can borrow that for a few weeks as i have a stupendous amount of work to do and she's not really using it.

Would it be a wise idea to test my PSU in her PC when i get the time? Bear in mind that i desperately don't want her PC to suffer the same fate as mine.

I'm tearing my hair out here, i'll try resetting CMOS and post back the result.

Thanks again