Possibly power supply problem

robcowlam · 31 Dec 2010 at 00:30

Hi all,
I have a bit of a problem with my computer, I was using it quite heavily and I smelt a sort of burning smell seconds later the pc shut down. I thought it may have just overheated so gave it a while to cool before trying to start it back up.
When I push the power button the fans spin around a quarter turn and the power goes back off. Whilst I was having a look inside for shorts etc I unplugged the 4pin atx cable (i think it powers the cpu?) I then accidentally turned the pc on without it in and the fans came on and it stayed on longer than before before turning off again, presumably because the cpu had no power.
Has anyone had a similar problem or knows what might be wrong with it? Just hoping for some sort of idea before my local shop reopens next year!

Cheers.

MumboJumbo · 31 Dec 2010 at 00:36

If you smelt burning its a good chance its your psu. Have you smelt the psu directly?

robcowlam · 31 Dec 2010 at 00:42

Yeah it doesnt smell like a burnt out one does, its only a few months old so still under warranty if that is the problem though.

Emphacy · 31 Dec 2010 at 01:18

Most likely the PSU, they tend to be the most common component to 'burn out'.

Although, you say you have only had it a few months, do you have a link to your power supply, or atleast name it?

How long have you had any of your other components as well? A burning smell could have came from anywhere, motherboard, GPU, Fans ETC.

A capacitor could have blown, FET melted or become damaged on the motherboard, which could also effect power stability.

I reccomend a process of elimination, first starting with a new PSU, or by testing each rail with a multimeter.

The Halk · 31 Dec 2010 at 01:27

As Emphacy says it also could be the motherboard. You can often see a bad cap or blown mosfet.