Loud pop and a flash!

E

EnderW

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I think my computer just blew up. New build, put it together yesterday and it was running fine except for an annoying whine from the motherboard. Well I just shut it down, and then I hear a loud pop and see a flash from the back, I think on the bottom where the PSU. And my UPS fan kicks on. I immediately yank the power cord out of the back. There is no smoke, and I can't find any burn marks on any of the PSU connectors. Bad PSU? or what? I'm not going to turn the system back on, but I have another computer I can test most of the parts in to make sure they're OK.
 
Test it with another power supply? If not that, go from there with each component.
 
you're two most likely culprits are the the PSU, then the motherboard.

I would pop off the case, look for any burt, black, unusual things on the motherboard, and PSU. Look around the larger caps. specifically. Also look for anything like a screw you forgot to take out that might of cause a short. I would even go as far as flip the case over and shake it around a little bit to make sure there is nothing that should not be in there.

Then I would plug it all back in and try to turn it on again. But not through a UPS. Directly from the wall. If nothing happens, unplug the and take out the PSU. Test with another PSU that you know is good. If you dont have one, try the jumper trick with the PSU to see if it will turn on. This will help figure out if the PSU is bad. However even if it is, the motherboard still might be. You will still need to get another PSU and test the system.

This will give you a good starting point.
 
gwarren007 said:
List your build for us, please.
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Intel Core i7 920 D0
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD5
12GB OCZ DDR3 1600 MHz
Intel X25-M G2 160GB
4 x Samsung F3 500GB
Sapphire Vapor X 5870
Creative Soundblaster Fatal1ty Titanium
LG CH08LS10K Blu-Ray Combo Drive
Corsair HX750W
Antec P182
Noctua NH-D14
3 x Scythe S-FLEX SFF21E
2 x Zalman Fan Mate 2
 
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Loud pop and a flash, looks like a capacitor blew. I had a capacitor in a power supply blew up and it did the same thing. Loud pop and a flash in the back.
 
HardwareGuru said:
Loud pop and a flash, looks like a capacitor blew. I had a capacitor in a power supply blew up and it did the same thing. Loud pop and a flash in the back.
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were any of your components damaged?
what PSU was it?
did you RMA it?
 
No components were damaged other than the power supply.. It was an old computer with a basic 250 watt power supply. I swapped the power supply and the system booted fine. Luckily, no damage to the other components.
 
My first thought is simply that the fuse blew in the power supply. I find it hard to believe a Corsair HX850 would blow a capacitor. Ever.

If you shine a light into the PSU from the back side and look inside, you might be able to spot the fuse and see if it's blown. It's a pure white cylinder, just slightly smaller than a household 13amp fuse and is usually placed laying down on the power supply's PCB. If it's blown it'll be obviously black in the middle.

If you find it's blown then it means there's something wrong with your PC that caused it to blow. Cheap or improperly installed motherboard would be a first guess. Also, you'd prob best RMA the psu rather than replace the fuse yourself if you want to maintain your warranty. Assuming it is the fuse of course ;)

Fuse looks like this:
http://www.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&safe=off&as_st=y&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=power+supply+fuse+5v+dc&btnG=Search&aq=f&oq=&start=0#start=0&tbs=isch:1&tbo=1
 
Hmm... spine may be right. It may have been the fuse. it has been soo long I really don't remember.
 
Don't modern PSUs use a MOV instead of a fuse? I don't recall seeing a fuse in a PSU newer than 5-6 years or so aside from budget ones.
 
Elledan said:
Don't modern PSUs use a MOV instead of a fuse? I don't recall seeing a fuse in a PSU newer than 5-6 years or so aside from budget ones.
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How exactly would an MOV protect from an over-current condition? :confused: They basically work exactly opposite of a fuse. From what I've seen, a lot of manufacturers like to put their fuses in heat-shrink, since there's no holder for them (soldered leads).

OP: anything from a semiconductor to a capacitor could 'pop' upon failure, fuses generally only make a loud pop when there is a tremendous over-current condition (100s of amps) - otherwise they just make a flash.
 
Have you been able to test anything yet? Its kind of surprising that the Corsair would do this as I believe its generally thought of as high quality. I would say to open it up but I wouldn't want you to void its warranty.
 
Can you at least smell something burnt from the power supply? If something blew, then more than likely you would be able to smell something in the power supply. If it was something on the mobo that blew, you should be able to physically see what blew on the mobo.
 
smesx said:
Have you been able to test anything yet? Its kind of surprising that the Corsair would do this as I believe its generally thought of as high quality. I would say to open it up but I wouldn't want you to void its warranty.
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I hooked it up to a PSU tester and it's completely dead
 
HardwareGuru said:
Can you at least smell something burnt from the power supply? If something blew, then more than likely you would be able to smell something in the power supply. If it was something on the mobo that blew, you should be able to physically see what blew on the mobo.
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I thought I smelled something burning when it happened, but it was very faint
 
started the RMA process with Corsair, and now I'm gonna try and test the computer with my trusty old HX620W
 
That's good news!

Would've sucked if the problem were some annoying motherboard related problem.

I wonder if Corsair will let you know what the fault was with that power supply...
 
spine said:
That's good news!

Would've sucked if the problem were some annoying motherboard related problem.

I wonder if Corsair will let you know what the fault was with that power supply...
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I was wondering that myself
 
wow a corsair that bit it. hopefully the RMA is painless
 
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