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PSU Failure?

P

PSP83

n00b
Joined
Oct 29, 2008
Messages
27
Hi All.

Just looking for some advice really.

So I had a 4 day break for Easter, I turned my PC on today and it got past the POST, the windows logo appeared on screen and then there was a loud pop and a yellow/blueish flash from under the desk.. the surge protector blew and the house electrics got tripped.

Do you think it was the PSU that blew? there was a smell of electrical burning and you can still smell it in the room now.

I don't really want to turn it on again just in case anything else happens.

Could you also suggest a good replacement? the PC is a Dell XPS 8100 and the PSU is 350w.

The PC is not used for gaming, just web development work (photoshop, eclipse, VM etc) & runs 2 x 24 inch monitors with 1 x 1.5 TB HDD, 8 GB RAM & NVIDIA GTS 240

I am going to upgrade the ram and add another HDD soon.

Thanks for any advice/help given.

Paul
 
I suggest you try to boot your PC using another PSU. That 'pop' could have killed your motherboard too.
 
Were you able to track the source of the smell to the PSU?

Did the surge protector actually blew, or did it just trip? If it blew, then it's possible that your PSU may be fine.
 
I've sniffed the PSU and it stinks, has that horrible "electrical" smell when something burns out.

When it popped & the power went out, I unplugged the PC straight away and flicked the trip switch back on, went back into the room and the surge protector light wasn't on, so I'm guessing it blew the surge fuse as well.

The pop was loud enough to make your ears ring for a while.

If something goes like that I don't really want to plug it back in and try it again, think it's best to get a new PSU..
 
Well, if it has the smell, then yes it's most likely fried. Shine a flashlight inside and see if you can see any damage, that should confirm things.
 
I've ordered a new PSU just to be sure, plus gives me more room to upgrade parts this year.

I got a Corsair HX+ 750W coming tomorrow.
 
I've took the old PSU apart, cant see any damage, except for white stuff over parts (is that normal?)



 
The white stuff is normal.

I can't really see any damage from those pictures either.
 
What kind of smell? There's vinyl (wiring), epoxy (black packaging for transistors, diodes, chips), and a sulfur smell (electrolytic capacitors)
 
What surge protector did you have? I bet it was garbage. Surge protectors need to be quality units almost as badly as power supplies. Get a Panamax or Furman or whatever, particularly something with "protect or disconnect" type circuitry (better to lose power to the PC if the surge protector decides the surge is too strong than to burn out the PC). Can plug a UPS into a GOOD surge protector with the protect or disconnect stuff if you want because the surge protector will disconnect the UPS from the power source if necessary and the UPS will keep the PC going. Most UPS do not have good surge protection at all. Or you could go for a really good surge protector, a Furman with SMP, series mode protection (also available on a ZeroSurge or Brickwall surge protector, but Furman's upper-end units use BOTH MOVs and SMP, as opposed to only SMP from ZeroSurge/BrickWall).
 
larrymoencurly said:
What kind of smell? There's vinyl (wiring), epoxy (black packaging for transistors, diodes, chips), and a sulfur smell (electrolytic capacitors)
Click to expand...

The only way I can explain it is, it smelt like burning eletrics, the smell you get when something shorts.

dandragonrage said:
What surge protector did you have? I bet it was garbage. Surge protectors need to be quality units almost as badly as power supplies. Get a Panamax or Furman or whatever, particularly something with "protect or disconnect" type circuitry (better to lose power to the PC if the surge protector decides the surge is too strong than to burn out the PC). Can plug a UPS into a GOOD surge protector with the protect or disconnect stuff if you want because the surge protector will disconnect the UPS from the power source if necessary and the UPS will keep the PC going. Most UPS do not have good surge protection at all. Or you could go for a really good surge protector, a Furman with SMP, series mode protection (also available on a ZeroSurge or Brickwall surge protector, but Furman's upper-end units use BOTH MOVs and SMP, as opposed to only SMP from ZeroSurge/BrickWall).
Click to expand...

Can't remember the brand but it was £25 from local DIY shop, I would normally use a Belkin surge protector but haven't had time to extend the cable yet.

PC is back up and running now, no other damage was done :D
 
PSP83 said:
The pop was loud enough to make your ears ring for a while.
Click to expand...
That's probably a capacitor or power semiconductor (transistor or diode), depending on the smell, and I doubt it's a semi because high quality PSUs almost always shut down before any are damaged, but a lot of high quality PSUs are made with low quality capacitors.
 
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