Updated computer woes... need advice/help!

ilsensine69 · 08-15-2005, 10:48 PM

Hi folks, thanks for reading... hoping for some enlightenment from those more technical than I! As a disclaimer, I apologise for being hopeless when it comes to techie stuff, and pretty crap about computer terminology in general... so bear with me!

Initially, the problem surfaced when my main PC just went "ffffhht" and the power to the tower promptly died. I attempted to turn the machine back on, but it was seemingly entirely dead and the power button had no effect. It was late... so I unplugged it from the mains and went to bed, figuring I'd work it out in the morning.

Next day, same scenario, no life in the machine. I figured I'd eliminate possibilities, so I used a different power cable on the machine as I had a spare. It powered up just fine with the new cable, and I could see no problems with the operation of the computer. I left it for about 45mins, then figured maybe the problem was solved so began using the comp normally (I can't remember what apps I was running offhand) About 5mins into this, the machine died again in the same way as before, and is now tragically lifeless!

I opened up the machine to have a look-see, checking for visible damage or whatnot, and have not seen any apparent damage to the motherboard or other visible internal parts. There is, however, a slight smell of fried electronica emitting from the fan-vent at the rear of the PSU. Not an overpowering smell, and there was no smoke... but the scent is there definitely.

Does this all sound like just a fried PSU? I am pretty clueless about pc's on a non-operational level, so forgive me if this is a really obvious question I am asking. I just thought the scenario with it working briefly with a different power cable was strange if the PSU was the problem in the first place.

For reference, the system is marginally over a year old (and amusingly marginally out of warranty) - the PSU is a Premier LC-B350ATX (350w I am assuming) - it's an Athlon 64 3200+ - the motherboard is ASRock, but I have no clue what precise model... it has a whole ton of numbers printed on it in various places, and I haven't a clue which one might be the model id, sorry :(

Any advice or input is welcome... also, if it is indeed a blown PSU, is it a nightmare to replace it yourself? I am not technically minded, but equally I am not too stupid to learn to do something technical, provided it doesn't require anything too complicated. It doesn't "look" like it should be massively complex, but then looks can deceive!

Thanks in advance :)

**manic** · 08-16-2005, 04:05 AM

I think your on the right track. The smell emitting from the psu, is a tell.
I would get a new psu, get a quality brand,,antecs are pretty good quality
and can usually be found locally, Not that hard to replace.

ilsensine69 · 08-16-2005, 06:11 PM

For a prelude of my woes, you can read my post below...

To update... I made the assumption that the PSU had fried itself, so I went out and bought a new one and installed it today. The install was fine, straightforward and everything seemed to go without a problem.

I turned the comp on, and everything was working fine, judging by performance, no issues of anything malfunctioning or any data loss or whatever... so, I tempted fate and assumed I'd fixed the problem. An hour or so later, the comp died in the same manner as before (switched off without noise or any major incident... just went dead of power)

That was several hours ago, and there's still no life in the tower whatsoever when I test. The power cables are fine, I've tested them on other appliances, and tested other mains sockets in case there was a problem with the one the comp had been on... however... everything else appears fine, but zero life in the tower persists. I took the case apart and examined every connection I could see within the machine... I see nothing that seems like a problem.

I am now completely out of my technical depth, and am at a loss as to what problem I am facing. I am majorly broke right now, so I can't afford a big bill to have this fixed, hence why I am trying to search out some answers from you wise folks on this forum.

I apologise if I've not explained things very technically... I am a bit clueless on the right terminology, etc. I hope maybe someone who has experienced something like this can offer me some possibilities to look into. Any help or advice is majorly appreciated, thanks for reading.

dai · 08-17-2005, 01:02 PM

you need to post your system specs in full,both p/s details new and old
what happens when you press the power button do your fans turn over,is the power light glowing on your m/b
set it up out of the case with
cpu
video
ram
and try starting it by touching the 2 pins with a paperclip or something similar,that the two wires from the case switch connect to

ebackhus · 08-17-2005, 02:30 PM

Have you tested the outlet?

08-15-2005, 10:48 PM	#1 (permalink)
ilsensine69 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2 OS: XP	Does this sound like a fried PSU? Hi folks, thanks for reading... hoping for some enlightenment from those more technical than I! As a disclaimer, I apologise for being hopeless when it comes to techie stuff, and pretty crap about computer terminology in general... so bear with me! Initially, the problem surfaced when my main PC just went "ffffhht" and the power to the tower promptly died. I attempted to turn the machine back on, but it was seemingly entirely dead and the power button had no effect. It was late... so I unplugged it from the mains and went to bed, figuring I'd work it out in the morning. Next day, same scenario, no life in the machine. I figured I'd eliminate possibilities, so I used a different power cable on the machine as I had a spare. It powered up just fine with the new cable, and I could see no problems with the operation of the computer. I left it for about 45mins, then figured maybe the problem was solved so began using the comp normally (I can't remember what apps I was running offhand) About 5mins into this, the machine died again in the same way as before, and is now tragically lifeless! I opened up the machine to have a look-see, checking for visible damage or whatnot, and have not seen any apparent damage to the motherboard or other visible internal parts. There is, however, a slight smell of fried electronica emitting from the fan-vent at the rear of the PSU. Not an overpowering smell, and there was no smoke... but the scent is there definitely. Does this all sound like just a fried PSU? I am pretty clueless about pc's on a non-operational level, so forgive me if this is a really obvious question I am asking. I just thought the scenario with it working briefly with a different power cable was strange if the PSU was the problem in the first place. For reference, the system is marginally over a year old (and amusingly marginally out of warranty) - the PSU is a Premier LC-B350ATX (350w I am assuming) - it's an Athlon 64 3200+ - the motherboard is ASRock, but I have no clue what precise model... it has a whole ton of numbers printed on it in various places, and I haven't a clue which one might be the model id, sorry :( Any advice or input is welcome... also, if it is indeed a blown PSU, is it a nightmare to replace it yourself? I am not technically minded, but equally I am not too stupid to learn to do something technical, provided it doesn't require anything too complicated. It doesn't "look" like it should be massively complex, but then looks can deceive! Thanks in advance :)

08-16-2005, 06:11 PM	#3 (permalink)
ilsensine69 Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 2 OS: XP	Updated computer woes... need advice/help! For a prelude of my woes, you can read my post below... To update... I made the assumption that the PSU had fried itself, so I went out and bought a new one and installed it today. The install was fine, straightforward and everything seemed to go without a problem. I turned the comp on, and everything was working fine, judging by performance, no issues of anything malfunctioning or any data loss or whatever... so, I tempted fate and assumed I'd fixed the problem. An hour or so later, the comp died in the same manner as before (switched off without noise or any major incident... just went dead of power) That was several hours ago, and there's still no life in the tower whatsoever when I test. The power cables are fine, I've tested them on other appliances, and tested other mains sockets in case there was a problem with the one the comp had been on... however... everything else appears fine, but zero life in the tower persists. I took the case apart and examined every connection I could see within the machine... I see nothing that seems like a problem. I am now completely out of my technical depth, and am at a loss as to what problem I am facing. I am majorly broke right now, so I can't afford a big bill to have this fixed, hence why I am trying to search out some answers from you wise folks on this forum. I apologise if I've not explained things very technically... I am a bit clueless on the right terminology, etc. I hope maybe someone who has experienced something like this can offer me some possibilities to look into. Any help or advice is majorly appreciated, thanks for reading.

08-17-2005, 01:02 PM	#4 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,588 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	you need to post your system specs in full,both p/s details new and old what happens when you press the power button do your fans turn over,is the power light glowing on your m/b set it up out of the case with cpu video ram and try starting it by touching the 2 pins with a paperclip or something similar,that the two wires from the case switch connect to __________________

08-17-2005, 02:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
ebackhus Manager, Design Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: SATX Posts: 14,255 OS: WinXP Pro SP3/Windows 7 RTM My System Blog Entries: 28	Have you tested the outlet? __________________ ----------------------------- There are no dumb questions, unless a customer is asking them. Help in the fight against cancer and other serious illnesses.

08-16-2005, 04:05 AM	#2 (permalink)
manic Mod Hardware Team Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 5,241 OS: xp	I think your on the right track. The smell emitting from the psu, is a tell. I would get a new psu, get a quality brand,,antecs are pretty good quality and can usually be found locally, Not that hard to replace.