a few hours ago I started hearing a sort of sizzling sound and then noticed smoke coming from my power supply.I think the ps fan died and it overheatedsoi immediatly shut the pc down and opened the PS up. there was a good amount of dust buildup and im not sure if the sound was from the dust or the PS itself. when I tested the PS i flipped the switch to on (power supply on but pc is still off) and heard a humming sound that never happened before. I switch to a secnd PS I had and heard the same humming from the PS. Is there somthing wrong with my other components now. or is this harmless capacitor humming on both the PS? and why is it humming now when it did not before? any help would be much appreciated.
When the power supply died it very well could have damaged the motherboard, and possibly other components. I have seen a bad power supply destroy everything that was attached to it.
the first one that was smoking was from 2006 and was on almost 24/7. the second one was older then the 06 one but never used. was still in the box. i guess they could both be bad. more worried that another component is bad and I will waste money and fry a brand new PS as well. How can I tell if any of the other components are bad?
"How can I tell if any of the other components are bad?" You cant till you try a known good in its place. If the Orginal psu fused something or caused a short you maybe able to see a burn mark on the motherboard.
Also, even if the motherboard were bad, it wouldn't fry a well-made power supply - if it has any sort of regulation at all on the current it's asked to produce, then you're just fine.