Something exploded please help

You could try to boot it with only the CPU, mem and video card in it. But I think the board, mem or cpu are fried.

My case has so many fans that it hovers above the ground   .

If you have a PS2 mouse, you maybe fried the connector. You shouldn't hot-swap a PS2 peripheral.

Martin, Michigan (girlfriend's house)

are you sure that the spark came out of the power supply...like digital trucker said, you might have fried the ps2 port...assuming that you are using a ps2 mouse.
and what do you mean by there being something inside of it...
was there stuff inside you CASE, or inside the power supply itself?
because if there is stuff inside the case, then maybe a capacitor exploded....if this is so, THERE MAYYYYYYY be a chance to fix it, but most likely not...you might have to get urself a new motherboard.
for the POSSIBLE fix, look for an exploded capacitor...looks like a battery...like a real small tripple a or something...that is soldered on to the board by two leads.
they are usually two tone, black, blue or some other color.
but sometimes when a capacitor blows, something else can blow too...which means replacing the capacitor would fix nothing.
i would take it to a reputable electronics store, and see what they say.

if it is inside the powersupply, then the powersupply blew...and there could have been damage to the motherboard.
usually a powersupply will blow if the motherboard is not drawing any juice...
so in conclusion, you either blew the motherboard, or the powersupply, but since you said with the new powersupply you only get beeps, i would say try a different video card.
a series of beeps usually is related to the video card.

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

There are Beepcodes usually available from motherboard manufacturers...and if not, Dell and a few others have beep code lists. They will put you in the ballpark to know whats wrong and I would highly recomend checking that out..
Im not sure how standaredized beepcodes are but It would be my bet that they are. So even if you dont find them on the Abit website try Dells.. Also Im curious as to what the "stuff" was that was inside the PS .. gooey stuff, creamy stuff, or some sort of toxic gas..(ozone) from an electrical short.

Good luck ..

I am a goober.. with just enough knowledge to be dangerous .. .. will you hold this for a sec?

To clear some things up:

I wasn't hot-swapping any peripherals. My computer was plugged in, but off, and my friend's computer was completely unplugged when my p/s blew.

I am totally sure that the spark came from the power supply, my face was less than a foot away when it happened, as I was plugging in the mouse. Smoke came out of the p/s "fan hole" for lack of a better phrase.

The "stuff" I referred to was found inside the power supply. It had a white creamy texture. I saw a capacitor(?) whose "inner cylinder" was halfway out of the "wrapper". Sorry I'm not an engineer so I don't know what I'm talking about.   I'm not sure if that's where the fluid came from, as it was all hardened by the time I looked at it, but I suspect that to be the case.

There are no physical signs of damage to the mainboard or any of the system components or cards, but obviously something has bought the farm.

I would try out the hardware with other stuff to see what's working and what's not, but I don't have any other parts to work with. Anything I try will have to come out of my pocket so I'm trying to minimize guessing.  

I've tried looking on the web for beep code info, but the only consistent info I got was that Award has virtually no official beep codes. I've emailed my problem to Abit Tech Support but I don't expect a reply from them for at least a few days, and this comes at a very bad time (I have a programming project due on Monday, not to mention finals in a week). I need some crack tech support now!!  

well, if inside the powersupply, there is a cyllinder that is half out of it's protective wrapping, and if it is Swollen, buldged out at the ends, or leaking any fluid, then i would replace that immediately.
also, is the stuff that was on the inside possibly the glue that some psu manufacturers are sloppy with?
or was it slightly fluidic when you got to it?
too bad you dont have any pictures...
what usually happens when a capacitor blows is it is overcharged caused by a short or the motherboard not drawing any current.
what happens is that they bulge out, and usually leak out the fluid inside them...pretty sure it is some sort of acid?....like a battery....not sure on that tho...but when that fluid leaks out, it causes a short, and the fluid begins to burn, creating a REALLY BAD SMELLING SMOKE, which shoulnt really be breathed in.
after that happens, the power supply should be replaced...
i watched a person in the return line at fry's blow out a powersupply when the motherboard was not drawing any current.
there was a really loud pop, and smoke poured out.
scared the living daylights out of everyone in line...
but if the capacitor in the powersupply is coming out of the plastic wrapper, then it is probably dead...and needs to be replaced.
and as far as beep codes go, i am pretty sure that a series of beeps is either bad ram, or the video card.
try reseating both...
take them out, and replace them, making sure that their contacts are clean, and push them in all the way.
if their contacts are not clean, you can clean them by gently rubbing the contacts with a normal eraser until they shine.

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

Too true. Fried mobo. And it'll happen again if he's stupid enough to leave the power on when plugging/unplugging stuff.



* Stupidity is its own reward *

he said it was unplugged.....
i think that the motherboard was not drawing current for some reason...
or it was just that psu's turn to go to psu heaven.

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

I don't think the beep codes will help you but on Award BIOS "Long beeps in an endless loop" usually mean "No DRAM installed or detected".

<font color=blue>Remember.... You get what you pay for. :smile: All advice here is free.</font color=blue> :wink:

I understand you had the power shut off but Ive never heard of unplugging things on while the power is on to be a danger.. sounds like a Y2K scare to me. Why would a ps2 mouse draw enough power to hurt anything if you plugged or unplugged it while acomputer was on? or even swapped a ps2 mouse between two running computers, swapping it every 1 second... LOL, hehe right. maybe its something i missed over the years.. someone plz explain that to me...

Anyway you have your own computer, try swapping out your video card and PSU into the other case.

I'll tell you whats wrong- first odviously you have a bad PSU on your hands if something exploded inside of it. Get a new cheap antec or enermax. I'd swap yours out from your case if they are both ATX. If that doesnt fix it take your video card and put it in there.

Second your CPU is most likely OK and odviously if your getting an error code your mobo is fine to. I guess theres a chance in hell that a dead mobo would give error codes, let alone a dead mobo with a dead cpu.. LOL.
Its still possible I guess. um if you believe and god and that the impossible can happen.. ha.

I don't think you shoudl be liable it was a freak deal smack him and tell him not to buy cheap computers or cheap PSU.

"dude your getting a dell", is that kid trying to say he wants to stick his 'dell' in you?

So it seems. I've had it happen out of a clear blue sky. Of course once the psu goes west, the whole system can go with it. He'll be in the market for a psu and mobo for sure. If it was ME, I'd throw out the mouse as well!

When the Capacitor in the PSU blew it likely sent a major surge through your mobo and possibly vid card ram and pci inserts .. I'm sure you are going to need at least a new mobo (I think you said you have a PSU backup) and possibly some of the periphirals as well including HDD's ( check these for function in another machine)

Tough break for ya'

Lagger

<b><font color=blue>I'm a NASTY Intel\AMD\Nvidia\ATI user and I'm just gonna TAKE that d@mn cookie</b> </font color=blue>

Not as stoopid as quickly criticizing someone else's post, <b>then</b> realizing you didn't read their post correctly.

Cheers,

Ron_Jeremy

If you loan a friend $20 & never see them again, it was worth it.

All of this is academic now... I'm just gonna buy new parts, see what doesn't work, and return what does. But let's see if we can't beat this horse to death...

Given that a Power Supply at Fry's is $30, I'm not sure that getting it repaired would be any more cost-effective than just buying a new one. Of course if you know some place that does this kind of work for cheap, tell me about it. Or maybe I can hand it off to the EE dept. at my school and they can use it to patch up the crappy university computers.  

I really don't know what the stuff inside the power box was, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't just sloppy glue because it looked like it was squirted all over the insides.

I've asked my friend to pay for the damages, but he of course is being avoidant. I hate doing that though... depending on the friend, money problems can make relationships icky, though it's not really the money I'm upset about, it's just the principle. I hate being victimized. Of course if things really get ugly I can beat him up and take his wallet.  

Anyway I'm hoping that the damage is limited, for the sake of whoever ends up paying for it. Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

yeah, but those $30 psus at frys are the generic ones...and if you want one that will last, get the $50-$60 ones....like the ones that enermax makes..
i havent been to frys to check in a little while...but those are some quality psus, and they are recommended by AMD..
just look at the psu and see the quality of it.


-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-