Computer case burn

[ares_sun]

Hello, my wife started smelling a fire in her computer and touched the case and got a burn blister from it. She also noticed that the keyboard cable was nearly cut in two, it was only just operating but then a final knock severed it completely.

I'm away so I wasn't there to see it myself, but the computer place it was bought from came out and had a look and said that the most possible reason was that the damaged keyboard cable was somehow heating the case. They took it to their workshop and ran it all day without any worry. They also didn't find anything that was damaged inside the case. The keyboard was replaced and everything seems ok.

So, my question is, is it plausible that the damaged keyboard cable could have caused this? I'm just concerned that there's something else happening that may cause this to happen again, as I've never heard of anything like this happening (sure I've heard of laptop batteries etc getting hot, but this is a bit different to that).
Thanks!

 

[Motopsychojdn]

However the cable got cut, thats most likely the culprit here, bin the thing and replace it, your repairshop ran the pc with no problems so I would take it that it is fine and its just the kb cable thats caused the problem,
Hope your Mrs wasn't too badly hurt/shook up by it, but it should not happen again with a new keyboard,
I would wonder how the cable was damaged though, any pets in the house that may have nibbled it?
Or is it on a slide type keyboard shelf maybe?
Moto

 

[ares_sun]

Thanks for your reply. The keyboard's been replaced so hopefully it'll be ok now, I just hadn't heard of something like that happening before. I'm also wondering if perhaps the case was rubbing up against something near the power supply fan to cause it to heat up like that, of course in the shop it would have a lot of ventilation.
She said it was quite a clean cut, so I'm thinking it may be the keyboard drawer runners that did it.
Thanks again!

 

[Motopsychojdn]

I went over the possibilities and that or a pet seemed most likely
The shorting would have created the burn/heat so I wouldn't be concerned about a repeat, however you should ensure the case is well ventilated/ not obstructed as a matter of course
Glad to help man,
Moto

 

[ares_sun]

Best answer selected by ares_sun.

 

[Motopsychojdn]

Thank you for B.a man, one thing I could suggest is a bit of duct tape to hold the cable away from runners, works a treat on the other halfs desk
Moto