Bad smell from pc

[rmendezjr]

yesterday my winxp was working ok and this morning the pc had a smell like something burned. i tried to power on the unit and no activity at all. i unplug the main powercord to the pc unit. i am wondering if the power suppy fan died or the cpu fan or motherboard fan or the motherboard itself stop functioning. if i open up the unit how do i check each componment to see which one is burned or malfunctioned? is there a test or device to see which one or all have stop working?can i get step by step on this...thankyou

 

[CaedenV]

Please remove your email address

 

[xtreme5]

Hi, first of all there is no email service only use this forum for help.
ok disconnect all the components from your pc like Ram, Gpu, sound card except the cpu boot it if you hear beep sounds then your motherboard is fine or if you didn't hear any beep sounds then sure your mobo is dead. Once you find that your motherboard is fine then the problem should be in PSU.

 

[CaedenV]

1) purchase a new power supply. use a power supply calculator to see how much wattage your system requires, and then get a supply that is as big or bigger than what is suggested. DO NOT get a power supply smaller than what is suggested. DO NOT get a power supply that is more than 100W larger than suggested (unless you are planning on some major upgrades in the near future).
-Never trust a power supply that was plugged in when parts have been fried, simply throw it out (or better yet recycle it), and buy a new one that has a good reputation.

2) After you get the new power supply there is no guarantee that the rest of the hardware is working. You can hook it all up and pray that it works, but if it does not then you will need a 2nd computer that you can swap parts with in order to test your equipment.
-Keep in mind that you want to test 1 part at a time
-Some parts like Ram and HDDs need testing which can take several hours before problems show up
-Some damaged parts (specifically motherboards and power supplies) can damage other parts, so tread carefully

 

[spentshells]

WHAT SMELL WAS IT ? Sulfur ? if so the motherboard is toast

 

[mrsav25]

Could be mosfets burning out, but that would normally only happen after pushing too much voltage to your cpu/northbridge etc.

 

[bryanl]

Unplug the power supply and do not use it any more, and do not attempt repair yourself unless you are an electronics technician since some of the power supply circuitry works at voltages high enough to be lethal. See if the product is still covered by the manufacturer's warranty or any warranty extension provided by many credit cards. The cost of labor will likely exceed the cost of a replacement power supply, but most likely the parts will amount to less than $10 US.