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Post by thwak is T.hawk on Jul 12, 2009 2:19:07 GMT -5
I'm posting this on another computer.
anyway what I think happened is that I was using my computer, then it just shut off out of nowhere and then that was it. I tried opening it up and it smelled a little smokey and there was a bunch of dust everywhere so my guess is that it probably overheated.
my question is now, is there any possible way I can salvage this machine or am I totally screwed?
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Grendel
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
But ... why is all the rum gone?
Posts: 17,593
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Post by Grendel on Jul 12, 2009 10:03:16 GMT -5
It may be that your power supply went and needs to be replaced. I had that happen once, so I went and had it replaced. Unfortunately I was unlucky and my motherboard went after that. But if everything just stopped and you smelled smoky and ozoney, that may be the case, as that's what happened to mine.
But I'm not a computer expert, so I don't know. Well, I'm not a noob when it comes to computers, but I'm not great on troubleshooting hardware, I'm more of a software guy.
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Post by teamjd on Jul 12, 2009 10:04:46 GMT -5
Gotta stop hanging around the post a pic topic looking at DieselTrain
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theryno665
Grimlock
wants a title underneath the stars
Kinda Homeless
Posts: 13,571
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Post by theryno665 on Jul 12, 2009 10:16:41 GMT -5
Yeah, I'm gonna suggest power supply as well. My roommate's old computer had a similar problem where it smelled smoky and shut off. However, we later found out that you could still turn it on, but you could only use it for roughly a half hour before it would just turn off again. Unfortunately, I used it a little too long one day and it shut off and wouldn't turn on again. I tried flipping the power switch on the power supply but only heard a pop and smelled a bit of smoke.
I would also suggest the motherboard going out, which is what happened to my computer the same time all this stuff happened to my roommate's computer, but I never had any smoke smell. So I'm gonna lean towards power supply.
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default
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Blames Everything On Snitsky. Yes, Even THAT.
Posts: 17,056
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Post by default on Jul 12, 2009 12:27:26 GMT -5
Yeah... I'd look into replacing the power supply on newegg or tigerdirect. Depending on what you need, it should be under $50 if you know someone to replace it. (I'll replace pretty much everything on a comp but the power supply... I hate dealing with electricity ever since I shocked myself from an electrical outlet as a kid.
If it's the motherboard though, you're probably better off just replacing the whole CPU. Shelling out for the mobo, taking everything out and putting it back together and getting it to work is a pain.
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Post by Insomniac on Jul 12, 2009 12:39:50 GMT -5
If you have an old computer lying around, or if you can borrow one from a friend, I'd try to swap in an old power supply and see if that does the trick. Just so you don't have to buy one without knowing for sure what the issue is. Could very well be the motherboard, in which case case it might have taken out other components with it.
If you do get a new power supply, definitely buy from Newegg, and get a brand like Antec, OCZ, Enermax, Thermaltake, Seasonic, or FSP. I'm sure I'm forgetting a few quality names. The absolute worst thing you can do is buy a cheap power supply from a shoddy company that can't be trusted. You'll get what you pay for.
Also, does the PC not boot up at all, or can you still hear the fans running? If you can still hears fans but get a black screen, it could be a video card problem. And be sure to clean out your computer from now on. Dust build-up leads to over-heating, which leads to component failure.
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Post by thwak is T.hawk on Jul 12, 2009 17:06:38 GMT -5
ok update, I can't turn the computer on at all.
also I do have another computer and I thought I could switch out the power supply... my other computer is an HP.
Yeah my parents used to be obsessed with HP's for some reason, I think it was to torture computer repair guys.
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Post by thwak is T.hawk on Jul 13, 2009 13:11:18 GMT -5
ok so I took my comp to bestbuy to have the power supply replaced.
After they replaced it and had it working another problem arose, apparently when my old power supply went out it took the hard drives with it and now my computer is basically bricked.
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Dragonfly
Samurai Cop
...is no Barry Windham.
Posts: 2,489 
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Post by Dragonfly on Jul 13, 2009 14:01:13 GMT -5
ok so I took my comp to bestbuy to have the power supply replaced. After they replaced it and had it working another problem arose, apparently when my old power supply went out it took the hard drives with it and now my computer is basically bricked. That doesn't seem right. I've had power supplies smoke, stop working, and even catch fire ( that was horrifying) and never once did I lose a hard drive. Lost the board and the processor, but not the hard drive. Is there any way for you to test the drives without going to Best Buy? |
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Post by thwak is T.hawk on Jul 13, 2009 14:05:31 GMT -5
ok so I took my comp to bestbuy to have the power supply replaced. After they replaced it and had it working another problem arose, apparently when my old power supply went out it took the hard drives with it and now my computer is basically bricked. That doesn't seem right. I've had power supplies smoke, stop working, and even catch fire ( that was horrifying) and never once did I lose a hard drive. Lost the board and the processor, but not the hard drive. Is there any way for you to test the drives without going to Best Buy? I have no idea, but I'll take best buy's word because why on earth would they screw over my hard drives if there was no way to replace them at their store? (the computer that broke can't run vista) |
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