Burning Smell From my PSU

Gary ITR

Just noticed this problem today.. In fact i'm pretty sure it only started today. I'm getting a burning smell from my psu, I was hoping maybe it was dust or something so i took a can of compressed air and went over the whole machine but the problem still seems to be there and it comes as soon as I switch the machine on. Will I just have to replace it or could it be something simple?? Are they expensive?
It's a Packard Bell Imedia 1804

Thanks
Onkle51

humaxf1

burning smell=fire risk and possible damage to motherboard.


chuck it out and buy a new one. 40odd euro maybe. money well spent.

Bring the old one along with you to ensure the new one has sufficient power connectors for all your devices.

Gary ITR

Have it switched off and unplugged now. Only 40odd? thats grand. Maplins be the best place?

Ghost Train

Onkle51 wrote:

Have it switched off and unplugged now. Only 40odd? thats grand. Maplins be the best place?

Maplins as good a place as any, pcworld have a few, peats also. Worth getting a quiet one if you can for a few euro extra, 400w is probably all you need, or something similar to the old supply, but take along the old supply like humaxf1 said

Gary ITR

Is there anything that i could have done to cause this? Or is it just one of those things?

Khannie

Probably just one of those things.

You get what you pay for on the PSU front. I highly recommend the be quiet psu's from www.hitide.ie. 2 years later and it's /still/ the best piece of kit in my computer.

Ruu_Old

Onkle51 wrote:

Is there anything that i could have done to cause this? Or is it just one of those things?

Normal wear and tear, just happens. Try Komplett.ie also for a selection of power supplies.

Gary ITR

Can't seem to find one with the little power outlet for my speakers

Anti

You wont. Its a unique feature to PB machines. If your pc is still under warrenty Take it into the pcworld you bought it from and get them to replace it. Or just buy a normal psu. Just plug the speaker cable into the green socket on the back of your motherboard.

Gary ITR

It's about 6 months out of warranty now. Not too concerned about that anyway, I use an independent set of speakers anyway. The normal little ones are just handy when I don't want to wake up the rest of the apartment

Anti

Buy ya self some headphones.Much easier, And better quality sound too.

Gary ITR

I hate wearing headphones, I'll just have to wake the flatmates:D

Gary ITR

I've just taken the psu out, some of the bits inside look like they've melted

Anti

You are seriously lucky it didnt bow. It could have taken every pc component out with it....

DublinWriter

Onkle51 wrote:

Is there anything that i could have done to cause this? Or is it just one of those things?

Could be dust, more likely poor construction and poor components. The PSU's own internal fan might have broken down causing it to overheat.

Sometimes when you buy complete systems from what-ever-company-I-won't-name-in-case-they-sue-boards they will skimp on using quality, quiet(er) PSUs.

Peats are an agent for quietpc.co.uk who distribute some pretty amazingly quiet PSUs. They are generally worth the extra couple of Shekels.

Count yourself luckly you didn't fry your PC and your flat! One of the posters here had his PC literally go up in flames in the middle of the night when he was sleeping.

Gary ITR

DublinWriter wrote:

Count yourself luckly you didn't fry your PC and your flat! One of the posters here had his PC literally go up in flames in the middle of the night when he was sleeping.

Jaysis....

Anti

His Packard bell psu didnt have a fan. Its passive. A majour flaw with them from when i woked as a tech. It was the #1 problem.

Gary ITR

I've just got a spare psu from a friend to tide me over till I get a chance to go and get a new one, I've just stuck it in but the main connection to the motherboard has 4 pins less, does this mean it won't work? I can't plug it in now... don't want to wake the missus

Ghost Train

You might have to get a converter for it, or sometimes you can disconnect the extra four pin block at the end from the connector. You should be able to check the shapes of the plastic plugs on the two power supplies and see that your friends one will match your existing one

DublinEvents

Have you made sure that your friend's PSU is the same wattage rating as your old PSU? You have a P4 530 from the specs I see online for your particular model so that means you had at least a 300W PSU coz that's a 90nm Prescott P4 and it is quite notorious for being a powersucker. It's possible the PSU you got from your friend is meant for a Pentium 3 or older system. If that's the case, I would advise against using it. Your system might not boot with it anyway but don't use it to be on the safe side.

Anti

your motherboard has a 24 pin atx connector, the one form your friends has a 20 ping connector, There should be a sepperate 4 pin connector there too. Just plug that into the top. If its not there. Do NOT try turning on the pc.

Gary ITR

I didn't bother with it, it's only 300 and the one that burned out was 340 so I'll wait and buy a decent one