Power Supply Explosion

I can't be the only one this has ever happened to, but holy cr*p did it scare the daylights out of me!!! :***

Last night I was sitting here, and there was this ungodly noise like a lawnmower running over a dog chain, a puff of smoke, and the smell of burning electronics/plastic. My poor abused PSU (300w, bought almost five years ago and running constantly since then) committed suicide. roflmao

So now I'm on my laptop until at least this weekend, depending on if my tax refund shows up Friday as scheduled or not.

 

LOL, I didn't have a PSU blow but a flyback on a CRT went. You want to talk BSOD?(Blue Smoke of Death)! Cough cough ahhgghh! Damn that was bad!

 

Oh my, thought you were talking about a transformer (outside)
That must have been scary

 

Well Sgt. Tibbs, you're not alone! I had one go out on me also, but it wasn't as violent as yours was. I just heard a sizzle, the usual smell and a large puff of smoke. However, mine wasn't due to age, but rather an 'el-cheapo' PSU that lasted all but 12 days! I only hope that when it committed suicide, it didn't take any other vital parts with it. Mine took the MB and CPU with it and I think the RAM too. I didn't check the RAM, I just canned the whole thing!

 

@Sgt Tibbs: :eek

Seeing that you're not living in CA, hope you will get your refund soon.

PS: it scares me to know that my 'puter is almost 5 years young.

 

Bite your tongue, Stubby!!! It was only the power supply (repeat as necessary as a mantra until new PSU is installed). Yikes...that's what I'm afraid of. I'm woefully behind on upgrades, and I absolutely cannot afford to replace everything at this time, even with the tax refund.

Barring that thought, the whole thing is pretty darn funny...it even was then after I changed my drawers. roflmao My last one just went quietly in the night, but this one wanted to make sure I knew it was finished. LOL

 

Bad luck on the Kamikaze P.S.U., Tibbs, but at least ya got your monies’ worth out of it.

I've had a few P.S.U.'s 'smoke it' over the years, but not for a long while. Had while mainboards go up in smoke, too, years back.

At least you can purchase 500W or more pretty cheap these days.

 

roflmao Sorry Sarge!! I didn't mean to throw a monkey wrench into an already harrowing experience:-D Anyhow, if you're interested, I have an Antec 350w PSU, in excellent condition, you'd be more than welcome to if you want it. I only used it for about a year before I went to an Antec 550w with modular cabling and, as it stands, it's just taking up space and I'll never use it again. Of course, there'd be no charge for it and since you live in the U.S. shipping would be light. Besides, I'd rather give it to someone that could use it then have it my "puter closet" gathering dust. Just let me know! BTW, I am truly glad that you had a clean pair of shorts handy!!:-D (sorry, couldn't resist that one!!)

 

roflmao

I'm going to see how the weekend shapes up (and now I'm working pretty much solid from Friday through Sunday, so it'll be Monday before I can even consider shopping), and I'll let you know. I may well take you up on that, though...and I often exchange, say, cookies for a favour as well (in addition to paying for shipping and I will offer to pay you for the PSU as well, even if you don't want anything for it). Thanks a huge bunch for the offer!

 

Sounds like one of your electrolytics blew - they dry out after a while, debris may have gotten into the fan. You *might* be able to salvage it for little cost if the coils and transistors are all still OK. Might be worth a couple bucks (about 20 if you have to buy a cheepo soldering iron, too - but don't get the little battery powered jobs, they don't have the wattage) to find out.

 

You got that right, augie! Nothing smaells worse than a transformer blowing, and flybacks well... uke

 

My tax refund came today, early even!!! I still don't have time to do anything about it until Monday, but at least I have the capability. :-D

 

That's good you didn't receive an IOU :clap

 

Glad you finally got it Sarge!! Now, let's just hope it doesn't bounce!!:cry If it does, don't worry, I still have that 350:-D

 

I'm going to commit the ultimate blasphemy and drop it off at the shop Monday. I really REALLY hate paying someone to do something I'm perfectly capable of fixing myself (I built the darn thing after all), but I just got my work schedule and it appears it'll be sometime in August before I get a day off again. LOL

I'm hoping they find out it's just the power supply and I'll win. Fingers crossed and stuff. :-D

 

New plan: Working for a tech site has its advantages. My boss told me yesterday that he talked to the kind folks at Cooler Master, and they'll be sending me a brand new one at no charge in exchange for some favourable words. I'm jumping the gun on that by thanking them before they ship, because I'm flabbergasted (you don't get to use THAT word in a sentence very often! LOL) it's working out that way. Dunno what one they're supposed to be sending, but does it really matter? :-D

 

Now that's what I call 'falling in :*** and come out smelling like a rose!!':-D That's great Sarge and I have no doubt that you can find some good words to say about them, huh? Hey, while you're at it, tell your boss that I could use a new....oh, forget it, it wouldn't work!!:-D At least you're getting a good, brand name PSU and not a 'el-cheapo' with questionable quality. Congrats Sarge :celebrate:celebrate

 

I have a new definition of frustration. LOL The new PSU arrived today while I was at work (they sent a 550w...my poor antiquated system isn't going to know what to do with itself) and I don't have time to do anything about it until Monday.

But hey...I got new stuff! That's never a bad thing. :-D

 

Finally got a day off and installed it. The motherboard is dead, too.

 

Damn Sarge, I am truly sorry to hear that but, as you know, when a PSU goes south, there's always that chance that it won't go alone. BTW, what CPU are you using? No, I'm not trying to be nosey:-D....there is a reason I ask!! Let me know, okay??

 

I knew it was possible, but a girl can dream, darn it! LOL At any rate, looks like at least another week before I can consider doing anything about it unless I want to just drop it off at the shop and let them take a whack at it. Probably be cheaper just to upgrade at this point.

I've got an Athlon XP (yes, it is that old).

 

Hey Sarge, would a Gigabyte 7VTXE be of any help to ya? http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/Products_Spec.aspx?ProductID=1310 That was my last board before I upgraded to a GA-7N400 Pro2, which I'm still using with an AMD 3200+ (Barton). Yeah, mines outdated too, but it does what I want it to I still have that 7VTXE wrapped in anti-static foil and tucked away in, yeah you guessed it, my 'puter closet!! If it'll help, you're more than welcome to it. Like the PSU, it's just taking up space and gathering dust. If you're interested, just let me know. BTW, if you do want it, the terms are the same as they were with the PSU.

 

How could I say no? You're a sweetheart! :-D

 

Ah com'on, you're making me blush:-o Trust me, at my age that doesn't happen much anymore!!:-D Oh well, like I said, I have no use for it anymore and I'm just glad you'll be able to make good use of it. So, in closing, and I've always to say this, "You've Got Mail!!" Now, with my luck AOL will probably sue me for 'copyright infringement!!':cry

 

Good to see you finally got your new P.S.U., Beth. Not so good on the blown mainboard, though . Looks like good ol' Stubby is sorting you out. - Good job, man!:cool