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| Thread ID: 50481 | 2004-10-21 22:09:00 | Burnt power supplies and motherboard | lightfoot (39) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 283447 | 2004-10-21 22:09:00 | Burnt power supplies and motherboard I recently had a computer, which I have been using fine for at least 4 years, it served me fine, but then it burnt my power supply. I put another one in and it burnt that power supply too and then one chip from the motherboard fell out which seemed that the chip was burnt also. The writing on the chip is: L3103S / 901E/ 47/ 20. It is a pentium 3 motherboard. I am interested to know what caused it. Some suggest it can be power surge or something wrong with the motherboard, too old, or viruses. Many thanks. |
lightfoot (39) | ||
| 283448 | 2004-10-21 22:22:00 | When you say "it burnt the power supply", the suggestion is that the power supply is now a blackened box? Or did something just fail in the power supply? The chip you describe is a main voltage regulator for the CPU i believe, and if this failed it could certainly cause major motherboard damage (which it has, if it "fell out", I would guess) This could have contributed to the power supply failures, but not to them becoming "burnt", which suggests a major failure within the power supply(s). |
godfather (25) | ||
| 283449 | 2004-10-21 22:24:00 | As to what caused it, likely to be a component failure due to age or any other reason but not due to a virus. | godfather (25) | ||
| 283450 | 2004-10-21 22:29:00 | That is an unusual sequence of events. For a motherboard to burn a power supply up means there is a short circuit on the m/b of mammoth proportions. How the board even operated in this condition I don't know. And then for it to fry a second power supply simply confirms the presence of something majorly wrong. The issue of the burnt chip falling out would tie in with this. If this component had failed at an earlier stage and started overheating, it could well have self-destructed at the same time as causing the fry up in the power supply. My only suggestion is that this chip suffered from premature component failure - which is possible with all electronic components. I would doubt that it was caused by a virus. A power surge is possible - but less likely. |
Supertrooper (2510) | ||
| 283451 | 2004-10-21 22:48:00 | ""When you say "it burnt the power supply", the suggestion is that the power supply is now a blackened box? Or did something just fail in the power supply?"" The ist power supply gave some smoke and burnt smell. However, when I tried to turn the computer on again after living checking that I could not see anything brunt, only the power supply fan was going for a few seconds then switched itself off. I turn it on for several times and still just the power supply fan switched on for a few seconds. A friend said may be just the power supply. Tried with a new power supply and it was burnt giving an electrical burnt smell. And when I open up the case and check it , the motherboard chip fell out , which looked burnt. Something major, but not sure what. Power surge, too old chip. Not sure the consensus. Thanks. |
lightfoot (39) | ||
| 283452 | 2004-10-21 22:56:00 | That suggests that the FET regulator chip on the motherboard failed, taking the power supply with it. Putting in the second power supply simply repeated the process, as the failed FET chip was still putting a short circuit on the power supply, so disaster was assured. Chips fail. Life is like that. Unlikely to be repairable, or worth repairing the motherboard. |
godfather (25) | ||
| 283453 | 2004-10-22 05:03:00 | >The ist power supply gave some smoke and burnt smell . However, when I tried to turn the >computer on again after living checking that I could not see anything brunt, only the power >supply fan was going for a few seconds then switched itself off . I turn it on for several times >and still just the power supply fan switched on for a few seconds . A friend said may be just >the power supply . Tried with a new power supply and it was burnt giving an electrical burnt >smell . And when I open up the case and check it , the motherboard chip fell out , which >looked burnt . it's trying to say it wants a bit time off, and if it needs a trip to the crematorium, then it will do just that . So, plant it in the garden, wait twenty years and see if a new one grows . In the meantime, consider some serious shopping |
R2x1 (4628) | ||
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