Meltdown!

The last week or so my PC had been freezing all the time. It would
freeze suddenly (About 4 times a day) for no apparant reason. So I
opened up the box to find... the fan on my Power Supply has packed up!
The heat immited from the power supply was so intense it caused the
voltage to drop so low and the PC just froze, not enough power to
supply the proccessor. So I took a old power supply, ripped out its fan
and shoved it into my Power Box. Fixed! Very happy about this now, but
it was a very dangerous thing to do, opening up a power supply. Huge
damage could have been caused if I hadnt fixed this problem! May this
serve as a leason to all of you, so you on a regular basis check your
PC's health, such as checking all fans are working etc.

That's why it's a good idea to monitor the system temperature every now and then.

Glad you fixed the problem before it's too late.

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge

Thanks! I never thought of doing the PC health check thing, though I
will moniter it with a keen eye from now on! Dont want any expensive
mistakes!

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I would love to change the world, But they would'nt give me the source code.

A friend of mine changed to fan in his power supply, he put it in backwards, so it spun the wrong way.

Yeah, that wasn't good.

But, overheating the power supply shouldn't effect the rest of the system ... unless you blow a resistor ... but then I'm prone to think the power supply would just die instead of providing too much current.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

Heh. I revived my Radeon 9800 pro when it's fan blew off(really weird
thing, I've never encountered this before). I added an 8cm fan with 12V
input. It stays cooler now... And yes it's a good idea to take a peek
inside the comp every now and then...

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''Everyone wades in s**t until they're competent enough to walk on it. Jesus style.''
Dystopia - Empires

I still remember a great many years ago, before I new as much about
computers as I do now, my mother needed a quick fix to an old computer
given to us by my uncle. (He's the hardware guy in my family; yea, he's
got one of thos super huge, tv size monitors that would be great for
gameing at super high resolutions.) But anyway, the computer was
out dated and underpowered, so we went and got a new prebuilt computer
from the store, brought it home and set it up. (I can't even remember
what brand it was.)

The mistake was buying pre built. Latter that night, the computer
just got all stressed out and decide it needed a smoke. (ha haa, get
it) It had been smoking for quite a while, I didn't even notice
it necause my eyes were glued to the screen. About four hours
latter I just happened to look away and notice the plumes of electrical
smoke clogging the air.

As a lesson to all; don't get pre-built, go post-built.

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You know, I've actually got nothing to say

Checking my PC temps, I see no PSU thermometer... would it heat the machine up enough to be noticable on the motherboard/cpu meters? (This isnt a problem for me, I'm just curious).

I agree with Crono, I cant see how a PSU overheat can make you lose volts. If a resistor blew, it would break a circuit and just shut off completely. It could be that certain other parts were overheating...

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"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"

• My yr11 Economics teacher

Good job fixing the PSU. I'm so lazy I'd probably get a new PSU myself. :smile:

I've been having trouble with the temperature of my PC lately. The
processor tends to stay around 50 degrees, the case at between 30 and
40, and the graphics card between 40 and 50. I'm not overly pleased
with these temperatures (I'm fairly sure that playing Lost Coast is
pushing the 9600XT a bit hard at those temperatures), and I've just
ordered an exhaust fan.

I'm thinking of getting one of those temperature monitor/fan controller
panels - they're fairly cheap for a bit of PC kit at between ?15 and
?20.

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My site

PSUs that overheat can do a myriad of weird stuff. Hell, cheap PSUs can do a myriad of weird s**t on their own.

My system is pretty cold, but 8 case fans will do that. I wish I had a
temperature sensor on my 9800 Pro, didn't luck out on that. I've got an
Antec PSU that has both a fan sensor connected to my motherboard as
well as it regulates itself. I have 2 fan controller panels, but
neither are temp sensors. They're both just glorified potentiometers.

When electrical wires get hot they convey less current/voltage
(Science?!),, and I suppose the voltage dropped to low for the CPU to
operate. Another thing that could have caused it is that there was a
piece of metal leading from my CPU and it wass touching directly onto
the Power Supply! So I now put a thick piece of cardboard to separate
it :smile:

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I would love to change the world, But they would'nt give me the source code.

I wish I had a
temperature sensor on my 9800 Pro, didn't luck out on that.

Really? I've got a 9600XT, and if I go into the ATi Control Panel thing
(Display Properties -> Settings -> Advanced), the overclocking
thing (Overdrive or something like that, I can never remember) displays
the temperature. Try that.

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My site

I just remembered an interesting fact about my main computer, it's a death trap.

Any way, several months ago, I had to open it up to put in a new video
card, when I noticed a strange tingle throughout my body. As soon
as I strated twitching I ran.

Wasn't touvhing any wires or circuits, just the case. Turns out
that the case is collecting electrons somehow, because its not coming
from the powersupply. I mean seriously, that supply has been
swaped out so much, and the problem still persists.

Well anyway, it could be a good practical joke to hav someone feel the finish.

in short: Comp case is a giant battery, an evil battery trying to slowly kill me.

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You know, I've actually got nothing to say

I wish I had a
temperature sensor on my 9800 Pro, didn't luck out on that.

Really? I've got a 9600XT, and if I go into the ATi Control Panel thing
(Display Properties -> Settings -> Advanced), the overclocking
thing (Overdrive or something like that, I can never remember) displays
the temperature. Try that.

No, I know how to test stuff like that. Mine doesn't have the diode. :smile:

Ben, it's possible that a power lead of lesser strength is grounded to
the case. It's a far stretch but possible. I've had my case be charged
once when I had some cheap cable laying on top.

SpoolE: True, but I dont think the increase in resistance from that would cause enough power loss to halt your CPU. That metal from your CPU was probably your heatsink, it shouldnt make a difference if its touching your PSU (PSU box should be grounded, and there should be no electrical contact between heatsink and cpu). Probably not a good idea to have cardboard in there, since if this happens again itll catch fire.

Loco: I think only the XTs have temp sensors, my 9600pro doesnt. It could also be the manufacturer, some might put sensors on and some might not.

Y2kben: Theres something seriously wrong with that. The case should be grounded. There could be something loose in your PSU, or some wires touching the case. Turn it completely off (unplug it), discharge the case somehow (connect it to ground, touch it yourself if youre game) and look for loose connections. Most likely its in your PSU tho, which means you may need a new one.

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"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"

• My yr11 Economics teacher

Truth be told, you only feel the slow shock if you touch one of the
corners were the coating has degraded or an exposed metal. And
ya, no one in my family knows what's charging it, and, ironically
enough, no parts are actually touching the inside of the case, except
screw.

Basically nothings wrong, and there's no interference with the computer; minus some of the other strange this that happen.

But, we all just ignore it. Oh, and try not to hold the case panals in the wrong spots.

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You know, I've actually got nothing to say

Well, theres definitely something charging that case. Check your PSU, that things a fire hazard.

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"If you talk at all during this lesson, you have detention. Do you understand?"

• My yr11 Economics teacher

Could be poor grounding on the part of the case and some of the
components (Motherboard could have a connection somewhere to the
motherboard plate as the screwholes are also grounding pads and thus
could make a connection if a powered component were touching it.)
You're body might just be the path of least resistance.

since if this happens again itll catch fire.

Yeah, my brother warned me of that! When I felt the PS after fan was shot it was
so hot in burt my finger, as if I had just touched a red hot poker!

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I would love to change the world, But they would'nt give me the source code.

Inspired by this thread, I opened up my case and did a thorough
cleaning. It's amazing how much dust has collected on the case
and around the vent in just eight months.

In addition, my computer occasionally makes a strange noise when it
boots up. I believe it was the case fan on the side panel that's
vibrating the SATA cable right next to it. So I re-arranged the
innards of my computer, and I hope the noise will never come back.

Ahh, I feel clean now, and I didn't even take a shower.

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"The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return." -- Toulouse-Lautre, Moulin Rouge