Burning smell from pc then it died.

aliasojo

As title really. When pc is switched on now, power seems to flow for a second as the fan starts to turn but dies almost immediately.

Is likely to be a burned out psu or something else? Is it possible for the psu to work for a second or so (enough to start the fan) then stop.

fwor

It's a bit unusual for a PSU to fail like that as they usually just go completely dead. However, all computer PSUs have multiple outputs - it's possible that only one has failed and that's what is causing it to start and then shut down.

If you can open the side of the case and take a look at the motherboard to see if there are any burnt components on it. In all probability there won't be and a PSU replacement will fix it.

Wherryman

You are most probably correct, that’s how my last power supply went, unless it’s a really big power hungry PC then about £20 should buy you a replacement, all you need is someone with a bit of PC knowledge to fit it for you.
Perhaps you know someone who has a spare one they could fit before you buy a new one as it could have fried other more expensive bits as it died.

totalsolutions

If you buy a £20 expect it to go again and take everything with it! spend a bit more nearer the £30. Getting a higher power one >500Watts. Fit it yourself four screws at the rear and remove plugs fit in reverse order. 15 mins max.

aliasojo

No sign of anything burnt out inside the case. I'll happily give changing it a go myself. Any suggestions as to best place online to buy from?

vyseyboy

ebuyer are good for this sort of thing.

http://www.ebuyer.com/search?store=2&cat=149

Respected brands include Corsair, Antec, Enermax, Thermaltake Powerman/In-Win, Aopen, Verax, Zalman, Silent Power

Cheapy one's are generally loud, and a false economy.

There are a couple of different physical sizes of PSU's available... Dell used to be a pain for shipping non-standard sizes, as were many manufacturer's back in the day (Time, Tiny, Gateway etc...)

So make sure your new supply is the same dimensions and standards as the old one (the most common standard is ATX)

Also make sure you have the connectors you require... i.e. if you have an externally powered PCI-E graphics card, make sure the new PSU has the necessary connector, if your computer has SATA hard disks, make sure the PSU has SATA connectors.

Most new PSU's will have these anyway

Joe_Bloggs

Watch out for bad capacitors! When they go they bulge, leak their electrolyte over the motherboard and put a huge strain on the power supply.
J_B.

Wherryman

aliasojo wrote: »

Any suggestions as to best place online to buy from?

Ebuyer, SVP, Microdirect, Cclonline, just to name a few, which ever works out the best all in price with postage at the moment.

DCFC79

If you have a quidco account then have a look on quidco for a site who sells computer parts and get the cashback