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PC went up in smoke today. Any idea what might have failed?
It was a Dell PC about 4 years old. Prior to this happening the computer started having issues with the mouse and keyboard not being found. I did power down by pressing and holding the power button. Then when I rebooted the there was some smoke coming out the back of the computer. It wasn't a particularly acrid smoke - like something melted.
I haven't opened up the box yet to see if I can tell what happened. I was just curious to see if anyone had any thoughts, and whether the system might be salvageable.
4 Answers
- AdrianLv 75 years agoFavorite Answer
Power supply most likely went "poof". This can happen if the PSU cooling fan has seized up, the the PSU is overheating and over time, components get stressed to the point where they fail.
- i_was_myselfLv 75 years ago
I once had a motherboard go "poof". All the capacitors on the motherboard had expanded to twice their normal size, produced a moderate amount of smoke, and leaked acid. It is usually the result of a power supply failure, but sometimes the motherboard is just too low quality. Usually the ram, processor, and add-on cards will be fine.
And you should be able to install the hard drive on another system to get documents and stuff. If not, put the hard disk in a freezer bag, seal it, and put it in the freezer for the night, and try again in the next day.
