Simviation Forums

Okay, that thread title does look a bit funny, anyway...


Thirty minutes ago, when I walked into my room, I noticed a very strong "electric smell". By electric smell I mean the kind of smell which you'll get from pushing a blender, hairdryer, drilling machine and so on, too hard. It's a very distinctive smell, and easily recognized.


I of course tried to find out where the smell came from, and yes it was from my PC. I also took off the side of the cabinet, however I could not see anything unusual or anything.


I also noticed a whining sound coming from the computer, very irritating, and it's still there. I can't tell if it's still producing that smell, or it's just the leftovers I'm breathing in.


The PC seems to be okay though.


Does anybody know what I might be experiencing?

Your PSU or optical drive burning out?

Ithor that or a transister on your motherboard died.

Cheers
Cameron

turn off the tower and stick your nose in the PSU fan hole and take a sniff, then open the tower and do the same

if the odor is more powerful in the area of the PSU, it is probably coming from there and needs to be replaced.

you can also do the 'sniff' test to the video card

your looking for what stinks the most  LOL

For the whining, try hitting the tower with a heavy book. It worked for my old pc.

Your PSU or optical drive burning out?

Ithor that or a transister on your motherboard died.

Cheers
Cameron

...and another two words for your American to English Dictionary, Ecko......!

Ithor....Either.

Transister...Transistor.

...Keep 'em coming, Cameron. We learn a new word every day...

...like "Poast" for "Post"........!

LOL...!

Paul... ...!

I would immediately suspect a cooling fan, either something is caught up in it or the fan bearings are about to fail.  Either way it's not going to do your PC much good.

You definitely have at least one fan on your PSU (mine has three), another one on your motherboard, and probably at least one more on your graphics card.  Try and figure out which one is making the noise, and see if anything is wrapped around the shaft (in our house it would be cat hair).  Clean it if you can.

If you have to, take the offending item to your local computer shop and ask if they can replace the fan.  Cooling fans are there for a reason, don't run the PC without them, not even "just for a little while"!!!

Gryshnak

Thanks for all the replies!

I had no idea the hardware forum was this active!

Your PSU or optical drive burning out?

Ithor that or a transister on your motherboard died.

Cheers
Cameron

CDs and DVDs run perfectly.

turn off the tower and stick your nose in the PSU fan hole and take a sniff, then open the tower and do the same

if the odor is more powerful in the area of the PSU, it is probably coming from there and needs to be replaced.

you can also do the 'sniff' test to the video card

your looking for what stinks the most  LOL

Will try that right away!

For the whining, try hitting the tower with a heavy book. It worked for my old pc.

Might work. It certainly does with my TV.

...and another two words for your American to English Dictionary, Ecko......!

Ithor....Either.

Transister...Transistor.

...Keep 'em coming, Cameron. We learn a new word every day...

...like "Poast" for "Post"........!

LOL...!

Paul... ...!

I would immediately suspect a cooling fan, either something is caught up in it or the fan bearings are about to fail.  Either way it's not going to do your PC much good.

You definitely have at least one fan on your PSU (mine has three), another one on your motherboard, and probably at least one more on your graphics card.  Try and figure out which one is making the noise, and see if anything is wrapped around the shaft (in our house it would be cat hair).  Clean it if you can.

If you have to, take the offending item to your local computer shop and ask if they can replace the fan.  Cooling fans are there for a reason, don't run the PC without them, not even "just for a little while"!!!

Gryshnak

The cooling fans seem to be OK. Also the sound is not really one you'd expect from a broken cooling fan, it's like a high frequency tone, my dad couldn't hear anything, neither could my mum, my brother could though.


---

Could this perhaps be my onboard sound card acting up?

It's been crashing my PC in games and a few times when listening to music too, for some time now.

Thanks for all the replies! :D

The cooling fans seem to be OK. Also the sound is not really one you'd expect from a broken cooling fan, it's like a high frequency tone, my dad couldn't hear anything, neither could my mum, my brother could though.

Ecko....;)....

When you have identified to source of the high frequency sound, parcel it up and send it to me....

I need it to keep the annoying, noisy little children off the green outside of my house....>>>

http://www.iviewcameras.co.uk/IV_CS_MOS ... MAod3ijcHA

...this one is much too expensive for me....
...it's cheaper to shoot the children... ...!

LOL...!

Paul... ...!

Funny smell and whining usually means a diaper needs changing.

UPDATE:


Now my computer reboots every 30 minutes or so, and makes more strange loud sounds. Plus I burned some of my skin off, when I accidentally touched my PSU, damn it was hot! Could this be my PSU dying, and if so, what to do?

If so?


Wait for Cameron to say Hiper Type R.

Buy a new PSU (A good one thats a NAME BRAND) and then install it, computer works, that is if the PSU Didnt fry anything....... Cheers, Gunny

that is if the PSU Didnt fry anything....... Cheers, Gunny

Could it do that?

If so?


Wait for Cameron to say Hiper Type R.

Hiper Type R;) Just for you Mees

But yea, if the PSU is that hot, its most likely dieing. Also the fact that its restarting every like what 30 min? Yea your gonna need to replace it. Get it done ASAP as a PSU suddenly dieing can take out the rest of your computer. I have seen everything from a single drive to an entire system be killed by a dead PSU.


Cheers
Cameron

Hiper Type R;) Just for you Mees

But yea, if the PSU is that hot, its most likely dieing. Also the fact that its restarting every like what 30 min? Yea your gonna need to replace it. Get it done ASAP as a PSU suddenly dieing can take out the rest of your computer. I have seen everything from a single drive to an entire system be killed by a dead PSU.


Cheers
Cameron

OK, it seems to be calm now though, 4 hours without a reboot.

I'll buy a PSU right away though, but a Hiper Type R 580W for my system?

Some average motherboard.
Intel P4 550 (3.4 Ghz)
2048 Mb PC3200 RAM
GeForce 6800GT 256 Mb

My current one is 400 Watts, "noname". What should I go for?