WOW Close Call

[Guest guest]

Hey,

Tonight, I was working on the computer, and suddenly smelled something

like burning wires. I put my nose to the computer, and could tell it was

coming from there. Yikes! ........I killed the power (right in the middle

of DLing a file, too). Pulling the computer out from under the desk, I

pulled the cover, and looked around. It was hot (hotter than is should be)

in there. I briefly restored the power, to check the fans. CPU fan was

running. I have two auxiliary fans in my case, and they were running, then

I noticed the fan in the power supply was dead. I put my hand on the PS,

and it was really hot. Thinking back, I did notice a few days ago, that

the computer seemed to be throwing more heat, but thought it might just

have seemed that way, because of the weather being warmer. Now I can

assume that the fan in question wasn't running. Next time, I'll check

it out sooner.

Luckily, I had a spare fan around (the right size and voltage, too

(talk about lucky)). I removed and opened the PS, and replaced the

fan. Everything seems to be working fine. I can only guess that my two

aux. case fans kept enough air moving, until the situation got to the

point, of burning wires, to save the PS from damage. Good thing I was

home, too. I often leave the system running 24/7 and had this happened

while I wasn't here.....it might have really stunk up the place, and

perhaps set off a smoke alarm, too.

So, todays lesson. If you notice a little more heat coming from your

computer....check it out.