- Sep 25, 2004
- 14
- 0
- 0
I recently had my computer die. No boot, no beeps, though case fans and a couple of lights on the mainboard came on. Smell of burned electronics.
I traced the smell to the PSU, so it is obviously "toast", heh. I didn't inspect the MB until after I installed a new PSU and it failed again. The first time I tried to start it after replacing the PSU, it immediately shut down. I checked all connections and tried again, and got the same start up with fans and a couple of lights but nothing else. Tried w/o video card, memory to one stick, w/o CPU, all same results.
I pulled the MB so I could inspect it closely. I eventually found a cracked choke (inductor), and another one along a different bank of inductors that shows discoloration. (MB is Asus Rampage II Extreme).
So, my main question here is - did the failed MB components damage the PSU, or the bad PSU damage the chokes (or maybe something else that I haven't found)? Is my new PSU now likely to be damaged? (I would hope not since it is an expensive PSU with all kinds of protection circuitry, but I don't know if a power supply can protect itself against this kind of MB failure.)
Thanks in advance for your knowledgeable input.
I traced the smell to the PSU, so it is obviously "toast", heh. I didn't inspect the MB until after I installed a new PSU and it failed again. The first time I tried to start it after replacing the PSU, it immediately shut down. I checked all connections and tried again, and got the same start up with fans and a couple of lights but nothing else. Tried w/o video card, memory to one stick, w/o CPU, all same results.
I pulled the MB so I could inspect it closely. I eventually found a cracked choke (inductor), and another one along a different bank of inductors that shows discoloration. (MB is Asus Rampage II Extreme).
So, my main question here is - did the failed MB components damage the PSU, or the bad PSU damage the chokes (or maybe something else that I haven't found)? Is my new PSU now likely to be damaged? (I would hope not since it is an expensive PSU with all kinds of protection circuitry, but I don't know if a power supply can protect itself against this kind of MB failure.)
Thanks in advance for your knowledgeable input.