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Something's burning!

AUTO-FX

AUTO-FX

New Member
I can smell hot plastic and I cant tell where the heck it's coming from!!! And the more I sniff, the harder it is to smell!!!
Dont see any magic blue smoke...Hmmmm
This very unnerving! Everything was backed up yesterday, so I'll be okay there...
I have 2 computers, monitors,speaker system,desktop printer, big plotter, little plotter, falcon JR, could be any of these...
Unplug everything and start off one by one???

How about I unplug everything, leave the house, and come back later to see if the fire department is here?
 
AUTO-FX

AUTO-FX

New Member
Found it!
It was the fan in the computer tower. I took the side panel off and it was seized up. That may explain why my computer was off when i walked in this morning, maybe. Will a PC shut itself down if too much heat builds up inside the case?

Off to Radio shack!
 
Firefox

Firefox

New Member
I had a PT Cruiser that started smelling like faint melting plastic around 10,000 miles. It drove me crazy for another 195,000 miles so I sold it!
 
VinylLabs.com

VinylLabs.com

New Member
saw a video a couple of days ago where someone submerged their computer in a container of oil, then overclocked it heavily.

then dumped a bunch of fries and tater-tots in it, fried them up and ate it.

edit: it could have been easily faked, but just the concept was funny.
 
jiarby

jiarby

New Member
and after you fix the fan you can install a fan monitor that will give you and audible alarm, or even an smtp email when a fan fails.

The computer will definitely shut down if it over heats. And... you may damage other components. Sometimes they never seem quite the same. Stuttering, random lockups, blue screens, etc... keep an eye on it.
 
mrfern

mrfern

New Member
A computer will shut itself down if the PC knows there is no fan working on the mother board or the power supply. Also if a video card fan goes out the pc can burn on the video card and still work since the fan just cools the card. The smell of the burnt video card is a tough one to find but if the PC shuts down for no reason it is generally a fan. Cracks me up that a 10 dollar fix can cause so much grief.

mrfern:notworthy:
 
showcase 66

showcase 66

New Member
jiarby said:
and after you fix the fan you can install a fan monitor that will give you and audible alarm, or even an smtp email when a fan fails.

The computer will definitely shut down if it over heats. And... you may damage other components. Sometimes they never seem quite the same. Stuttering, random lockups, blue screens, etc... keep an eye on it.
Click to expand...

+1

Happened to my computer I use just for cutting about 2 months ago. Replaced the fan and yesterday had the same smell you were describing. Had to run to do a job, forgot about it and today said computer not to happy with me. It has been trying to start up since 0630 this morning. Getting ready to head off to Staples to pick up another computer.
 
mrfern

mrfern

New Member
Depending which fan it is you can use a house hold fan and open the case and point the fan into the pc. Not only will it clear the dust bunnies away but if the thermal sensor is no longer registering hot then the pc will work. Been there.. done that..

mrfern:notworthy:
 
AUTO-FX

AUTO-FX

New Member
Ok, thanks guys for all the great info.I'll keep an eye on her.
I upgraded to a 120mm fan moving twice the air per minute.
Rather breezy.
Have to go find a sweater now.
 
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