 |
|
Well, Think I Found That Burning Smell
09-26-2016, 02:40 PM
|
#1
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 13,146
|
Well, Think I Found That Burning Smell
Over the past year, a few times I encountered a burning smell around my desk area but couldn't pinpoint the location but it had a burned electronics smell. I thought my battery back up was defective.
Haven't noticed that smell in awhile. But yesterday, I opened up the computer case to look inside for a planned upgrade (hard drive reader), when I noticed the look of three leaked capacitors (rust colored on top) on the motherboard.
That may very well be the cause of that burnt smell?
As of now, the PC seems to work fine. Haven't noticed any crashing or lagging. But, might be a good idea for me to jot down the name and number of the mother board and have it handy  .
__________________
Have you ever seen a headstone with these words
"If only I had spent more time at work" ... from "Busy Man" sung by Billy Ray Cyrus
|
|
|
 |
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!
Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!
|
|
09-26-2016, 04:15 PM
|
#2
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: Texas
Posts: 10,932
|
 Quote:
Originally Posted by easysurfer
Over the past year, a few times I encountered a burning smell around my desk area but couldn't pinpoint the location but it had a burned electronics smell. I thought my battery back up was defective.
Haven't noticed that smell in awhile. But yesterday, I opened up the computer case to look inside for a planned upgrade (hard drive reader), when I noticed the look of three leaked capacitors (rust colored on top) on the motherboard.
That may very well be the cause of that burnt smell?
As of now, the PC seems to work fine. Haven't noticed any crashing or lagging. But, might be a good idea for me to jot down the name and number of the mother board and have it handy . |
Might be a good time to backup your system and/or personal files.
|
|
|
|
|
09-26-2016, 04:30 PM
|
#3
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 7,113
|
Why not replace the motherboard now?
__________________
Duck bjorn.
|
|
|
|
|
09-26-2016, 04:33 PM
|
#4
|
|
Administrator
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chicagoland
Posts: 40,714
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Car-Guy
Might be a good time to backup your system and/or personal files.
|
+1
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brat
Why not replace the motherboard now?
|
+1
|
|
|
|
|
09-26-2016, 04:37 PM
|
#5
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 8,968
|
Yeah, do it now. Don't wait until the thing burns your house down.
|
|
|
|
|
09-26-2016, 04:57 PM
|
#6
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 13,146
|
Glad I recently got a fire extinguisher  .
__________________
Have you ever seen a headstone with these words
"If only I had spent more time at work" ... from "Busy Man" sung by Billy Ray Cyrus
|
|
|
|
|
09-26-2016, 05:42 PM
|
#7
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 13,146
|
Looks like I own a dud of a used computer. A Dell Optiplex which has a history of bad caps  .
__________________
Have you ever seen a headstone with these words
"If only I had spent more time at work" ... from "Busy Man" sung by Billy Ray Cyrus
|
|
|
|
|
09-26-2016, 05:59 PM
|
#8
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,186
|
Or just replace the caps...........
|
|
|
|
|
09-26-2016, 06:01 PM
|
#9
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Mar 2016
Posts: 8,968
|
I would save your stuff and get a new box. Hey they are cheaper than ever - 
Don't tempt fate, it's not worth it.
|
|
|
|
|
09-26-2016, 11:37 PM
|
#10
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Spending the Kids Inheritance and living in Chicago
Posts: 17,094
|
Is it under warranty?
Support | Dell US
|
|
|
|
|
09-27-2016, 04:26 AM
|
#11
|
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Dec 2012
Posts: 335
|
Another preventative tip: I take the cover off once per year and blast the motherboard and attached components with canned air. Those things really attract dust.
|
|
|
|
|
09-27-2016, 05:47 AM
|
#12
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 2,010
|
I never understood why the fans blow air out of the box. That just allows more dust in through all the cracks and crevices. Why don't they reverse the fan so it sucks air through the fan? That way you could have a cleanable filter to keep the dust down? And the air would exit through the cracks.
__________________
You do not have a soul. You are a soul. You have a body.
|
|
|
|
|
09-27-2016, 06:45 AM
|
#13
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 3,413
|
Dell products are garbage. I have had better luck with Lenovo boxes.
|
|
|
|
|
09-27-2016, 08:12 AM
|
#14
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 13,146
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sunset
|
Nope. I bought used. Only reason why I bought was when XP was no longer supported and went to a Win 7 machine (now have Win 10 on the machine).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Another Reader
Dell products are garbage. I have had better luck with Lenovo boxes.
|
+1. Seems like slim pickings for used computers at decent prices. Mostly either Dell or HP. Unless you want to go the gamer or self built route.
__________________
Have you ever seen a headstone with these words
"If only I had spent more time at work" ... from "Busy Man" sung by Billy Ray Cyrus
|
|
|
|
|
09-27-2016, 08:27 AM
|
#15
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,593
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by Another Reader
Dell products are garbage. I have had better luck with Lenovo boxes.
|
I've owned three Dell desktops over the years (including my current one) and have never had any trouble. Lenovo makes good laptops but didn't realize they also made highly-regarded desktops.
|
|
|
|
|
09-27-2016, 11:43 AM
|
#16
|
|
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Jalisco, Mexico
Posts: 1,747
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by easysurfer
Looks like I own a dud of a used computer. A Dell Optiplex which has a history of bad caps . |
Call them! My previous employer had them replace a lot of motherboards as part of a recall, 2008-2009 timeframe. They had a list of affected serial #'s. Same exact bulging capacitor issue.
Worth a shot!
|
|
|
|
|
09-27-2016, 08:36 PM
|
#17
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 13,146
|
bad caps
Yep, looks like my board is running on borrowed time.
The caps look worse in the picture than with the naked eye.
__________________
Have you ever seen a headstone with these words
"If only I had spent more time at work" ... from "Busy Man" sung by Billy Ray Cyrus
|
|
|
|
|
09-28-2016, 05:51 PM
|
#18
|
|
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Leeward Oahu
Posts: 17,915
|
Or just get a Mac and don't worry about such things. 
YMMV
__________________
Ko'olau's Law -
Anything which can be used can be misused. Anything which can be misused will be.
|
|
|
|
|
09-28-2016, 06:07 PM
|
#19
|
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: May 2016
Posts: 317
|
All electronic components have smoke built inside of them when they are manufactured. Once you let the smoke out, they will stop working.
|
|
|
|
|
09-28-2016, 08:25 PM
|
#20
|
|
Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Chattanooga
Posts: 499
|
No it's the magic genies that escape in a puff of smoke. Make sure you don't rub those caps😜
Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum
__________________
Currently SKI-ing (spending the Kids' Inheritance)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is Off
|
|
|
|
» Recent Threads
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
» Quick Links
|
|
|
Linear Mode
