On the early morning of March 23, 2007 just minutes away to the break of dawn, my cousin Jan was playing Sims 2 on his home computer when he had been startled by a loud pop and electrical sparks coming from the power supply unit (PSU).
In a matter of split seconds, the electrical power on his computer was gone. I was informed about the incident a few of hours later while I was in the middle of a clean up in cyberspace but physically located at a client’s site.
In our exchange of SMS messages, he noted the absence of soot and scent of burned plastic insulation which supposed to be present based on the assumption that one of the PSU’s components blew up.
A couple of weeks earlier, he purchased a brand-new AVR (automatic voltage regulator) after his old one finally gave in.
After his home computer arrived at my makeshift lab, the PSU’s voltage switch was initially checked and verified that it had been set to 230v. This is to eliminate the possibility of foul play (well, you never know…), loose voltage switch or just plain user negligence (it happens to everyone… me included).
The PSU was then removed from the casing and checked for soot marks that Jan might have overlooked when he initially inspected it.
Next, I took a sniff from the PSU vents and hoped to get even a minute scent of burned or melted plastic insulation but to no avail.
Personal note:
Never take a whiff from one of the PSU’s vents caked with layers upon layers of dust because of obvious reasons which I (of course) stupidly forgot in my eagerness to solve this villainous mystery.
I then implanted the busted PSU into one of my test machines but it failed to power up its motherboard. Pressed for time, I tentatively abandoned the idea of opening up the PSU and study its internal components to figure out the source of the problem.
After that I inspected the motherboard and attached devices of Jan’s home computer for traces of burn marks and soot but again to no avail.
Rummaging from spare parts bin, I was able to retrieve a relatively old PSU and secured it on the motherboard and then hit the “on” switch, it powered up just fine.
Out of time, I rushed to the nearest reputable computer shop within the lab’s vicinity and purchased a brand-new PSU with the identical voltage and wattage.
Jan’s home computer was sent home after its new PSU had been implanted. Weeks had already passed since that incident and I still find myself wondering on what caused the blow-up.
Was it due to the PSU’s normal tear and wear? Was it due to the old AVR that might have affected the PSU’s internal components? Or could it be the new AVR?
I will definitely not cease wondering “who” killed Jan’s PSU until I set the time to perform an “autopsy” and find out.
