Heroic Register reader battles EXPLODING COMPUTER
Saves son AND son's homework from firebomb power supply
A heroic Reg reader who battled an exploding computer to save his son's homework (and possibly his life) has written in to share the harrowing tale of a power supply unit gone MAD.
Keith, who lives in Germany, wrote in to tell us how he dealt with a flaming desktop PC, and how his quick instincts to throw it out the balcony door and pour cold water on it saved the day ... and a chunk of his son't education.
Burnt PC
The computer belonged to Keith's 15-year-old son, who was typing away, doing his homework when something exploded. Keith recounts:
Yesterday my son was sitting at his desk working on a school project, when he heard a loud bang. He said it sounded like a large fire cracker. Immediately following the minor explosion, smoke rose out of the back of his desk. When I came into the room small flames were jumping out of the case's side vent and the back of the PC.
The horror, the horror
He acted quickly:
We quickly hit the main electric breakers, disconnected the PC and tossed it out onto the balcony. After that I began pouring bottled water in every orifice I could find. Five minutes later the fire was out.
Poring through the charred remains, it appeared as though Keith's DIY ways might perhaps have been partly to blame. The desktop PC, built by Keith himself, was 10 years old - but he'd installed a new power supply 10 months ago and it seems that a capacitor had blown.
After examining the singed machine, I discovered that the relatively new power supply had been the source of the fire. I should have known better than to buy a cheap, no name power supply. I don't really know what caused the explosion and resulting fire, but I do know that it only took five minutes for the fire to cause that much damage. Needless to say, I'm extremely grateful that nothing happened to my son ... he usually falls asleep with the PC on.
It took five minutes of dousing before the flames went out and they managed to cause a heck of a lot of damage to the delicate innards.
Keith poured cold water on the PC till the flames went out
In true Reg reader style, Keith managed to save the homework as well.
My son's school data was on the water soaked hard drive, so I put it in the oven and baked it at 60 Celsius for 4 hours. That did the trick, the hard drive works perfect... I backed up all the data, just to be sure. Try to explain to the teacher that you couldn't get your report done because your PC caught on fire. Something like, "teacher, the dog ate my homework..."
But he has admitted he needs to shell out for a new computer:
I also baked the motherboard (CPU still attached), memory and video card at the same temperature to rid them of any moisture. After assembling the components in a new case, I switched it on, but unfortunately there was no response. The little green light on the motherboard was on but that was the only sign of life. Looks like I'll be buying a new computer.
Keith has accepted he needs to buy a new computer
Keith regrets buying a no-name Power Supply Unit
Sorry son, it's gone now
Still though, buying a new computer is seldom an entirely bad day. ®
COMMENTS
No-brand power supply
Ugh, why I stay away from them nowadays. I've actually had a similar experience with two no-brand PSUs. Thankfully, unlike this case, the PSU never did spew flames. But I do only buy PSUs of brands deemed trustworthy with reasonably high wattage ratings now.
Protip: The thing about these no-brand PSUs are that their wattage ratings are often very much overrated and their actual maximum output is actually much lower than advertised. For example 250w PSU would often be labelled as 500w one. Net result is that the consumer will buy it and fit it into a PC that needs 500w, and thus stress the PSU and cause it to go out with a bang, fire optional.
Re: > Keith regrets buying a no-name Power Supply Unit
So your son has learned the valuable lesson that setting something on fire results in shiny new replacements? An IT career beckons!
Re: For a refund, natch.
It's worth checking the approvals on the case. If it is UL listed and you can read the logos of some of the approving agencies in Europe, it is worth contacting them and seeing if they want the PSU back for investigation. Test agencies really love having exhibits for their black museums, as it helps justify their existence.
Kick up a bit of stink because you should get a new computer at least out of the PSU supplier. Remember that even if a PSU is overloaded it is required to degrade gracefully - unless you actually stuck a screwdriver inside and waggled it around, there is simply no excuse for catching fire like this.
And yes, I have worked with approvals bodies in the past, and been involved in electrical safety testing. You probably have at least one product I have been involved with in your house.
Re: No-brand power supply
No-Brand PSU's use cheap parts that last nowhere near as long and often have very poor power efficency. If its generating more heat than DC power then it'll not only cost more on the leccy bill but often fail taking out anything its powering.
Don't spend £30 on something which will provide power to parts worth at least £200.
