burned power supply

Hi all
my power supply was burned out 3 months ago, I bought a new one from iCute with 450Kw, 4 days ago I lost it (burned) then I bought a new one from Sonic Gear 300Kw pure supply up to maximum of 600Kw and few minutes ago it was burned (lasted for 3 days only) which made me so confused, What could be the problem? This is not a normal matter some thing is wrong.
What I noted that there was some electrical leakage at the PC box, and that is not new to my PC, always there is some power leak I did connect the PC box to the ground and there was no more power leak notable on the PC box.
Any Idea why I am loosing my power supply?? And what should I do?

My PC configuration is;
1. Asus motherboard
2. Asus graphic card
3. Creative sound card
4. Creative web cam
at the time the power supply was burned the printer, scanner speakers were not connected, My monitor is connected to the mains and not through the PC box (directly connected to the power outlet at the wall)
Regards

Do you know if the burn-out is always in the same part of the PSU, input or output?

If it is always the input side that fails, for example, the mains voltage could be going high in your area, or large motors or other powerful equipment switching on and off could cause voltage spikes. A line conditioner/UPS could be necessary to protect the PSU.

If it's the output side of the PSU that keeps failing, another component, probably on the motherboard, could be going short-circuit & damaging the PSU. For instance, if a motherboard securing screw has been over-tightened, there can be intermittent contact between a voltage supply line and ground in the layers of the board. Faults like this can be hard to find.

Sounds like bad power. Maybe reversed leads, overvoltage, no ground, ground w/voltage on it, a heavy-duty motor on the same circuit? Something's definitely wrong somewhere.

One of the first things I'd do is check the circuit, (or call an electrican). Next would be to install an APC UPS, maybe something like this one:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...Tab=0&NoMapp=0

What brand power supplies are you buying? Are they name brand or generic?

The 2nd one as I mentioned was branded iCute, the third was Sonic Gear
BTW how would I know if it is input or output? I noted that when the PSU fails and every thing stops and when I try to switch on there will be an indication that the cooler fan of the PSU is about to start (slight turn) then stops. And nothing on the MoBo is on

Check to see what is on the same line or fuse in the panel box.

Refrigerators, air conditioners and freezers on the same line as a computer can KILL a computer.
I have replaced ps and mobo because of the feed back from those items.

Fact is a big electric motor in the are you live can cause fatal problems for a computer.

SpywareDr gave a good suggestion. Get a electrican in and have him check things out

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ahmedalmatook

when I try to switch on there will be an indication that the cooler fan of the PSU is about to start (slight turn) then stops. And nothing on the MoBo is on

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Seems like the input side is still functioning, if a capacitor or the rectifier is damaged there will be a bang, or a fuse blow and then nothing at all will happen.

The fan flicking suggests the PSU is trying to start up from standby, and cannot get started. Without measuring voltages on the supply lines, hard to know what is happening.

It could still be damage caused by spikes on the mains, being able to use a UPS would be good to eliminate this as a cause. But it can also be just low quality generic PSUs - even though they are labelled 450W or 600W, sometimes they are just lower powered units inside. Some people have reported being able to peel the label off and find the 350W label underneath...

Ahmed, what's the voltage in Iraq, have you got the voltage switch in the correct position for your countries voltage??

A fair question Philgo, I believe Iraq has 230V, so wrong setting usually results in instant explosion... :)

This could be a poor or non-existant earth (ground) connection, a good earth is essential for computers. I would advise you to get the house electrics checked out, as a poor earth is dangerous, apart from anything else.

And if you have a dirty electrical supply in your part of the world, then a good UPS, as SpywareDr suggested, will clean it up. I like (and use) these ones:

www.apc.com

Dear All,
thank you for the input, I really appreciate it. to answer your questions i will start with the followings;
(Philgo) power supply at my area is 230V with 50Hz.
(Platypus) the PSU is not tempered with I bought it form a reputable outlet and it is under warranty for 1 year (lasted 48 hours).
(Platypus) I checked the fuse inside the PSU and in both PSU's the fuse was intact. main power supply circuit breaker did not trip neither the secondery circuit breaker did not trip as well.
(Train) my Refrigerator is on a separate circuit breaker, My air conditioners were off at the time of the blowout and I don't have a freezer.

I have 3 PC's running and non of the other two experienced this problem.

now none of you gentlemen touched on the issue of why do I feel some kind of electrocution on my fingers when I touch the screws of my PC box? I do believe that this might be the root of the problem[]What I noted that there was some electrical leakage at the PC box, and that is not new to my PC, always there is some power leak I did connect the PC box to the ground []
I will invest in a UPS either an APC or a Blackout buster but please assist me to get into the root of the problem (I am interested in finding the cause rather than a way around it) :)
regards and thanks again

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SuperSparks

This could be a poor or non-existant earth (ground) connection, a good earth is essential for computers. I would advise you to get the house electrics checked out, as a poor earth is dangerous, apart from anything else.

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You forgot me Ahmed!

If you're feeling a tingling when you touch the metallic parts of the cae, then you definitely have earthing problems. You must get your house wiring looked at by an electrician, it is very dangerous to leave it like that - there are electrical shock and fire hazards :eek:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SuperSparks

You forgot me Ahmed!

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:o how can I forget you my Dear friend, but I need to find out about the earthing of my house before I can reply to your question :D

Also that lack of Earth can cause the voltage to get too high and that blows things.
Not a good situation health wise either.

I just came from the repair shop, things dose not seems to be good, the repair man changed the PSU and on his desk the PC started normally and after 3 minutes it shut down instantly (immediate off) now he is dismantling every thing and will reassemble the PC replacing all isolating parts (at the screws) also he mentioned to me that a faulty monitor can cause power to leak to the PC box, Is that possible??

Quote:

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I have 3 PC's running and non of the other two experienced this problem.

now none of you gentlemen touched on the issue of why do I feel some kind of electrocution on my fingers when I touch the screws of my PC box? I do believe that this might be the root of the problem[]What I noted that there was some electrical leakage at the PC box, and that is not new to my PC, always there is some power leak I did connect the PC box to the ground []

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I think Platypus was on the right track, since only one computer is leaking voltage it's inside the computer itself. Check to make sure that there are no extra standoffs in the case that may be touching the backside of the motherboard; also make sure the motherboard has nothing on it that's touching the case. Properly mounted, the motherboard is isolated from the case and shouldn't be grounding the way it seems to be doing. Also--make sure the screws holding the PSU in the case aren't so long that they're entering the PSU and creating a short circuit; make sure any unused outputs from the PSU are covered and not touching something inside the case.

well just came in from the repair shop, they dismantled every thing and reassemble every thing, I gave instruction to replace all motherboard screws (metal) with the plastic spacers.
the problem mentioned earlier of immediate shut down happened again and I told the technician to reset the motherboard BIOS which he did and now the PC is functioning properly, i told him to keep the PC for the rest of the day to monitor it, I will check my monitor for power leakage tonight and see what will happen next.
I will report my findings later.
regards to all

this PC is costing me $$$$$$$$$$$$$ don't know when to stop :mad: one day MoBo the next DVDRW then Heat Tube then PSU now UPS and who knows tomorrow maybe a monitor .... my wife will kill me for sure :(

Dear All
My update on the problem, nothing is wrong with my PC, The power socket which I am using was the source of the problem, on a multi meter when I use the problematic socket out let i can get about 35Volts on the PC Box, while using another socket out let the reading on the voltmeter is close to zero if not zero volts.
losses;
1- PSU under warranty
2- new UPS APC US$150
3- Service Charges US$30
4- ?? for the chargman who will check and rectify my socket outlet

I appreciate your help and advices which led me to solve a problem
Ahmed

Sure glad to hear that problem was found and fixed!

I'm glad it's just the one socket and not the whole house though. It shouldn't cost a fortune to put one socket right anyway.

Bad news :mad:
I lost the power supply again, there was no power leak at the PC box, all othet PC's (two of them) are without a problem, the power outlet was without problem, I was using UPS APC 500AVR with power stabelizer ,
CPU temp was 55 degree, MoBo temp was 48 degree , nothing out of the ordinery , I was just listining to music , I am really down, dont know what else to do

What brand PSU was it Ahmed?

And do you live near any large industrial plants, or any other heavy electrical users?

Nick, 2 other PC's are on in my 2 kids bedrooms almost 24 hours so being next to whatever i dont see a problem in that, beside my TV my decoder is always on.
could it be a motherboard problem?? I started usingthis mobo since September 05 and since then i lost 4 PSU's i am just trying to recall the history of this PC

Update
I claimed warranty for my Asus Mob, replaced the Asus with my old Mobo pending (either another PUS burned or replace the Asus Mobo with a new one) lets wait and see

finally it was confirmed that my Asus motherboard was in fact defected and caused me to loose 5 PSU, I claimed the warranty and they replaced my motherboard with another Asus but with less specs because that was the only available option.

Well that really is unusual. I'm at a loss to think what fault could possibly cause PSU's to continually burn out like that. That really is one for the books.

Thanks for posting back with the answer :)