My computer just did an impersonation of an exploding lemming!

Started by Prob Lem, June 27, 2014, 11:53:23 PM

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Prob Lem

I'm writing this from my laptop. My desktop box, which has always behaved a little oddly even from new, and has never been particularly happy in warmer weather (which we've got like hell here right now, and which I always figured was just one of those things), let out the magic smoke a couple of hours ago. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/shocked.gif" alt=":o" title="Shocked" class="smiley" />

I've never experienced anything like this before, and whilst I've heard stories about how bad the smoke from a burned-out component smells, I had no idea how nasty it really is. The smell's gone now, but yeuch! It was awful. Of course, the only difference between this and an exploding lemming is that *I* was the one shouting "Oh no!". http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" />

I've got my laptop and a recent backup of my stuff, so my attendance here, and my productivity, shouldn't be affected much. Luckily, I uploaded my Lix levels here earlier, and they're about the only other thing I did since my last backup.

I guess now's as good a time as any to finally move my desktop box to being ARM-based, as I'd promised myself I would when this one came to the end of its working life. I just wasn't expecting the machine to go out with a bang! http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/shocked.gif" alt=":o" title="Shocked" class="smiley" />

NaOH

Yikes! You should see if you can recover the hard drive and plug it into your next computer. I have a chain of several hard drives in my current computer, all from previous incarnations that have gone the way of the dodo lemming. It's actually kind of crowded in there...

Good luck sorting this out!

mobius

depending on what exactly happened your computer might still be salvageable. If only that one component was damaged it could be replaced. (I would guess CPU or power supply)

this guys has tons of videos detailing a lot about internal computer repair; [which may or may not be helpful to you]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24TrbD94QLQ&list=PLB8F7DF0E2DE523AD" class="bbc_link" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24TrbD94QLQ&list=PLB8F7DF0E2DE523AD
everything by me: https://www.lemmingsforums.net/index.php?topic=5982.msg96035#msg96035

"Not knowing how near the truth is, we seek it far away."
-Hakuin Ekaku

"I have seen a heap of trouble in my life, and most of it has never come to pass" - Mark Twain


namida

One of my old ones did this (or something similar); it turned out everything except the power supply, motherboard and CPU was still usable. Not that any of it was of much use by that point, apart from the floppy drive since it had recently been replaced itself, and of course the hard drive for recovering data.
My projects
2D Lemmings: NeoLemmix (engine) | Lemmings Plus Series (level packs) | Doomsday Lemmings (level pack)
3D Lemmings: Loap (engine) | L3DEdit (level / graphics editor) | L3DUtils (replay / etc utility) | Lemmings Plus 3D (level pack)
Non-Lemmings: Commander Keen: Galaxy Reimagined (a Commander Keen fangame)

Prob Lem

@NaOH - That's the plan. I'm going to open it up in a couple of days' time (I don't want to do it now, because it'll only let out more of that godawful smell http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/tongue.gif" alt=":P" title="Tongue" class="smiley" /> ) and retrieve it. Then I'll know what connection type it's using so I can order the correct gear to hook it up via USB and clone it, assuming it's survived (see below for why I'm iffy on whether it even has). I'm considering cloning the drive onto my laptop for the time being, while I consider my options for a new machine for my desk. I'm not too inclined to go for an x86 box again, though!

@möbius - Thanks for the links. That said, after that huge bang and the brief lighting up like a furnace, I'm honestly not expecting much to be ok in there! http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/shocked.gif" alt=":o" title="Shocked" class="smiley" />

@namida - Honestly, this thing's been a bit of a dud since day one (I blame my relative lack of experience with desktop machines for my not noticing the signs - I've generally favoured portable hardware, to date, and would have easily spotted a lemon there) - I really think I'd be better off cutting my losses, especially since, given the above, I doubt the chances of much still being usable are good! I mean, hell, its optical drive (probably the only thing worth keeping apart from the HDD) is labelled as a "Super WriteMaster SpeedPlus", which, I can tell you, is a total lie on all fronts - of all such drives I've ever encountered, it's been the most finnicky about what media it will burn to, and it's also been way slower than my very first 8x speed CD-ROM burner was. Super WriteMaster SpeedPlus, indeed... http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/angry.gif" alt=">:(" title="Angry" class="smiley" /> That's just one example of its eternal dudness. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" />

Prob Lem

I retrieved the hard drive earlier today. Not good news, unfortunately.

The whole casing still smelled from the explosion that took place therein. I didn't see a mark on anything at first, though, and tried not to disturb too many of the contents in case it sent more of the stench around. Opening the case alone did enough of that, after all.

As I went to disconnect the HDD cabling, the connector felt strange - it turns out it was half-dessicated, and it crumbled as I pulled it away from the drive (my hands were coated in this black scorched stuff, and I had to go and wash off the stench of burnt electrical death afterwards; The black stuff came right off, but it took a couple of washes for the overpowering smell to fully go away). After I got the drive out, I saw that a large chunk of the PCB on its underside was scorched. It's not worth the risk of hooking it up, so I'm glad that I had an up-to-date backup. The few files that it was behind by can easily be re-obtained from my other half and some relatives (some photos I didn't yet have on my backup drive), and from Amazon MP3 and Google Play Music (some music files I'd bought), and I already re-grabbed my two Lix levels from here yesterday - I'm really glad I uploaded them when I did, now!

I now understand roughly what must've happened. As I'd suspected, the power supply went loco. It was suggested to me that it may have had dud capacitors within which would have caused this to occur, and I'm guessing that that was indeed the case, because by the looks of it, it sent a massive charge into everything that was connected to it, wrecking the whole lot.

I've decided to stick with docking my laptop into my USB hub (to which is connected my keyboard, trackball, joypad, and now my ex-backup HDD), speakers, and monitor, as I have been doing for the last few evenings, as I'm getting on really well with this. This saves me hassle and money of dealing with another box for my desk, regardless of architecture, and means I only need to get a new backup HDD, now. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/thumbsup.gif" alt=":thumbsup:" title="Thumbs Up" class="smiley" />

GuyPerfect

It's not worth the risk of hooking it up, so I'm glad that I had an up-to-date backup.

I'm so glad you didn't have to learn that the hard way. Sooooooooooo many people learn that the hard way.

Prob Lem

http://www.lemmingsforums.com/index.php?topic=1020.msg21072#msg21072">Quote from: GuyPerfect on 2014-06-30 17:20:42
It's not worth the risk of hooking it up, so I'm glad that I had an up-to-date backup.

I'm so glad you didn't have to learn that the hard way. Sooooooooooo many people learn that the hard way.
Yeah, I know... http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/sad.gif" alt=":(" title="Sad" class="smiley" /> I've seen some folks learn it the hard way.

I used to be rather lax about it, but a horrid noise coming from a laptop that I had many years ago got me into good habits quick-sharp. I'd thought it was an impending hard drive failure, but it turned out to be a fan problem which was easily fixed. http://www.lemmingsforums.com/Smileys/lemmings/laugh.gif" alt=":D" title="Laugh" class="smiley" /> I never got out of the habit of making regular backups, after that.