Help! My tower is burning!

well- at least i think it is. lately there has been a wierd burning smell coming from my tower. i've been shutting it down when i smell it, but i was wondering if anyone had any idea what it is and what i can do about it. i think the fan may be broken. is this the beginning of the end for my little puter?

 

Turn it off, unplug it, and do not turn it on again. Take it to a technician to see if it can be repaired. If you keep using it, you could easily start a fire.

 

Turn it off and open the case. Burnt electronic components are easy to track down so follow your nose and isolate the source of the smell. I would take all the components out and give em a sniff one at a time. No way to tell u what it is from this end unless they invent Smell-o-NetMeeting or something similar.

 

Check your motherboard isn't earthing on the case, put a plasitc bag between the two if it is (it does work!)

 

thanks for your suggestions! i think i fixed it. i basically took it apart and cleaned all the crap out of it (quite an adventure for a novice- who knew there was so many wires in there? ). basically what had happened was it got clogged and the fan wasn't running. it's running ok now and only smells a teeny bit (residual odor). so i guess it'll be ok- keep your fingers crossed.

 

Good job!

Side note: If you were smelling something burning before, it's possible something may be damaged or going to die so just be prepared...