[SOLVED] Burning Smell Can SSD Destroy PSU?

[boosbear]

Just the other day I smelled a burning smell from my desktop while doing some hw on google docs. I turned off the computer, it didn’t crash. I went to google potential problems and by the time I came back to the computer the smell was gone.

I tried swapping out the psu for my friend’s and it worked fine with no burning smell. So I bought a new psu, verified it worked with the little 24-pin tester, and plugged it in. Pc doesn’t boot. I remove everything but the cpu and 1 stick of ram, pc boots. Add back in 2nd stick of ram, still boots. Add in my nvme and sata storage drives, does not boot.

Then I remove the storage drives and try again, does not boot even though it did before. I go to sleep and try again in the morning, and does not boot. I tried the 24-pin psu tester, and the fan does not turn. Really strange to ask this, but could plugging in my SSDs or HDD destroy the psu?

Or maybe this is a red herring and I have a bad mobo or cpu cooler that makes me boot only sometimes?

UPDATE Tested the psu again and the fan spins, but still doesnt boot.

 

[Eximo]

A bad component may be causing a short or have an internal short that is drawing way too much current. PSU should prevent start to protect itself. So you might be seeing 12V output to spin the fans, but not the lower voltages if the 5V or 3.3V output has been shorted.

A good PSU should survive this, but might blow an internal fuse.

Shorted power supply cables can also cause issues. I have seen a computer that would boot into the BIOS, even try and start Windows, but would restart. It was a bad SATA power cable with a small short in it. My guess was it wasn't drawing much power until the USB controller kicked in or something.

 

[rickypicky5]

What is the make and model of your new PSU?

 

[boosbear]

What is the make and model of your new PSU?

EVGA supernova 750 GT

 

[boosbear]

A bad component may be causing a short or have an internal short that is drawing way too much current. PSU should prevent start to protect itself. So you might be seeing 12V output to spin the fans, but not the lower voltages if the 5V or 3.3V output has been shorted.

A good PSU should survive this, but might blow an internal fuse.

Shorted power supply cables can also cause issues. I have seen a computer that would boot into the BIOS, even try and start Windows, but would restart. It was a bad SATA power cable with a small short in it. My guess was it wasn't drawing much power until the USB controller kicked in or something.

Thing is that it won’t boot anymore even with no drives connected. and the psu fan doesn’t seem to turn on now...not sure what’s going on with that. Do you think it is a shorted SSD/HDD that damaged the mobo and/or psu?

Im considering replacing parts one by one, sata cable, mobo/cpu, drives, but I’m a bit concerned about the new parts getting damaged. If say an SSD were shorted, could it have a domino effect shorting the psu and mobo, then when I replace the SSD the psu/mobo shorts the new SSD?

I hope at least the gpu is okay, would be killer to have to replace that in today’s market.

 

[Eximo]

Sadly only one way to find out...

 

[Jacozeelie]

A psu should shut down when a short is detected, not boot at all. If there is a short and still switches on, there is something wrong with the psu

 

[geofelt]

First of all, psu testers are only good to verify that a psu is dead,
They cannot verify proper operation.
Your EVGA supernova 750 GT is a good quality unit, and I would assume that it is functioning properly.
Particularly since it once did so.

Define what you mean by "boot" better.
I think you mean that the bios will show.
Others may mean that windows shows up.

A burning smell long after installation is a bad symptom.
A new product may smell a bit from solder flux burning off; not a problem.
I think it possible that some component of your motherboard has been damaged.
If the m.2 device is what causes the problem, then I would suspect a motherboard problem.

Look for a short in the sata cables.

 

[Eximo]

A psu should shut down when a short is detected, not boot at all. If there is a short and still switches on, there is something wrong with the psu

Depends on the nature of the short. A voltage rail directly to ground will certainly trip the OCP. But a an internal short in silicon or through another damaged component can draw a lot of current, but not a huge amount. Hopefully UVP kicks in at that point and shuts the PSU down before it overheats from delivering too much power.

Certainly had a few situations with a short where the system even still booted (to a point), and in one case, operated normally. SATA cable short that allowed it to try and boot Windows, until something flipped on, my guess is still USB. And my favorite, a CPU that drew enough current to melt the ATX connector but was still fully operational.