So my son moved his PC, and after setting it up again, there was no power—just a quick flash from the motherboard. We tested the usual suspects and figured it might be the power supply unit (PSU). He might have unplugged it a bit too carelessly, who knows. This morning, I got a new PSU to swap in for the old one. I plugged it in, checked all the connections, and powered it up. At first, it seemed like it was booting, but then it really lit up—there was smoke and even a little flame coming from the motherboard! What could have happened here?
2 Answers
Did you reuse the old cables that came with the first PSU? That's a common mistake because modular cables aren't universal. They can be wired differently even if they fit, which might have caused the problem when you hooked up the new PSU.
Yeah, the new PSU wasn't modular, so I didn't reuse the old cables.
It’s possible that a clip or screw fell between the motherboard and the case during the move. When you first turned it on, the old PSU might have shorted out to protect itself. Maybe the new PSU didn’t have that protection and the motherboard ended up frying instead.
Definitely, modular cables can be quite tricky! It’s best to use the ones that come with the PSU for sure.