Power Supply

[Train]

Okay, first off, I'm not a "computer guy". I'm just not afraid to try to fix things. Hope someone can help.

Son went to use the computer,said it started up but he could smell something funny so he shut it down right away. When I tried to check it, it wouldn't start at all. Thought it must be the power supply. Put in a new one, reconnect everything, nothing. Now I start to fiddle. If I unplug the power to the hard drive, the fans all turn on and it starts to beep. I tried different combinations of "plug in this unplug that" and plugging into the hard drive is the only thing that stops it. Next I tried the same thing with the old power supply and it's deffinetly dead. Anyone have any idea what might be wrong?

One other thing, when everything is plugged in and I try to start it, you can see the fans jump at first but then nothing.

Train

[agarath]

It's kind of hard not knowing what the specs of your computer or the power supply are. If you bought this computer second hand or from a "Mom & Pop" store it may have an inferior power supply. Its a favorite way to trim to increase profit. And power supplies are subject to age, and wear and tear (power surges sags etc.)
Please post the make of the power supply and the basic items that are in the computer. This is what I mean:
Power supply make and output (usually on the visible side)
1- Mother board-unknown type
1-cpu- (type& speed)
x-sticks of ram (if you know the type & speed great
1-video card (what type or speed would help)
x-cd-rom DvD-rom devices
x- any other cards in the computer?

Ask the kid if he knows, I bet he does....(I knew more about our computers two days after I had the net than my Dad EVER did.)

If you have a spare hard drive, try that. It may be a hard drive failure. But as you mention a "funny smell" thats probably what goes on. A decent power supply is pretty cheap compared to the damage a cheap one can cause. Usually an older (2-5 years) system shouldn't have any problems with a 350w power supply meeting all of its needs.
Try to stick with a well known brand. My favorite is Enermax

[Bryce W]

When you have the harddrive unplugged, does anything ever come up on the screen? If so, at what point does it stop? does it have any error messages?

Since the computer is still playing up after replacing the Powersupply the problem will most likely lie with the harddrive (assuming picture shows up while its unplugged) or with the motherboard (assuming nothing comes up on the screen but fans/lights start).