Client's Computer blew up like a light bulb!

[gazza]

I received a phone call from a client the other day, she was telling me that her computer had just blown up and that there was burning smell coming from the computer. I immediately told her to turn the power off at the wall outlet and unplug the computer from the wall and told her that it was probably the power supply that had blown and to bring it to me and I will install a replacement. Anyway she brought the computer to me and yes there was the burning smell coming from the computer, I asked her what had happened and she said she the computer had already been on for about an hour and then she returned to the computer and then heard a bang (like a light bulb makes when they blow).

Okay, so I tested the power supply and to my surprise it was still working and outputting the correct voltages. I then proceeded to inspect the motherboard for blown capacitors but they were all OK, then I checked the PCI-e graphics card and found that one solid state capacitor had blown. I replaced the graphics card with a new one and then proceeded to restart the computer and it would not post at all, nothing, yet there was still power to the system. I then thought that the faulty graphics card may have damaged the cmos settings or the board itself. I then reset the cmos settings by removing the battery on the motherboard for 10 mins and replaced it and rebooted the computer, it posted and booted straight into windows and everything was OK!

I just wanted to know what would cause a solid state capacitor to blow on a graphics card and has anyone else come across this before?

 

[joydivision]

I don't know but is the power supply good enough for the video card? I've seen many white box machines which the PSU is so poor I tell my client I need to change it otherwise I cannot provide a warranty for other work I do.

 

[gazza]

The power supply was a Antec Truepower 550watt, it was connected to PCI-e Inno3D GF 9800GT PCI-E 512MB 256-bit DDR3 graphics card.

 

[NYJimbo]

I just wanted to know what would cause a solid state capacitor to blow on a graphics card and has anyone else come across this before?

Is it REALLY a solid state cap. Many modern electrolytic caps are now in a solid-cap type casing and it can fool you. Look for any cuts or "vents" on the top too.

 

[gazza]

The aluminum casing was blown off the capacitor leaving a black coil. All solid state capacitors use a aluminum casing and not plastic like the old electrolytic type.

 

[trapped]

That's crazy. I recently had my power supply blow up (CoolerMaster UCP900), but without the smell. I went to boot it up and it sounded like a gunshot, followed by no power. Swapped it out for a 700 watt I had laying around and it booted no problem so I RMA'd it. If it was under warranty otherwise I would have loved to open it up to see what blew.

 

[JosephLeo]

I never had an explosion, but believe me when I say that there have been fires before. Mostly bad power supplies and the occasional overclocking experiment...although the overclocking experiments were (except for one) intentional.

 

[vontreigo]

I just wanted to know what would cause a solid state capacitor to blow on a graphics card and has anyone else come across this before?

Yes I have an Nvidia 8500 blow a solid state capacitor. I replaced the capacitor and it works fine.