[Amanda_1981]

Yesterday I noticed that there was this strong smell of smoke that smelled like someone had just burnt out a match, coming from my computer. I looked all around the cords underneath and did not see any smoke so I did not think that much of it. Later on, the smoke smell got worse, (it seemed to be strongest around the monitor area).. so I turned off the computer and unplugged everything and let it cool off overnight because I figured it must have just been over heated. I was off for a good 12 hours or so and so I turned it back on today and did not smell the smoke anymore until about a half hour ago. The same burnt match smell is here again and I cannot figure out where it is coming from except that it seems to be the strongest around the monitor area. Anyone know what I should do? I really cannot afford a new computer and am worried something might be wrong inside the cpu or something.. I am really bad with computers and only have a general knowledge about technical issues with them but I was told by someone that I might have to open up the tower and clean the fan or something? How exactly do I do that? Also anyone have any idea (ball park figure) around how much it would cost to fix if it continues? I have no idea what it smelling like smoke would mean except that maybe I need a new fan? Are those expensive? Should I also be using one of those air can things?

Any tips or advice would greatly be appreciated! Thanks!

[FooZe]

You haven't said what kind of computer or monitor you have so I'm going to be asking questions and proceeding from imagination at first.

Do you have the option of moving the CPU and monitor apart to better determine where the smell is coming from?

Are you sure the smell isn't coming from something like a power strip or power plug? Power strips often contain surge protectors which are designed to sacrifice themselves (and trip the house fuses or breakers in the process) if the line voltage gets really excessive. I've had one surge protector fry that way; afterwards it looked like charcoal inside and smelled like an ashtray only worse. When a cord or plug is in the process of failing it'll often feel warm or hot around the trouble spot.

As soon as I got my latest computer (used, 4 years ago) I looked up the user's guide online, printed a copy, and put it in a binder. The paper copy came in handy when my hard drive failed. The user's guide should have information on how to open the case and how to get to the parts that might need dusting.

Most CPUs have forced-air cooling with one or more fans. Fans can fail (and cause overheating) but if you're familiar with the normal sound of your computer you may notice that something is different. I would think that by the time a CPU or one of its "cards" overheated enough to stink you'd notice lots of other symptoms.

I've only ever used CRT monitors. Those have very high voltages inside so they do have the potential to overheat or arc. I know almost nothing about flat-screen monitors.

Good luck!

[FooZe]

Oh, one other thing: when my hard drive was in the early stages of failing I noticed that it acted better cold than warm. In an attempt to monitor its temperature I downloaded a program called SpeedFan that's designed to detect the presence of temperature sensors in the computer and take a shot at reading what temperatures they show. It seemed to be pretty well behaved on my particular system and to give me some interesting information but I eventually reached the limits of my curiosity and stopped using it. It did take some guesswork and reasoning to use; it can tell you that a particular reading seems to represent a temp sensor but you have to figure out for yourself if the readings make sense and where the sensor might be located. It's a bit of a long shot but if you were to find that the temp sensors in your machine were or weren't going berserk, it just might help you narrow down the source of your problem.