White Smoke after PC Upgrade

[Skyferia]

I upgraded my build to this:

CORE i5-6600 Skylake
MSI B150M MORTAR
2x Kingston 8GB DDR4 2133MHz Value RAM
KINGSTON HYPERX SAVAGE 240GB SATA3 SSD (Windows 10 here)
4x SATA HDD - MAINTAINED FROM PREVIOUS!
ATI Radeon™ HD 5770 - MAINTAINED FROM PREVIOUS!
Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus 500W - MAINTAINED FROM PREVIOUS!

What happened after power on: White smoke -> When enter Windows 10, only the SSD was able to be read.

What should I do?

[camerongray]

First thing is to not use the machine until you find the problem, hopefully you unplugged the machine as soon as you saw the smoke. Running the machine in its current state risks causing more damage/having something catch fire.

What you need to do now is find what part caused the smoke, best thing to do is smell around and see if you can locate it that way.  Then check for any obviously burned components, and power supply cables/connectors.  If you saw where the smoke was coming from, focus on that area.

Are you using any sort of power adapters such as SATA splitters or molex to SATA cables to connect all those drives up?  I presume you must be as that PSU only has 4 SATA connectors. It's not unknown for cheap power adapters to short out and melt.

[Skyferia]

First thing is to not use the machine until you find the problem, hopefully you unplugged the machine as soon as you saw the smoke. Running the machine in its current state risks causing more damage/having something catch fire.

Yes I did, immediately, searched for the source but everything looks clean so I was confused.

What you need to do now is find what part caused the smoke, best thing to do is smell around and see if you can locate it that way.  Then check for any obviously burned components, and power supply cables/connectors.  If you saw where the smoke was coming from, focus on that area.

The smoke dissipated as soon as I switched off -> unplugged -> removed cover of case so I could find the source but couldn't. So what I did is to wait awhile till the smell is lesser, reconnected the wires, then started the PC, it entered Windows nicely but well, see below (the question marks @ the left @ the 3 drives):

image upload no limit

Are you using any sort of power adapters such as SATA splitters or molex to SATA cables to connect all those drives up?  I presume you must be as that PSU only has 4 SATA connectors. It's not unknown for cheap power adapters to short out and melt.

Yes I am using both SATA splitters & molex-SATA cables. They are still connected now. Could the connections be incorrect?

[DaveLembke]

A system that smokes and boots( still functions ), its likely a capacitor that blew its top and smoked off the electrolyte. Look for capacitor tops on main board as well as with power supply unplugged from power, 9 times out of 10 its a power supply capacitor, and if your careful you can open the power supply ( with powercord disconnected ) and inspect capacitor tops. Most have an X on to the top of them where when pressure builds they pop open at the X or bulge up and vent and smoke.

Lesser probable would be capacitor on video card. But given white smoke Im betting on the power supply losing one of its capacitors. The danger with running it with a bad capacitor is that the ripple could be severe enough to damage main board components.

[BC_Programmer]

I'm leaning towards the Power adapters, myself. It is the only reasonable explanation that I can think of where the drives in question would be missing but everything else otherwise fine.

From what I'm aware, the most common place to short is at the drive connection itself. Most of the images I've seen of this happening have destroyed the drive but in this case since it wasn't obviously it might be less mangled and simply preventing the drive(s) from receiving power.

[Skyferia]

A system that smokes and boots( still functions ), its likely a capacitor that blew its top and smoked off the electrolyte. Look for capacitor tops on main board as well as with power supply unplugged from power, 9 times out of 10 its a power supply capacitor, and if your careful you can open the power supply ( with powercord disconnected ) and inspect capacitor tops. Most have an X on to the top of them where when pressure builds they pop open at the X or bulge up and vent and smoke.

If it were the capacitor (not power supply, but motherboard etc.), I don't see it:

I'm leaning towards the Power adapters, myself. It is the only reasonable explanation that I can think of where the drives in question would be missing but everything else otherwise fine.

From what I'm aware, the most common place to short is at the drive connection itself. Most of the images I've seen of this happening have destroyed the drive but in this case since it wasn't obviously it might be less mangled and simply preventing the drive(s) from receiving power.

Alright, assuming the source of burn was the PSU, can you recommend a good one? Since the current one seem to have bad reviews, I'll be changing it in the future anyway.

Lesser probable would be capacitor on video card. But given white smoke Im betting on the power supply losing one of its capacitors. The danger with running it with a bad capacitor is that the ripple could be severe enough to damage main board components.

I really doubt it's the video card, since I'm using it right now and it functions as before.

[Geek-9pm]

White smoke comes from something link paper or grease. Bl;ack smoke comes from some plastics. Was it more like blue-gray smoke? That is Polyvinyl chloride
FIRE & POLYVINYL CHLORIDE 

[Skyferia]

Blue-grey then, I don't fully remember, I remember seeing smoke that is white-ish. What if it's polyvinyl chloride then?

[Geek-9pm]

That would be a wire that has overheated due to very high current level. Fix the problem and it will stop. because polyvinyl chloride does not burn by itself.
But if it is the core in the PSU, you will have to replace the PSU. Once the core begins to smoke, the damage is permanent and it will give you trouble. The PSU shooed shut down whenever there is an overload. even after the
If grease had been split on the motherboard,you will have to clean it off with alcohol and water. Rubbing Alcohol will do nice job
Also, a fusible device will give of smoke, but just for a beef second.

[patio]

With upgraded (and not cheap) new components i probably wouldn't use power connector adapters...
Make a list of all connections needed and buy a decent Modular PSU for it...

[Computer_Commando]

I upgraded my build to this:What happened after power on: White smoke -> When enter Windows 10, only the SSD was able to be read.

What should I do?

HDD is dead.  Motor locked up & burned out.  Remove it & sniff it.

[Skyferia]

That would be a wire that has overheated due to very high current level. Fix the problem and it will stop. because polyvinyl chloride does not burn by itself.
But if it is the core in the PSU, you will have to replace the PSU. Once the core begins to smoke, the damage is permanent and it will give you trouble. The PSU shooed shut down whenever there is an overload. even after the
If grease had been split on the motherboard,you will have to clean it off with alcohol and water. Rubbing Alcohol will do nice job
Also, a fusible device will give of smoke, but just for a beef second.

I'm ok with replacing the PSU. What would you recommend? And can that rubbing alcohol be applied to both sides of the motherboard?
Sorry, I don't really understand your last sentence, can you elaborate?

With upgraded (and not cheap) new components i probably wouldn't use power connector adapters...
Make a list of all connections needed and buy a decent Modular PSU for it...

Why not @ the power connector adapters? What decent modular PSU would you recommend?

HDD is dead.  Motor locked up & burned out.  Remove it & sniff it.

You sound confident; and sorry, what motor?

[Geek-9pm]

RE: Quote from: Computer_Commando recommends you replace the  Hard drive and I agree. R place it with the same type and same or slightly larger size.

The hard drive motor can burn up. Really. And suck lots of power.

Apparently the PSU you have does not have any fuse in it. It should have clown. Did you or somebody else every make repairs to the PSU?
 

[BC_Programmer]

HDD is dead.  Motor locked up & burned out. 

All four of them?

[patio]

 

[Skyferia]

RE: Quote from: Computer_Commando recommends you replace the  Hard drive and I agree. R place it with the same type and same or slightly larger size.

The hard drive motor can burn up. Really. And suck lots of power.

Apparently the PSU you have does not have any fuse in it. It should have clown. Did you or somebody else every make repairs to the PSU?

WHAT?! Who makes one without fuse... no to the repair, and I rather change it knowing that most of the fault origin possibilities point to the PSU. Perhaps you meant blown, not clown. If so, I connected my PC to a voltage regulator, so that if it exceeds a certain threshold, current cuts of immediately, which it did at the time of smoke.

All four of them?

Yes, all 4, I still find it strange on why only them and not the rest, not even the SSD -- which is good but, any idea why?

Your point?

[Geek-9pm]

I did not mean to clown. 
A standard HDD can stall, catch fire and draw huge current from the PSU. Rare, but it happens because it can happen.
To make a wire smoke requires a current much greater than the 30 amp limit given to a single wire. Unless the wire was defective already.

[BC_Programmer]

Yes, all 4, I still find it strange on why only them and not the rest, not even the SSD -- which is good but, any idea why?

Sorry, that was a response to Computer_Commando who suggested that the HDD is dead and the motor burned out. I can see that on a single drive, but happening to 4 simultaneously seems less likely, so I think he may have missed that detail. (That, and the suggestion wasn't plural)

Have you removed the Hard drives to inspect if there is any physical damage to the power plugs or the logic board of the HDD? When the system is turned on, Do you hear those Hard drives spin up at all? Do you have another PC or external enclosure/adapter that you can use to see if the drive works elsewhere?

teardown images of the PSU I can find show it has what appears to be a self-resetting poly fuse, not a filament, which is relatively common.

[Skyferia]

 I changed my power supply, now everything is fine EXCEPT for:

 - 1/4 of my HDD unable to be read completely, the ST3320613AS ATA HDD; the rest, including my SSD works fine.


What I found out:

 - One of my power cables was lightly burnt (changed to a new one)
 - My (previous) PSU was slightly damaged

I also have this problem:

[DaveLembke]

Whats the other problem? It appears that content is missing here...

I also have this problem:

[BC_Programmer]

Excellent, sounds like only one dried actually died. Were they in a RAID configuration? I suppose that would explain the question marks visible before.

As to the new issue, those files are without a doubt malware components.

[strollin]

... if your careful you can open the power supply ( with powercord disconnected ) and inspect capacitor tops. Most have an X on to the top of them where when pressure builds they pop open at the X or bulge up and vent and smoke.  ...

Holy cow!  Please don't ever open the power supply case.  Leave that to qualified people.  Lethal voltages can still exist within the power supply,even after the power has been disconnected.  The inside of the power supply is NOT designed to be user serviceable.

[DaveLembke]

Lethal voltages can still exist within the power supply,even after the power has been disconnected.  The inside of the power supply is NOT designed to be user serviceable.

To clarify... when you open a power supply if you chose to do so at own risk... your just looking at the top of the PCB, inspecting capacitor tops. When opening a power supply removing the screws that hold the clam shell of the power supply together, you will end up with one half that has the PCB and other half is a lid. If really careful you can with power cord disconnected inspect it without sticking your fingers touching the internal parts on the power supply.

I have tested a few power supplies years ago to see if they stored any lethal voltages and the primary side electronics drain out quickly, and low voltage DC 12 volts or less drain out slowly. Power supplies have a drain on the line/primary side electronics as a safety to drain out high voltage. Its best to assume that there is no safety (drain) circuit, and be safe than to assume that the power supplies safety that will protect you.

Here is a schematic and R1 is the drain on the primary side to drain out the high voltage capacitors when power cord is disconnected: http://www.eleccircuit.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/200w-pc-power-supply-110v-220v-by-tl494.jpg

If you chose to inspect the power supply you have been warned that it could be dangerous. CH and members here not liable for any damages or death. Just like a gun I treat all electronics as if they are loaded ready to kill. If you do the same you should be fine. If in doubt about voltages present a multimeter can be used to test across capacitor legs before touching them. But if there is no need to touch them...DONT. Additionally power supplies are designed in most computers to have the component side exposed and the trace and dangerous component legs hidden on the bottom. So you would have to be very careless to get mixed up with a voltage discharge in a modern PC power supply. Additional PPE measures can be implemented such as handwear of dry leather gloves etc as well.

If your at all scared about looking into the power supply then dont.

Here is a picture of a common PC power supply. When opening the case this is what you would see, something very similar to this. as long as you dont go touching the inside parts or poking metal tools into the inside parts, you will be ok. http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviewimages/corsair-cx600m-psu/corsair-cx600m-psu_pcb-full.jpg

* MAKE SURE POWER CORD IS DISCONNECTED FROM BACK OF POWER SUPPLY, NOT JUST UNPLUGGED FROM WALL IF YOU DECIDE TO INSPECT!
Failure to unplug the wrong plug can lead to death! But knowing the power cord to the power supply itself disconnected, you then know that the power supply is not being powered!

If you chose to open power supply, your doing it at own risk, and you fully assume all liabilities as a result there of. None of this is a statement that you must do this etc. Its just if you chose to do so, be very careful.

[strollin]

One of the reasons why computers are relatively safe for non-technical people to work on them is that all lethal voltages are contained within the metal case of the power supply.  None of the voltages on the output end of the power supply (12vdc & 5Vdc) are high enough to electrocute anyone.  However, when the power supply case is breached, all bets are off as there are lethal voltages within the case.  You can't predict for sure that the voltages held in the various capacitors will bleed quickly or not.

Telling someone to open the case and "just take a look" is dangerous in that if they find a burnt cap, what do they do then?  Maybe your intention would be for them to take it to a qualified tech to have the burnt cap replaced.  However, since they've already got the case open, they may attempt to replace the cap themselves which could get them injured.

I'm sure you know what you're doing Dave, so if you wish to open the case go ahead, I am just cautioning against suggesting that non-techies do so.

I worked for quite a few years as an electronics technician so feel I am qualified to open the case but don't bother opening it anyway, as I feel it isn't worth the effort.  If a power supply of mine dies that isn't under warranty, I simply replace it since they aren't that expensive.

[Skyferia]

Thanks for all your help! As for that last error, I fixed it with a clean install of Windows 10 (needed to do that anyway for UEFI). However, now I'm facing with this error: http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,156283.0.html