Compaq deskpro PSU go boom. \ VOGONS

Compaq deskpro PSU go boom.

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First post, by LewisRaz

Posted on 2021-03-22, 16:38

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I have had this P2 deskpro in storage for some time until recently I found out the storage area had a massive damp problem so begun to rescue my PCs from there....

Anyway this beauty was part of what was stored there and after being kept warm and dry for a couple of days made a big flashy boom as soon as power was sent to the PSU.

From what I can remember it uses a proprietary power connector for the PSU so I cannot simply replace it.

Is there any sort of adapter or easy fix or is this lovely specimen doomed to scrap?

The monitor from this pic has also died (lets of massive random *clicks* and the screen sortof resets along with them)

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Reply 1 of 6, by LewisRaz

Posted on 2021-03-22, 17:09

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Just found a large amount of them online for less than £10 delivered(after searching the spares part number!)... Seems a no brainer!

I just cracked the PSU open to have a look and could not believe the dust.. I spotted the blown component.

Hopefully it was something in the PSU that cause the pop and the new one doesnt just pop as well.

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Reply 2 of 6, by froller

Posted on 2021-03-22, 17:34

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LewisRaz wrote on 2021-03-22, 17:09:

Hopefully it was something in the PSU that cause the pop and the new one doesnt just pop as well.

Looks like high voltage diodes decided to do some fireworks.
Remove remains, check for short circuit behind them, solder in new ones. Looks pretty simple.

...and clear all that dusty crap out. This is one of the reason why PSUs die.

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Reply 3 of 6, by weedeewee

Posted on 2021-03-22, 17:55

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LewisRaz wrote on 2021-03-22, 17:09:

Just found a large amount of them online for less than £10 delivered(after searching the spares part number!)... Seems a no brainer!

I just cracked the PSU open to have a look and could not believe the dust.. I spotted the blown component.

Hopefully it was something in the PSU that cause the pop and the new one doesnt just pop as well.

Wait! Oh that's the inside of the PSU. I thought you accidentally posted a photograph of your cellar. 😁

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Reply 4 of 6, by mkarcher

Posted on 2021-03-23, 08:44

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LewisRaz wrote on 2021-03-22, 17:09:

I just cracked the PSU open to have a look and could not believe the dust.. I spotted the blown component.

Hopefully it was something in the PSU that cause the pop and the new one doesnt just pop as well.

Moist dust is slightly conductive. The high voltage area of the supply has traces with 300V between them separated by just a couple of millimeters. If the dust between two pins of neighbouring componets enables a spark to jump over, it might very well blow the supply. I guess that's what happened here. Check the replacement supply before you connect it to AC voltage, and if it looks similar, clean it before you connect it.

Reply 5 of 6, by Pierre32

Posted on 2021-03-23, 08:49

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LewisRaz wrote on 2021-03-22, 17:09:

Just found a large amount of them online for less than £10 delivered(after searching the spares part number!)... Seems a no brainer!

I just cracked the PSU open to have a look and could not believe the dust.. I spotted the blown component.

Hopefully it was something in the PSU that cause the pop and the new one doesnt just pop as well.

Yikes, a very good advertisement for inspecting PSU internals before applying juice! Hope you get it sorted.

Reply 6 of 6, by Woody72

Posted on 2021-03-23, 11:54

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I've got a couple of similar Compaq machines in my office awaiting recycling. Happy to snag the PSUs if anyone needs them?

Modern PC: i7-9700KF, 16GB memory, RTX 3060. Proper PC: Pentium 200 MMX, 128MB EDO memory, GeForce2 MX(200).

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