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The problem is as follows: I just got my dad's computer and have (had) a bunch of MBs, AM2 processor standing out.

His AGP slot had some problems and the computer refused to start with a video card other than the on-board card.

1 week before:

  • MB1 - processor 1 - power 2 => perfectly working
  • MB2 - processor 3 - power 3 => perfectly working
  • MB3 - processor 3 - power 2/3 => perfectly working

Replaced his MB with a mb of mine (MB1), but left his power supply (which to be honest, apart from the 24-pin connector had another one with 4 pins connected to his MB) and tried it.... The results are as follows.

MB 1:

  • processor 1 - power 1 => smells burnt and make annoying sound (possibly mb voltage regulators)
  • processor 2 - power 1 => same
  • processor 2 - power 2 => same

Replaced MB1 with another MB of mine.

MB 2:

  • processor 2 - power 3 => smells burnt and runs for a couple of seconds
  • processor 3 - power 3 => smells burnt
  • processor 2 - power 2 => same
  • processor 4 - power 2 => smells burnt instantly

And finally changed everything except the power 2 (which was perfectly ok 1 week before)

MB 3:

  • processor 4 - power 2 => smells burnt

Is it possible that power 1 burnt MB 1 which in turn burnt processor 2 and power 2 which in turn burnt MB 2 and 4 and processor 4?

I know it sounds crazy, but is it possible to get them burnt in chain???

I'm very curious what I got wrong, because I now have 4 MB, 4 CPU, and 2 PSU apparently broken, and I don't want to burn the last ones.

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Are you sure that the surface you are using isn't conductive? You can test power supplies without having to have a motherboard attached, google for more info (it usually involves attaching a hard drive for some baseline load and bridging two pins on the ATX plug). – Ruairi Fullam Jul 6 '11 at 14:27
I'm testing on the carpet – Andrei Jul 6 '11 at 14:31
Carpet = static electricity = fried components. I would at this point put everything down and solicit the services of a professional. – ultrasawblade Jul 6 '11 at 15:37
It's hairless carpet... It can't generate any... – Andrei Jul 6 '11 at 17:14
Does your mainboard has some configuration jumpers for cpu bus ratio and stuff like that? – Sean87 Jul 31 '11 at 17:45
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1 Answer

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If a motherboard has faulty power circuitry, it can very well burn several processors. Processors burning motherboard? Sounds very unlikely.

Start by testing the power supplies independently: "To test the basic function of an ATX power supply, short the Green wire with one of the grounds. This should turn the power supply on." http://wiki.xtronics.com/index.php/ATX_Pinout#Testing_ATX_power_supplies

When doing this, put some load, like a fan or hard drive, to the power supply just to be on the safe side.

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