i-pac4 started smokin'!

[BigBri]

I just recieved my new i-pac4 because my old one was giving me problems.  Well, it started smokin'!  I'm guessing that the problem isn't the ipac but my computer.  Maybe my power supply?  What would cause this?  I was thinking about getting a new mobo and power supply.  What do you guys think?

bigbri

[pointdablame]

you'd have to have some crazy voltage readings on that PSU to get the Ipac to smoke. Is it an off brand PSU? I really doubt that it's the PSU though since it would have fried a PS/2 or USB peripheral *the Ipac* but nothing in the actual case. If it was a PSU issue, you would probably have other hardware smoking as well, and quite probably sooner than any peripherals.

Was the Ipac mounted properly, i.e. not shorting out on anything?

Like I said, it COULD be the PSU, but I highly doubt it. It's not very often  you hear of a mouse frying because of a PSU but the computer itself is fine.

[DAmnb]

Sounds more like you cocked up some wiring there or pointdablame said a short on the actual IPAC.
Do you have any weird stuff connected to it besides the normal sticks and buttons?

[BigBri]

this is what happened....installed xp pro(full)  the install took forever.  well, after trying to find out why xp took 10 minutes to boot, i found out my hard drive was dying.  my sb card was dead too.  got a new hard drive, installed everything, found out that my ipac was acting funny.  i decided to buy another ipac.  i hooked up on microswitch just to test.  it was still acting funny.  funny meaning i would press the button once and sometimes it would register 2 or 3 times (on notepad)  it never did that before the install of xp (i had 98).  well after a few minutes of installing the new ipac, i noticed smoke.  i disconnected immediately.  btw, the brand of power supply is codegen i guess, and the mobo is ecs.   i recently purchased a 400w ps and an asus mobo.  (like an hour ago on ebay)  well, that's my story.  

[pointdablame]

ok well your install of XP didn't make things smoke, so I'm sure that's just a coincidence. Microsoft may not be popular in some people's books, but their software definitley doesn't make parts fry.

I've never heard of codegen before, that PSU very well could be your problem. Check your lines with a multimeter, or at least in your BIOS *trust the multimeter more*.  If your hard drive and sound card died, your PSU could be the culprit. I would take that thing out right now in case that is the problem, because it very well could be destroying your new hardware.

As for the Ipac, I am still very hesitant that it is the PSU. It could be indirectly caused by the PSU, but to have enough juice flow through the PS/2 port or USB port to make the Ipac smoke, you would probably have to fry every component in your system. Try a new power supply and see if that fixes it. It could be that the Ipac freaked out because of a lack of electricity as well, but again, I'm just not sure.

[SirPoonga]

I'd also email Andy at ultimarcade!

[grafixmonkey]

could you tell what part of it was smoking?  the chips?  or something else?

I know if you reverse power to a chip like that it starts smoking, but I can't figure out how you'd do that with a USB or PS2 plug.

[TheGatesofBill]

Reverse power eh? This may sound stupid, but if nothing else works check your house wiring. When I first moved in to my current house, all the outlets were wired backwards (and using the wrong color wire too), and the phones are still messed up.

[BigBri]

well, like i said my old ipac was working great for a long time.  i don't think it's the wiring in my house.  i also use a surge protector.  i'm just waiting for my new power supply and mobo.  andy told me to return it and they will fix it.

[grafixmonkey]

Reverse power eh? This may sound stupid, but if nothing else works check your house wiring. When I first moved in to my current house, all the outlets were wired backwards (and using the wrong color wire too), and the phones are still messed up.

The effects of house wiring being backwards are usually pretty minimal, since it's AC.  Usually the only problem you have is you might assume a wire is neutral and buzz yourself while wiring, not that you should ever have the power on while you're working with your outlets.  Audio equipment and more sensitive stuff might have some undesired noise or something...  but nothing will start smoking.

Reverse powering would be applying the 5v lead to the ground pin of the chip, and the ground lead to the 5v pin of the chip...  I think it would be difficult to do unless you had taken apart the wires in the plug and reassembled them for some custom circuit.

Another possibility is the wires going from the USB plug on your case to the usb pins on your motherboard.  If those are mixed up, plugged in upside down, plugged in one pin off to the side, or anything like that, you would likely reverse power the chips on the ipac and it would indeed start smoking.