Ted, a "smell" is more likely to be a capacitor or
coil/transformer that overheated, or transistor, etc.  Usually
the fuse in a PC power supply isn't going to make much of a
smell.  Most of the time these fuses are hard wired into the
PCB of the power supply, and replacing them is more of a pain
that just "popping them out" if they are the clip-in type.  If
they are the latter, they are easy to replace.  Due to the
smell though, I would think that if you have a blown fuse, it
will probably blow again due to a bad component.

You don't mention the make/model of the PC or if it's custom
built, or what type of supply it is.  If this an ATX supply,
you have to hook it back up the mobo in order to test it
(unless you happen to have an ATX tester).  If it's AT, you can
turn it on without hooking it back up to the mobo.  If it's a
custom built PC without a proprietary supply and a typical
case, any standard ATX (or AT if it's AT) will work.  If it's a
name brand PC, you're more than likely are going to have get an
exact replacement from the maker because most of those type
power supplies are "oddball" and proprietary.  You don't say
what type of CPU it is, so if you can use any typical type
power supply, you need to be sure it's P4 or Athlon approved if
you have a P4 or Athlon CPU.  (I can't receive your posts, so
if you reply I won't be able to see it).
-Clint

God Bless Us All
Clint Hamilton, Owner
http://OrpheusComputing.com )

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>



Ted:
        It is possible that the power supply was
overloaded by a short somewhere in the tower.
Thus the smell for a week. While the power supply
is no doubt compromised by any overloading, its
final refusal to turn on might be due to a blown
fuse.  Disconnect the power supply from the
main board and other components, replace the
fuse and see if the supply will turn on without an
increase in the electrical smell, before going to the
trouble of replacing it.
Wally

On Wed, 12 Nov 2003 05:59:12 -0500 "Ted Mozer"
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
writes:
> I have not opened it up yet to confirm, but I am 99% sure my
older
> Micro
> tower is not coming on because the power supply has died (I
have
> been
> smelling an "electrical" type odor for a week or so).  While
> replacing
> it is not a big deal (I have replaced several in other
computers
> over
> the years), determining the correct replacement is.
Especially
> trying
> to do so on-line.  Not only do I have to match (or exceed)
the
> power
> requirements, but it also has to physically fit into the
tower....
>
> Does anyone know of any sites that will match a power supply
with a
> computer's make and model???
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