[color=#000000:post_uid0]Dear forum members, I would like to take a poll. How many of you have had your computers self combust on you? Because last night was the second time for my boyfriend. He suddenly dissapears off the internet, I see him the next day.. He smelt smoke and suddenly his power unit burst into flames. The first time he was recharging his laptop and left it on there too long and it burst into flames.. My boyfriend has a thing with self combusting computers.

Anyone else? :smile:[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Can't say I've ever had a computer spontaneously combust on me.

However, I've a couple of close calls:
- Once when building a computer for someone else, the moment I turned it on to test it, it started smoking. Apparently the system speaker was faulty.
- I've had one of my computers overheat a number of times. I guess the CPU fan was never good enough.

But I've never just had (or seen) one burst into flames.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]My computer (the one downstairs) prefers the opposite method of freezing up when it wants to get out of having to do something.

Now, I [i:post_uid0]have[/i:post_uid0] had a car motor melt down on me. But obviously that isn't the same thing.

I think it was O'Pipp who was smothered on the old board by a huge messy mass of cheeziness that came pouring out of her computer monitor while Legolas yawned and wandered into the kitchen to look for leftovers in the fridge. Now [i:post_uid0]that[/i:post_uid0] was funny. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Not quite the same thing, but I've had the mains socket blow up on me when I plugged in the computer before. Gather round for the whole story (or alternatively skip to the next post :D )

The socket was always a touch iffy, in that it didn't have switches. It was live as soon as you pushed in the plug, sometimes resulting in a small spark. On this occasion, it was quite a big spark, with a loud accompanying bang as well. Checked the plug, and it had blown the fuse in it. So, I replaced the fuse and plugged it in again. This time it blew the fuse at the main fuseboard... and I mean blown. To this day, the fuseboard still has scorchmarks :O . This was the 20amp fuse as well you know; a big and beasty fuse to blow!

When I later removed the mains socket, the heat which had been there was evident. It had melted the what I presume is brass contacts inside - now that must be damned hot! I rewired the socket, this time fitting a proper one with switches, and it's worked fine with the computer ever since.

And best of all, I'm still alive. What do you mean 'Ah nuts!'. :D[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I can't say I've ever had that happen to me (luckily), but I am reminded of the finale of the last series of the BBC prog [i:post_uid0]Spooks[/i:post_uid0] which involved a laptop packed with plastic explosives.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I've never had one explode but my laptop liked to over heat alot (a widespread problem across campus)[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]My computer has never exploded or melted before, but it did chew a couple of my CD's to chips once. Luckily with nothing on them. My own fault, I suppose, considering i put two disks in on top of each other.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Ahhh, disk crush. :)

HellSPAWN (Stupid Pansy-Arsed Wanker Nerdbox from Hell) has never done anything like that. It prefers terrorizing me with weird messages about htings like finding a weird log file and not being able to get rid of it, or spontaneously detecting hardware which may or may not actually be there.

*whinge*[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Once my compy did this weird thing where five million of the same popup just appeared for no rhyme or reason and it took me a whole minute clicking the "close" button continuously to get rid of them all.

Weird.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]We always get these free CD's with crap-that-we-don't-want-to-have-but-have-fivefold on it. Mostly we use them as frisbees, but once, I wanted to try out if you could break them. Well, you can, but did you know that really gives a big mess?[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]My uncle (the non-Simpsons-liking, 11-cat-and-two-dog-owing one) uses those in his allotment to scare the birds away.

Birds must be smarter than we give them credit for if they know to stay away from those AOL CD-ROM's.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]I think its because its the shiny reflection from the CD that keeps them away[/color:post_uid0]

[quote:post_uid0="taya17"][color=#000000:post_uid0]Once my compy did this weird thing where five million of the same popup just appeared for no rhyme or reason and it took me a whole minute clicking the "close" button continuously to get rid of them all.

Weird.[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]You know, all you had to do was right click on the window button on the bottom of the screen and say "Close Group", unless they weren't grouped. In that case, you did the right thing, lol.[/color:post_uid0]

[color=#000000:post_uid0]Probably, but the AOL thing is that much funnier.[/color:post_uid0]

[quote:post_uid0="NeoMatrix"][color=#000000:post_uid0]I think its because its the shiny reflection from the CD that keeps them away[/color:post_uid0][/quote:post_uid0]
[color=#000000:post_uid0]I thought some birds were attracted to bright shiny objects.

Must be the AOL.

And Neo, I'm pretty sure they weren't grouped. I think it was just a weird computer glitch. Normally only one of that popup turns up.[/color:post_uid0]