PC Repair Log

I had this PC that was in a MAME cabinet. I left it running for a while, and when I came back, there was this stench in the air like a capacitor had popped, and the computer was dead. Actually, the power supply was dead.

I swapped in a new PSU, and the PC still didn't boot. The fan would spin up, but no video signal (it has an onboard video as well as a PCI video card that was compatible with DOS AdvanceMAME, but neither would put out a video signal).

The problem turned out to be the PCI video card--it must have overheated or otherwise failed, drew too much current and popped the PSU's fuse (possibly more). When I remove the card, the PC powers right up.