Can anyone tell me why my computer smells bad?

Just recently my old hard drive began to click and whine and I replaced it with a brand new one - A Seagate with 160 gb. However, since I've installed the new one my computer gives off a really weird smell when the computer is running. I can only describe it as an ozone type of smell which, after breathing in the fumes, makes my throat hurt when I swallow. I should mention also that my hard drive is running perfectly fine, I've opened the case while my computer is on and none of the internal parts are overheating - just that awful smell! The same thing happened recently when I installed a new video card. I had to stop using it and buy a used one. Am I over sensitive, or does all new computer equiptment smell this bad?

Can anyone tell me why my computer smells bad?
I know exactly the smell that you are talking about. It is common with new electronic circuit boards. I am not positive exactly what it is but I believe that it has something to do with the chemical that is used to clean the board before it is shipped.





The smell will lessen each time you run the PC but could take a month or so before it finally goes away completely.
Reply:ive never heard of that happening.. overheating or poor installation are the only things that come to mind... maybe its something near the computer that smells?
Reply:Since it is the new hard drive, you might want to return it for replacement. If the board is going bad, you may soon lose everything on it.
Reply:Unplug your hard drive and boot up the computer. It will come up and tell you that you have no operating system. Let it sit and see if you smell the same thing. If not, it is your hard drive, return it. If you smell the same thing with the hard drive power connection pulled off, the hard drive is not the culprit.





If the smell is a borderline electrical burning smell, you may have a power supply problem or your motherboard may be pulling too much power. I had one do that recently, it keeps overpowering the processor and burning up.





The eyes burning indicates possible fumes, so touch each wire comming from your power supply and see if one of them is hot.
Reply:No all new parts do not smell like that. You should return it, it might be defective.

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