Fried my work computer

[leannebug]

Whew! I missed that one by the skin of my teeth!

I got bought a USB 808 from VK for my laptop. When I plugged it in, it popped up a warning. LUCKILY I was watching at the time, it gave me a chance to cancel, and said if I didn't cancel (within a certain amount of time) it would automatically burn out my port. I'd never seen that before.

[sammeedog]

not sure if i am posting in the correct place .....but.........i took my usb 901 charger thingy to work & plugged it - all was good for about 1 minute - i smelled smoke and was thinking who in the heck is smoking in the office...no that is something burning in the office ...holy crap that is MY computer smoking!!! yikes...
i quickly pulled that sucker out and with all the nerve i could muster up told my boss that hmmm ...excuse me...yeah...well.... i think my e-cigarette toasted my 'puter.....(the usb plug totally overheated and crashed the whole dang computer) .....needless to say my boss was less than happy with me ....
took it to computer wiz & he said the usb charger was not compatible with my usb port...something to do with new port vs old port.... ....so just f/y/i if you have an old computer don't use the usb charger....
or crash, boom, bang, fire in the hole....
the computer was a lost cause
however my e-cig & charger survived and thankfully i am still employed ...
has anyone heard of such a thing? or just my bad luck?

You got luck like me. I blew out the power supply on my pc. It's posted somewhere on this board. I plugged it into the rear of my pc. It was fine, than after awhile, my pc shut down. What the hell. Turned it on, same thing happened 5 minues later. I unplugged all my USB devices except for the mouse/keyboard, thinking some sort of power problem. It happend again, this time a flash of light, crash bang, and smoking! My hubby just tested the power supply with a good one, everything was working fine, so He transferred all my stuff to a new case, with front usb ports. But I won't use them for this. I bought a power adapter. I don't care how new or old the pc is, ..... happens.

[OaklandCA]

great thread. This explains to me why no one has made a usb mini plug atomizer and why usb is not the universal connector i had though it was.
The two USB chargers i have both state Input DC 5v 500mA; Output DC 4.2V 150mA. but what i'm hearing is that if they or the computer aren't up to snuff (or snus) overdraws (overdraft=overcharge=penalty fees) are possible

Without a thought, I've been casually plugging my $6.00 chargers into some very expensive graphics workstations--$2500 in hardware and $2500 in software with at least a day or two of down time just to reinstall all the licensed & "borrowed" software even if i replaced /repaired the computer. (Yeah yeah i should have everything backed up with all the install keys on a nice neat sheet of paper with all the software disks in a locked drawer)
Guess i'll start plugging in some hubs.

man this e-cigarette hobby is complicated--funny how it compares to standing in line at the corner liquor store with the folks buying a pint and a pack.

[sonabraham]

I would like to comment on this issue without insulting, running down, or otherwise hurting anyone.
Don’t plug PTs or any usb device, not specifically related to and designed for the world of computing, into a computer. There are ample $6 to $20 plus devices available as wall units out there that are up to handling these devices without risking a computer.

[tribalmasters]

Sure it wasn't bad capacitors on the motherboard!?

Anyone know of a good powered hub in the UK!? I think I have a Belkin I can try but I will have to give it a new powersupply as it is very old and the original one that came with it is lost!