A technician has been dispatched to a customer site to diagnose an issue where the computer turns off intermittently. Upon arriving at the site, the technician detects a smoke smell coming from the…

Replacing the CPU without first investigating the power supply is premature since smoke originating from a CPU is far less common and the PSU must first be ruled out.

A burning or smoke smell is a strong indicator of an electrical failure, and the power supply unit is the most failure-prone component for generating such symptoms because it handles high voltage and current conversion. Powering down the system immediately and replacing the power supply eliminates the fire hazard and addresses the most probable root cause.

Adding a case fan addresses thermal management but does nothing to resolve an active electrical burn or failure already in progress.

Removing the side panel improves airflow but does not address the root cause of electrical burning and leaves a potentially dangerous component operating.