[Jay H 237]

One major problem with aluminum is it corrodes when in contact with copper. Outlets in most rooms in a house are on one circuit. The outlets are "daisy chained together" for lack of a better term. The problem is the wire has corroded at the outlet(s) since you said you have aluminum wiring and contacts on the outlets are copper or brass. There is a bad contact with the wiring at that other outlet. Running two computers definitely shouldn't cause heat and smoke. You have a MAJOR problem that needs to be fixed ASAP. The fact is the wiring and/or outlets are already damaged and continueing to use that circuit is like playing with matches. You have been lucky so far that it has cooled down and no actual fire has broke out yet. The other thing to make sure is if the correct amperage fuse or breaker is on that line.