On the Bookshelf at O.N.Z.C.D.A™

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Has your computer ever made a noise that sounds like one of the fans is dying? I'm sure you would know if it has because it can be pretty loud and it usually just sounds awful! Either way, I'm willing to bet that your fan really is not the culprit here as it could be your power supply instead. If you have a noisy fan you smell something burning or you see smoke or flames shooting out the back of your computer, you may very well have a problem with your power supply. And that is much worse than a dead fan if you do not catch it right away.

‡ There are many different things that could cause your power supply to go bad. For instance, the fan that runs next to your power supply could get clogged up with dust and dirt and start to run much slower or the fan's bearings could start to wear off. When those things happen, your power supply is at risk of overheating and it will eventually fail. Or, it could have nothing to do with your fan. Perhaps the power supply itself was faulty from the get go and it only took a matter of time before it failed completely.

‡ Even more so, if you're having trouble with your computer shutting down and restarting itself at random times, that could be another indicator that your power supply is going bad. And since your motherboard, CPU, disk drives, etc. all work off of the power supply, it's not a good idea to take a chance on it getting any better. If you do, you'll just have more trouble down the road. Don't worry though, replacing a power supply is rather easy to do and it's fairly cost friendly. So, if your computer is experiencing any of the symptoms I mentioned above, you'll want to check into getting a new power supply. It's a small price to pay for the safety of your computer!

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‡ To begin, if you think your power supply has gone bad, there are a few things you should check on before you go out and buy a whole new one. For one, make sure your power cord is plugged into both the wall socket and the power supply. Next, check on your power strip or surge protector (if you use one). Is it turned on and does it seem to be working properly? If the problem lies within your power strip, that will be a lot easier to fix than replacing your whole power supply. Lastly, make sure your power supply is actually turned on. It should have an On/Off switch, so just double check to ensure that it is powered up. Now, if after checking out all of those things, you still think your power supply is faulty, continue reading to see what you can do next.

‡ If your power supply has gone bad, you will obviously need to replace it. It's a pretty easy procedure, so you should be able to do it on your own, but if you don't feel comfortable with it, please find some help. Before you do anything, you'll need to remove all of the plugs, cables, etc. that are attached to your computer tower. You don't want any power flowing through your system while you're doing this, so make sure everything is unplugged. Next, go ahead and open up your computer case. There are several different cases, so I can't tell you exactly how to take yours off, but you should just need to undo a couple screws and the outside panel should slide off for you.

‡Once you have your case open, you will need to locate the power supply. It is basically a metal box with several colored wires that hook up to the motherboard and some of your computer's other components. Next, unhook all the connectors that run to those components inside your unit. You don't need to tug very hard on them, as they usually come out pretty easily. You may have to work a little harder on some, but they should all disconnect with little effort. It's also a good idea to take notes of all the components you disconnect so that you can reconnect them quicker when you're installing your new power supply.

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‡ Once everything's unhooked, you will need to remove the power supply from your PC's case. It is usually put in place with mounting screws, so just remove those and slide the unit out. If any of the other components are in your way, you may need to remove those as well, but make sure you keep the screws lined up so that you can easily reattach everything later on. Also, you do not need to use much force when taking the power supply out. Just gently slide it out of its position.

‡ The next thing you need to focus on is purchasing a new power supply. Most power supplies these days are the ATX version, but it mainly depends on how old your computer is. For example, if your computer still has an AT style power supply, that's rather old and you may want to think about replacing your whole computer, instead of just the power supply. On the other hand, if you have an ATX motherboard plug and an ATX connector to your power supply, you'll be good to go. If you're not sure what kind to buy, refer to your computer's user manual for help. It should tell you how many watts you need, but again, that also depends on what you use your computer for. If you're big into gaming, etc., you may want to add a little wattage to your new power supply. A good rule to go by is to check the wattage your current power supply has and then increase that by 100 or 200 watts to be safe.

‡ Power supplies are not really known by brand names, but you can always search for them with your favorite search engine to learn a little more about them before you actually purchase oneand they are available at most electronics stores.