[KingBlueRizla]

Last night when I got in, my computer wouldn't turn on. I pressed the on button, the fans spun for a second or two, before they stop spinning. A second or so pause, then they started again. I opened it up and gave it a good clean and I think it is something to do with the power supply unit.

Then this morning, I thought I would give it a try, to my surprise, it booted and list still usable now. I have copied all of my files and bookmarks to an external hard drive. I am expecting it to stop working again at some point in the next few days/when I turn it off (but I could be lucky).


If/when it does go again, I could either get it fixed, or buy a new computer. The problem I see, is that if I take it into a pc repair shop as it is, unless I stand there and watch, I won't know what they have done/if they have found anything 'naughty'. I could remove what I think are all 'naughty' files, but there is a chance I could miss something. I am assuming that (if it is the PSU), that it would cost about £50+ for the part and for installation. For not much more, I could get a nice shiny new computer. This computer I am using at the moment is old and could do with an upgrade.

I suppose I could format the hard drive (or simply remove it), then take it in to get it repaired. Just need some thoughts really I suppose.

Many thanks

This post has been edited by KingBlueRizla: 21 March 2013 - 09:50 AM

[Mephitis]

By the parts yourself and install them yourself, it's not rocket science and is pretty much idiot proof, the jacks and plugs will only fit where they are supposed to go.

This post has been edited by Mephitis: 21 March 2013 - 09:53 AM

[KingBlueRizla]

Mephitis, on 21 March 2013 - 09:52 AM, said:

By the parts yourself and install them yourself, it's not rocket science and is pretty much idiot proof, the jacks and plugs will only fit where they are supposed to go.

Really? Never looked into changing pc parts myself. I did notice a sticker on the PSU that said something along the lines of don't touch yourself. Will look into it.

Thanks for the suggestion, but a quick Google makes me think too much effort. I don't do DIY type things. Too many wires going to this and that, I know I would make a mistake.

This post has been edited by KingBlueRizla: 21 March 2013 - 09:57 AM

[vince noir rock n roll star]

fuck repairing laptops ..theya re a pain to work on ..id rather sling a hundred quid at a fleabay seller and grab a dual core dell latitude ,sling linux on it and have an almost foolproof lappy for a few years ..when it finally dies just take out the ram and the hdd and sling it back on the bay for spares or repair ..

[KingBlueRizla]

vince noir rock n roll star, on 21 March 2013 - 09:56 AM, said:

fuck repairing laptops ..theya re a pain to work on ..id rather sling a hundred quid at a fleabay seller and grab a dual core dell latitude ,sling linux on it and have an almost foolproof lappy for a few years ..when it finally dies just take out the ram and the hdd and sling it back on the bay for spares or repair ..

Its a computer, not a laptop, but yeah, not my idea of fun fixing them. I could get an acceptable computer that would have everything new with warranty and be a better specification than the computer I am using now. Take the RAM and HDD out, stick it in the new computer...

[Mephitis]

Go for it, even building them from scratch is a doddle, I've only ever bought one prebuilt PC, after that I just swapped parts out as and when necessary. It can save you quite a few pennies, plus you get to have the parts you want rather than the cheap shite components PC manufacturers use to keep costs down. Scan is a good place to order parts from, much cheaper than the high street and I have never had an issue with them in the 10+ years I have been using them.

[vince noir rock n roll star]

sorry ,if its a pc then by all means open her up and change bits ,thats a doddle ..laptops are just tooo fiddly imho ..but then again you can now get quad core with 8gb ram dvd rw etc for around 200 quid new ..cheap as chips for tech these days ..or you could go very techy with some raspberry pi`s linked together to make a cheap super pooter running linux /android

[Jameson666]

As has already been said, just buy a new psu and swap it over.

I doubt you would need to go up to a £50 one though but that all depends on the hardware you are running.

Just take pics if you need to remind yourself how it went together.

Mephitis has it right computers are idiot proof if it don't fit then that's the wrong place for it.

The not touching warning it not to take the psu to bits to repair it as you can get a rather nasty shock.

Quick vid if you get stuck, always works out cheaper to upgrade and build yourself rather than pay for someone to do the jigsaw for you.

[JimmyPage]

PSUs are probably the flakiest part of a PC - they get hammered at switch on/off.

Changing one is probably the easiest job. A couple of screws (if you're lucky, they could be knurled screws). Then 4 screws for the PSU, and a couple of connector blocks.

I never throw PCs out (one day I'll set up a massive cluster and farm Bitcoins !) and have swapped a few PSUs out.

There was a fault manufacturing capacitors a few years back - they'd "pop" after a few years use, which I think affected quite a few PSUs made then.

[Boojum]

As long as you don't have a fancy graphics card that requires a high wattage PSU then you can pick up a PSU dirt cheap online (high wattage ones are more expensive, but still far less than it would cost to take it to be 'repaired' - cos you don't just pay for the service, you also pay top whack for the parts too), and replacing it is a piece of piss (probably the easiest bit of a PC to replace )

Don't be scared by all the warning labels & shit, all you need to do is open the case, unscrew the PSU from the case, unplug it, then put the new one where the old one was, plug it in and screw it to the case. Like Mephitis said you can't do it wrong even if you try, it's like Meccano (but even simpler), the right bits fit into the right places, you can't plug it in wrong even if you want to. The plugs only fit into the bits they are supposed to. There are lots of plugs & wires on a PSU, but just take note of what it should be plugged into before you take the old one out (It will be the mainboard, the hard disc and stuff like the CD-ROM/DVD-ROM and the floppy drive (if you have one)

This post has been edited by Boojum: 22 March 2013 - 11:42 AM

[cultivateur]

Cheap PSUs can mean noisy though ...

And while you're popping in a new PSU, make sure you blow all the crap out of the CPU cooler.

This post has been edited by cultivateur: 22 March 2013 - 11:33 AM

[KingBlueRizla]

It is still working, but every minute or so, something makes a grinding type noise from within the computer. I have near me that sells computer bits, so I think I will wait till it stops working then make get what I need to fix it. If I truly break it, I will get a new computer.

Thanks for the help people.

[Boojum]

A 'grinding noise' doesn't sound like a PSU problem to me (unless it's actually coming from the PSU - easy to tell, cos it's at the back of the case at the very top)

More like summat to do with the CPU cooling fan, or an indication that your hard disc is on the way out.

This post has been edited by Boojum: 22 March 2013 - 11:49 AM

[KingBlueRizla]

Boojum, on 22 March 2013 - 11:45 AM, said:

A 'grinding noise' doesn't sound like a PSU problem to me (unless it's actually coming from the PSU - easy to tell, cos it's at the back of the case at the very top)

More like summat to do with the CPU cooling fan, or an indication that your hard disc is on the way out.

The noise is coming from either the PSU or something near the the top of the tower. The computer has been abused and does live in a s smoky room. Its probably all on its last legs.

[Boojum]

Ah, if it's coming from the top then it's the PSU (I had a PSU die on me cos the internal fan got all gunked up with dust - especially likely to happen if your tower is sitting on the floor - the fan wasn't working properly so the PSU overheated). Like I said, it's dead cheap and easy to replace, cheapest bit of a PC to go wrong