Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Fixing, then breaking, then fixing my computer again

Project:
Fix the darn rattling noise my computer was making

Difficulty Level (Easy, Medium, Hard, Insane):
Medium

Process:
When I came downstairs this morning the computer fan was making a rattling noise. It has happened before but usually went away if I kicked it a couple of times (softly that is). However, today it was not going to stop so I had to fix it.

After I unplugged everything and set it on my desk I found out that it was the power supply fan. I had a spare fan kicking around from one of my old computers so I figured it would be easy enough to just replace it. After cutting and splicing it I went to test it out. EXCEPT, I accidentally shorted the power supply to the computer case. STUPID!!! Everything stopped working after that. I was getting ready to just go buy a new power supply when I thought: "Gosh, there MUST be a fuse on that board somewhere". After looking for it for a minute I did find it, except for it was not meant to be replaced as it was soldered right to the board.

I figured if I can find a fuse on the old power supply, de-solder it and re-solder it to the new power supply it should do the trick. Off I went with the soldering gun, took the fuse out of the old power supply and soldered it back into the new one. Put it all back together after a preliminary test and voila! Good as new.

Pictures:
The new fan patched together
The fried fuse
The power supply out of the box
Here's the fuse I replaced (white cylinder)
Take that!
Installed back in the box
Tools:
Screwdriver
Soldering iron
Side cutters
Knife

Materials:
Solder

Cost:
$0.00

Time:
1hr

Savings:
$45.18

Conclusion:
I'm typing this blog on the computer so something is working. The fan makes a bit of a funny noise (speeding up/down) and I just had a blue screen of death but I'm not sure if that's related. I'll have to wait and see...

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