MapleE. said:
Hi:
Thanks for all the helps and suggestion.
Yes, I do think of replacing Power Supply myself.
In the past, I did open the case and replaced a tiny fan and added
RAM, then I may be able to do this job, too.
How am I able to find an instruction on this?
I do not want to mess-up further, then I need to be cautious about.
So, what pre-caution should I take before launching to replace
Power Supply?
Thanks,
Make note of where the cables go. Purchase the replacement supply.
Compare the cables on the replacement supply, to the original supply.
Make sure you have one cable, for each cable to be replaced. If the
computer has 20 pin main connector, 4 pin processor power, a 1x4 connector
for each hard drive and optical drive, you check that the new supply
has those as well. Note the orientation of each supply connector as
well. If the yellow wire is on the left, when the replacement is
plugged in, the yellow wire will be on the left. It is a simple
substitution process, but to do it properly, you want to make
careful note of how everything was arranged, before you tear your
computer apart. The same thing applies to data cables in the computer.
While most cables are keyed, to prevent wrong insertion, there are
a few that are not, and a few of the cables are poorly designed
(like stuff related to the floppy drive, is tricky).
A digital camera, and a way to view the pictures taken
by the digital camera, makes one way of recording how everything was
set up. Having a good lens on the camera, for macro work, would
help. (Macro is for closeup shots.)
When the new power supply arrives, also check the label on the side
of the supply. Compare the rating on the replacement supply, against
the rating of the supply already in the computer. The replacement
should have the same rating or more rating, than the original,
to ensure there is enough power to run it.
If the replacement supply has a "120/220" selector switch on it,
make sure it is in the correct position. When you purchase the
supply at the computer shop, ask a technician there, to verify
that the switch is in the correct position before you take it
home. Some of those selector switches are hard to read, and I
have to stare at them for many minutes, before being satisfied
they are in the correct position.
Before throwing away the original supply, record *all* the information
from the label on the original supply. Write it on a piece of paper,
and glue the paper inside the computer case. If you ever need to
replace the power supply again, use the piece of paper as a record
of the minimum power supply requirements. You can also record the
model number of the original supply, and you can use that in
Google, to find yet another replacement, if needed. Compare each
replacement supply, to the *original* supply specification.
A person experienced in computer repair, would not need to take pictures.
But if you are doing this for the first time, like repairing any
other strange device, you need to keep careful documentation of
what you've done, if you hope to figure out later why it does not
work.
When the "blue light" does not come on, that could be a problem
with the +5VSB rail of the power supply. The power supply could be
defective, or the computer may be overloading the +5VSB rail, so
there is in fact, no guarantee that replacing the power supply is
all that is needed.
For the $150 you are paying the computer repair place, they will
use their skills and knowledge, to determine what components need
to be replaced. If you, as a hobbyist, buy replacement parts and
try to do it yourself, sometimes you end up buying more parts than
are needed. Most of the time, your home repair efforts will be
cheaper, but not always. Sometimes, if you damage other parts of
the computer, while tracing down a problem, the $150 at the computer
shop will seem much, much, cheaper. For example, laptops
are not a computer type, that home users should open up,
due to the fragile and delicate parts inside. It is very easy to
damage the cabling inside those. Desktop computers are much easier
to work inside, as long as you keep good notes of how everything
is assembled. With desktop computers, finding replacement parts for
damaged ones, is easy. For laptops, things you damage while
disassembling, could be very hard to find, even using the
manufacturer as a source of replacement parts.
As another example of things to record, there are cables that run
from the front panel, to some motherboard headers. Normally, a
repair person would have the motherboard manual, which documents
where each of those cables go. If there is any danger of you
bumping those cables, then again, you want to keep careful records
of where the cables go. You shouldn't need to go near that stuff,
when replacing a power supply. I only mention that, as sometimes
people disconnect those by accident, and then they come here,
expecting us to tell them where they go. From 3000 miles away,
I cannot tell you
And some front panel cabling, does not have
helpful labels on the ends.
Good luck,
Paul
