Follow up on my *#(&$($% computer

[Rabrrrrrr]

Okey dokey, I posted a while ago about this, and people had some great suggestions.

I figured first thing, let's the check the fuse - so I tore it apart, and vacuumed all the dust out while I was in there, and took the power supply off and even removed its protective cover.

No fuses on this computer. FUckin' thing, I don't know why not, but there isn't. So, there ya go.

So, I had the cover off the power supply (but it was still connected to everything), and I thought "I've cleaned it all out, let's see what happens". So, I plugged it in - and without even turning on the "on" switch, it exploded (smoke, large flash, large crack) and blew the circuit breaker in my home.

Fuck.

So, obviously the power supply is fucked.

But, now how do I get a new one? DO I need to get one for my specific motherboard? Are all power supplies equal in terms of the connectors they having out of them? And where do I go to find one? Tigerdirect, I imagine, would have one.

My power supply - and this is bad engineering, in this engineer's opinion - has all the power wires from the supply to the boards without any intermediary connectors (except at the boards themselves, there are plastic sockets). If I were to do these designs, I would have made the power supply have a plug on it instead of running the wires through it straight to the board, but, that's just me. Maybe it doesn't matter.

So, anyway, can you help?

Or should I take this as the opportunity to guilt-free go get me a new one and get rid of this 3 year old machine? I kind of hate to do that since everything else on it works perfectly fine and really has all the power I need at this time. But, it would be nice to have a new one, esp. one with a DVD burner.

[ET Awful]

1. As long as it's not a Dell computer, chances are it's a standard ATX

power supply. You can get one at Comp USA or even Best Buy usually.

If you want to mail order it, I recommend newegg.com More reliable, plus they have lower prices and cheaper shipping that Tiger.

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. That's good to hear! So even the big plug that goes on the motherboard

is a standard size?

[DS1]

14. Ya mon

They are all compatible, just count the number of holes where the big adapter used to go into the motherboard, it's either 20 or 24, and even if you buy a 20 for a 24 there's adapter cables both ways.

[Rabrrrrrr]

15. Thanks mon! I used to tear computers apart all the time, fitting in new

stuff, replacing broken crap. and then today I realized that this computer is the only computer I've owned that didn't get opened up quickly; and, in fact, I bought it in November of 2002 and had never opened it until today!

But that was about the time that the 100G hard drive came out, and my computer came with a CD-RW and a DVD player, and USB and firewire... and I've never had any reason to replace any of it. Though I will soon run out of drive room.

All the other computers that I owned I didn't even bother ever to put the side panel back on, because I was tearing them apart so much.

And since I haven't done this in three years, I had no idea what the current state of technology is in terms of how things are connected. It's good to know that things are still fairly standard.

[underpants]

3. Mmm sorry this goes directly against my established etiquette

sorry. but I do have to say that the ESSPLOSION and smoke sounds hilarious.

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. You bastard!

I bet you kilt Kenny, too./

[catmandu57]

6. YOU BASTARD

If it were me I'd go buy another one, if I could. I've got a surplus connection where I get used stuff cheap.

[RevCheesehead]

5. I spite of all of that,

I really must commend you for your ability to post telepathically. :thumbsup:

[Rabrrrrrr]

8. It's not telepathy - I'm using an old morse code thingy

and I jacked into a phone line.

I'll tell you, trying to connect to a DNS with a morse code thingy, and then getting over to DU and trying to figure out where I am navigating around with no monitor, just the sound of the bits flying through the wire, is a pain in the ass.

Thankfully, I'm amazing, so I can do stuff like this.

[RevCheesehead]

13. That, you are.

Modest, too. ;)

[MadHound]

7. Another good thing about Macs is that they have fuses

And don't blow up, oh, and are designed logically:evilgrin:

[evlbstrd]

9. You've never opened an iBook, have you?

You have to make a map of all the little parts and tape them to it.

[MadHound]

10. No, I haven't dealt with laptops, just desktop units.

But still, I bet iBooks have fuses, and don't blow up:evilgrin:



Yes, I'm just being a smarmy bastard here, sorry:his:

[ET Awful]

11. Well, once you open them up, they're pretty damn similar.

As far as fuses, it's very, very rare to see a computer with a fuse, even a server.

[Solon]

12. Blew a capacitor...

I know, I did the same damn thing, didn't have to turn it on either, a new power supply for an ATX is about 30 bucks, no big deal.