Computer help!!

[Queen Bee]

To make a long, boring story short... I think the power switching supply on my computer is fried. When I turn on my computer I hear one brief buzzy sound (not a beep) sourced from the power supply thingy. I'm positive the sound is coming from there, anyway. I figured that maybe it was overheated, so I unplugged my computer for an hour and tried to switch the power on again. The same thing happened with the buzzy sound - my guess is that it's probably got a busted power supply

Not sure if this makes any difference, but this is what I'm taking about.



Oh, and the fan appears to be very dusty. Could this be an issue with that or am I completely off base?



Should I attempt to take out the power supply and clean the fan? I'm gearing towards leaving this to a professional, but if it's a simple dust problem I guess I could do it on my own. I'd rather not jump into this without any advice on it though.

I spoke to the tech geek that built my computer but he wasn't too helpful. Nevermind suggesting taking it in to him because he can't be bothered

So, any ideas? Any help on this matter is greatly appreciated!

 

[bono_man2002]

A brief buzzy sound you say....that COULD just be a vibration from one of the fans....Happens to me often.

My Hard Drive on my computer died today, so i'm once again stuck on the laptop!

 

[Queen Bee]

A brief buzzy sound you say....that COULD just be a vibration from one of the fans....Happens to me often.

My Hard Drive on my computer died today, so i'm once again stuck on the laptop!

None of the fans move when I switch the power on. The fan in the power supply box makes a one buzzy sound and that's it - nothing else happens . There are two status lights on my computer (red for off, and green for on) and they both simultaneously light up

I hope my hard drive doesn't suffer because of this

 

[Queen Bee]

Cleaned the fan a bit and it didn't make a difference. I'm pretty sure my PSU is fried

 

[bono_man2002]

 

[U2Kitten]

That happened to me, twice. You are lucky it's still running at all. Once the fans stop working, it will overheat, and then shut down on its own to save itself from burning up. When they won't come back on at all, the power supply dies. By doing this, it saves the rest of the computer from damage. The 'good' news is, power supplies are cheap, especially if you get them online, my brother ordered mine for 13 bucks, free shipping. They are easy to replace with a screwdriver and only a few things to hook back up to it so don't get ripped off by some computer shop wanting a hundred bucks.

 

[UberBeaver]

Usually when the power supply goes, the whole thing goes. It won't turn on or anything. Like U2Kitten said, they're cheap and easy to replace. And it's fun to learn!

 

[cydewaze]

Cleaned the fan a bit and it didn't make a difference. I'm pretty sure my PSU is fried

You fried Penn State?

Power supplies aren't expensive. Unfortunately when mine went, it took several other components with it. Hopefully you'll have better luck.

 

[Sicy]

I replaced the power supply/fan thingy on my computer because it was making a terrible buzzing/vibrating sound every time I turned on my comp. I dont think it was too expensive and my bf replaced it with no problems

 

[starsforu2]

They are not terribly difficult to replace, however... be careful that you follow the cabling from one power supply to the next. I replaced the power supply on my old computer when it went out, but must have left the computer ungrounded because whenever I plugged my computer on a circuit with a GFI I would trip the GFI and shut off power to that room and adjacent bathroom. (Why they tied that room to the bathroom next door is anybody's guess. )

Good luck and be safe!

 

[Queen Bee]

Thanks for the help, everyone . I'm going to buy a power supply unit later today.

 

[Chizip]

i heard tom cruise tried to change the power supply unit in his computer, and thats what caused this to happen

 

[Queen Bee]

 

[Queen Bee]

I bought the power supply today. I'm pretty sure I plugged in all the cables from the motherboard, hard drives, etc into the power supply. I turned on the computer and nothing happened . The red and green status lights both turned on and that was it

 

[Sicy]

I thought you were a