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Power Supply Fan Issues

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Trakkan

New Member
Joined
Jan 15, 2002
One of our older computers has all of a sudden developed what seems to be a pretty bad fan issue on the PSU. It is constantly making a lot of noise, and the speed at which it rotates fluctuates greatly... to the point where you can see each individual fan blade spinning slowly.

My question is, do you think this is an issue where the fan itself is dying, or do you think the whole PSU could be failing on me. A lot of the way it sounds reminds me of something that just isn't getting enough power anymore, but the computer itself is still running at the moment.

It is also an old AT case and power supply, so if the whole PSU needs to be replaced, I would be more likely to just scrap the whole thing and switch over to ATX. Thanks for the help.


Trak
 
The fan probably needs replacing. All fans wear out over time. It's inevitable. About 5 years of working will do in a fan from what I've seen.
 
It is probably just the fan, most likely some dirt got inside it. The first step would be trying to blow it out with canned air or vacume it.

Since I am not familiar with your skill level I must ad this disclamer. Power supplies can hold a charge when unplugged and are dangerous if opened. I and anyone at overclockers are not responsible for any actions you do.

You can open the powersupply and either clean and oil the fan or replace it.
 
If you do decide to replace the fan or open up the power supply, unplug it and don't touch anything for at least a half hour, in order to let the large capacitors drain of their power. If you don't, and you accidentally touch them, you could end up with your hair standing up on end. Or worse.

Be careful around power supplies.
 
Thanks guys. I did crack open the PSU, and the fan was clearly where the problem lay. There was a pretty solid buildup of dust in there, so it seems pretty clear where the fan's problem came from. I blew out as much of the dust as possible, so the fan seems to be working better for now. I will probably need to replace it for good measure, but it's good to know the PSU isn't in immediate danger of failing on me.

I've been wanting to upgrade this comp for a while now, so this may actually give me the excuse to get that project moving. Getting a new ATX Chassis was going to be the first step for that anyway, so things should work out well from here on out. Thanks again for the replies.


Trak
 
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