Fan not working

sneekymum

The big fan where the power cable goes in has stopped working.

This machine kept eating fuses and so I took the cover off and found thick filth. The little fan in the middle (is that the C drive?) was completely choked - everything is very clean now thanks to the soft brush on the end of my vacuum nozzle.

But I think the big problem is the main fan. I guess it broke a few months ago - it's lovely and quiet.

Is this self-mendable? (I'm prepared to have a go)

Or can I buy a new unit from somewhere - the bit with the green light where the cable goes in - with the integral fan. I guess I'd need to know its proper name.

How hard is it to disconnect all those cables? Are they just plugged in in a bunch?

albertross_2

sounds like the PSU, https://www.ebuyer.com sell cheap ones, but you are going to get loads of people posting saying spend £50 on a xxx psu.. what model PC is it?

niceguyrichy

yep, sounds like the PSU fan.

tell us what specs the pc has (belarc will tell you if you don't already know), and we can advise you appropriately

sneekymum

Operating System System Model
Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 2 (build 2600) Emachines
Enclosure Type: Other
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
1.30 gigahertz Intel Celeron
32 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: Trigem Computer, Inc. Lomita
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: Phoenix 1.03 03/06/2002
Drives Memory Modules c,d
40.02 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
26.68 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

SAMSUNG CD-R/RW SW-224B [CD-ROM drive]
SAMSUNG DVD-ROM SD-616T [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]

ST340810A [Hard drive] (40.02 GB) -- drive 0, s/n 5FB4CQRL, rev 3.39, SMART Status: Healthy 254 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'M1' is Empty
Slot 'M2' has 256 MB
Local Drive Volumes

c: (NTFS on drive 0) 40.02 GB 26.68 GB free

Network Drives
None detected

Lord_Chris

wow this thread is worrying... to be put simply, you shouldn't be allowed near the inside of your computer. (sorry, but its true)

1) kept blowing fuses? thats a little worrying.

2) the little fan in the middle is not your c drive (c drive = hard drive, c is just the name) the little fan is your processor housing.

3) Never a good idea to stick a vacuum cleaner inside your PC. some compenents are delicate, and particularly if your vacuum cleaner hose is metal, you could really do some damage.

if you really need to clean the inside of your computer you use a can of compressed air to spray the dust out (outside if possible, save you cleaning up). NEVER put metal inside your computer without discharging first, same as with your hands or you can fry your motherboard. to discharge simply put one hand on the ground, and one hand on the inside on your computers casing.

4) the big chunky cables coming out of your PSU and connecting to your motherboard and drives are easy enough to disconnect, and reconnect again. However you need to use a bit of force... just be careful not to use more than necessary.
If the power cables won't come out, use a little bit of force, particularly with the large white block going into your motherboard (there are locking clips on the sides of some) but just dont go too hard on your computer.

albertross_2

Chris,

I thought you had mellowed a bit. I was wrong.

Have some respect for people, and don't be so rude, there is no need for it. You may think you know everything, but you don't. Experience comes with age..

People come here for help, not abuse.

manners cost nothing?

Little_John

Ohh no electrostatic kills electronic components !!!!!! if you can remove the case of a pc without touching it and discharging yourself fantastic. you can touch the cpu fan with absolotly no risk of damaging your cpu plastic insulates and it is a while since I saw any mass produced pc using none plastic fans anywhere. I spent 3 years building up to 19 PC's a day and never destroyed any component with static.
Metal attachments on hoovers too wow my grans hover has metal attachements ant it must be 20 years old or somthing they have plastic on them now have you ever used a can of air to remove 5 years of dust from a pc? you have to hoover the house too afterwards.

anything blowing fuses does need sorting the problem proberbly is down to the PSU giving up, it is possible to replace the fanin there but just replace the PSU there is somthing wrong with it. you dont have to sumerge anything in water to cause a fuse to blow, Christ to you throw every thing out if the fuse blows?

as for a new PSU I would buy a Hyper Type R they are more expensive but are high quality, quiet and modular do you only connect cables that you need allowing the inside of the pc to be kept tidy. if you dont want to spend so much then try to avoid the bargain basement £10 PSU's claiming 500w spending about £25-£30 should get you a reasonable PSU.

wonderfullife_2

Hi
See "Lord Chris" is at it again..... lovely little monster, isn't he.

Sneekymum I'm sure you could do it yourself, I would suggest you have a look into your pc, and acquaint yourself with the psu and the cables that come from it, to see where they go and what they connect to, you will have one big main cable that goes to your motherboard, and the smaller power cables that go to your hd/dvd/cd drives etc, all you have to do is unplug all the cables, replace the old one, and plug everything back in, its not a big job, should take you about 5mins.

And I'm sure you will do just fine

niceguyrichy

Sweet Lord_Chris! what piffle are you talking??

should only comp-tech graduates venture inside their computer cases???

simple fact is, OP, you need to ignore lord chris, & sounds like you need a new PSU.

bit late in the day for me, but I'm sure a number of retailers (ebuyer, dabs, microdirect etc) will see you right for almost no money
get back to you tomorrow.

UNICORN_2

Lord_Chris wrote:

wow this thread is worrying... to be put simply, you shouldn't be allowed near the inside of your computer. (sorry, but ts true)

1) kept blowing fuses? thats a little worrying, did you submerge your computer in water or soemthing? if i were you id chuck it out) ive had the same computer for the best part of 5 years and never had a fuse blow

2) the little fan in the middle is not your c drive (c drive = hard drive, c is just the name) the little fan is your processor housing. DONT TOUCH IT

3) YOU STUCK YOUR VACUUM CLEANER INSIDE YOUR COMPUTER? YOU PUT A CHUNK OF METAL TUBING INSIDE ELECTRONIC... DELICATE ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT? ohh dear god... would you like to try putting a magnet inside your computer aswell?

if you really need to clean the inside of your computer you use a can of compressed air to spray the dust out. NEVER put metal inside your computer without discharging first, same as with your hands or you can fry your motherboard. to discharge simply put one hand on the ground, and one hand on the inside on your computers casing.

4) the big chunky cables coming out of your PSU and connecting to your motherboard and drives are easy enough to disconnect, and reconnect again. However you need to use a bit of force... just be careful not to use more than necessary.


ohh, and i do feel it necessary to mention, when removing the power cables, if they wont budge, get someone elses help, dont go using a rock to pound them out....

Do you work for a pc repairer

sneekymum

Lord_Chris wrote:

4) the big chunky cables coming out of your PSU and connecting to your motherboard and drives are easy enough to disconnect, and reconnect again. However you need to use a bit of force... just be careful not to use more than necessary.
....

(that's the bit I thanked you for)