I have a Dell desktop computer. I use it for tasks where I want something more than a laptop. A large monitor and clicky keyboard make for writerly comfort. Technically, it's an Optiplex 7010 Mini Tower with a 250 GB harddrive and a CD/DVD optical drive. One reason I love it is I paid all of $64 for it used, but tested, from freegeek of Portland in 2018. Originally $80, freegeek gave me a "starving artist" discount of 20%. Plus, it came with a 6-month carry-in warranty. (This, of course, was before the pandemic and before freegeek went to eBay 100% & sells everything "as is.")
Looking the computer chassis over, I see a manufacture date of 2012. At age fourteen and given my light use, I think it fair to say the Intel Core I3 processor chip has a ways to go for its estimated lifespan of 100,000 hours running nonstop.
In a way, it's been a sweet deal: a bargain-priced used desktop built to rugged corporate standards--where it probably served its pre-freegeek donation days-- that serves my limited writer computer needs well.
But one morning, when I powered up the Optiplex, it screeeched until I held the power button down to kill it. The screeeching suggested circular movement. The Optiplex has three moving parts when powering up. Three fans: a processor fan, a case fan, and a power supply (P/S) fan. The latter was where I found the unmistakable source of the screeeching.
So with power-supply numbers in hand I hopped on eBay and bought a used, but tested, P/S for less than $30, shipping included. The buy plus some DIY seemed reasonable to save my Optiplex.
Still questions remained: How do I remove the screeeching, failing P/S? How do I drop this P/S with countless wires, cable ties, and different connectors in for a replacement? How do I avoid electric shocks?
As always, for anything about computers, the Internet is priceless. . A YouTube video by a fellow in perhaps Malaysia clearly laid out the steps for removal and replacement: how to remove screws, the connectors with hidden tab locks. And the right wire colors. Finally, the replacement P/S was in.
With the replacement in, I powered up, relieved to hear no screeech. Everything worked ... except the CD/DVD drive.
So back to the Internet and my new friend, Proton's lumo AI agent. Voila, instantly, what went wrong, what color wires to find, how many pins--15--on my unconnected connector and how to set all right.
So a P/S replacement that's 100% done and I'm back to working off that 100,000 hours lifespan for my Optiplex processor.
Image credit: quantelectronic.de
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