4/20    I have a 3 year old computer and the power supply fan just
        started making much more noise.  Is this a fire hazard?
        Will something bad happen to my computer or is it just noisy?
        Any advice would be appreciated.  Thanks.
        \_ Pabst fans.  Very high quality, very quiet.  -John
        \_ It means that your fan is getting dirty. If you don't clean out
        your fan and just let it run, it'll continue to make more and more
        noise as time goes by. It is a fire hazard if your fan ever fails,
        then your powersupply will overheat and potentially damage your
        computer's innards. I've had this happen to me once on a cheapie
        server, and I've seen this happen a couple of times when power
        supplies have failed on my customers' computers.
        The chance of that happening depends on the quality of the power
        supply, but is usually rare. The chance that it affects the
        lifetime of your power supply is common, since the dust coats
        everything in your powersupply, and if you don't clean it out
        every year or so it becomes like insulation.
        I generally like to clean out my fans and the vents every once in
        a while. It just is really annoying in general to use a computer with
        an overly loud fan anyway.
        \_ I have an old P-75 I use as a router.  The fan started making
           noise several years ago and I used to stick wads of paper in it
           to make it stop.  Now the fan doesn't run at all; the box still
           runs fine with no fan, but a computer that old probably doesn't
           produce much heat.
           \_ Forgive me, but what sort of twisted freak logic encouraged
              you to stick kindling in an overheating electrical
              appliance?  I'm not trying to flame, it worked and
              everything, but what the fuck were you thinking?
              \_ yah, this puzzles me also.  it's like, putting a bullet
                 in someone's brain cuz they have a bellyache.  not to mention
                 the fire hazard, etc.  Please elucidate, P75-router-guy....
                 \_ hmm, i removed the fan from my hard drive bay unit
                    because it was noisy.  am i dumb too?
                    \_ Yes.  Absolutely.  No question about it.
        \_ Thanks for the info.  Just one more question: how do you clean
           the power supply fan?  I removed the power supply from the
           machine but the fan is encased in the power supply.  Also,
           the power supply has a sticker which says "THIS PART IS NOT
           USER SERVICABLE DUE TO RISK OF ELECTRIC SHOCK."  Thanks. --op
           \_Obviously unplug the power supply before servicing. You need
           to dissassembly the powersupply, which is easily do-able with
           a phillips head screwdriver. Once you have the cover off you
           want to use either a small vacuum or compressed air to clean
           out the power supply. If the fan needs deeper cleaning or
           needs to be replaced, you need to unscrew the fan from the
           outer casing. There is also a 4 pin power plug you need to disconnect
           so that you can remove the whole unit. Once that is done you can
           easily clean the fan. Make sure you are able to clean the bearings
           which is not easy to do. You may also want to inject some
           lubricant such as silicon gel to smooth out the bearings.
           If the fan is so old or gunky that the
           blade wheel is spinning off kilter, get yourself a new fan.
           This usually means that the bearings or washer (some of these
           cheapie fans don't even have bearings) has gone bad. No amount
           of cleaning is going to save that.
           And I can't stress this enough, MAKE SURE YOU CLEAN THE VENTS.
           I don't know how many people go through the trouble of cleaning
           a PS and forget to do that then complain that the thing gunks up
           after only a couple of weeks.
           If this sounds too complicated for you, get yourself a new
           power supply if the original is one of those cheapie ones.
           And yes, you are on borrowed time if you don't properly ventilate
           a power supply, opposite of what the fellow who stuck paper into
           his powersupply might say. Just FYI, power supply problems are
           probably the leading cause of electronic equipment failure. The
           worst part is that a bad supply leads to other failures, especially
           on cheapie PCBs which use inferior parts.
           One more thing, if you are savvy enough (which you probably aren't)
           check the caps in your powersupply. If any of them don't look right
           you can jerr-rig a multimeter to see if they're still good. The
           first things to go in a powersupply are the caps. Since I deal with
           Sun boxes, it's worth it to my customers to get the powersupply
           fixed vs. use-and-throw.
           \_ You're talking to CSUAers here.  They are professional fan
              cleaners.  This task is not for the weak of weak or other
              non-professionals lacking in critical computing skills.
           \_ Very useful reply. Thank you.
        \_ goto http://endpcnoise.com buy a Nexus PSU. quiet, clean power.
        \_ One thing with opening up the PS case is that there will be
           electricity left in the capacitators, and it can shock you.
           Unplugging the computer from the wall and then turning it on can
           help dissipate it before you crack the case.