Replace a Power Supply
A bad power supply (or PSU) is one of the most common computer problems that can happen. Some symptoms that indicate you might have a bad PSU are:
- Nothing happens when you press the power button. Sometimes a light may flash or flash continuously in the front of the computer or on the back of the power supply.
- Your computer turns on and then almost immediately turns off.
- The computer turns on, but when games or other applications are running it will suddenly turn off or give you a blue screen error.
Frequent causes of a power supply failure are:
- It's just old
- Electrical surges such as lightning or a power spike
- Dirt build-up on the fans
- Failure of the internal fans
The only sure way to tell if you have a bad power supply is to use a power supply tester to test it, but if you have a combination of the symptoms above it is very likely that the PSU will have to be replaced.
Replacing a power supply is a very easy and straightforward process. The first thing you will do is open the computer case. Once inside you will unplug the power connections going between the power supply and the motherboard, disk drives and fans. Finally you will remove the four screws holding the power supply in the computer and take out the faulty unit. The screws are easily located on the back of the case. To install a new power supply simply do everything in reverse order and your system will be back in working condition. Watch the video below for a demonstration of how it is done.