Tip #4357 - Installing a Power Supply
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Q:
Now that you've told us what to look out for in a faulty power supply
and how to go about replacing it, can you please tell us how to install
a new one? That's the only thing you haven't covered yet. Thanks for
all your help with this!
A:
Of course I will! As promised from yesterday's
newsletter, I will tell you exactly how to install your brand new
power supply. Now, if you're just tuning in, you'll want to refer
back to yesterday's (November 14, 2007) Q&A tip to get caught
up on what we're talking about, but here's a quick rundown for you.
In that tip, we went over a couple things you can check on to make
sure your power supply really is "dead" before you go out
and buy a whole new one, we discussed how to remove the power supply
from your computer case and we talked about what to look for when
shopping for a new unit. Whew!
So,
all that's left now is actually installing your new power supply and
that's exactly what we're going to cover today. I know most of you
are probably at different stages in this process and that's fine.
I mean, some of you may have already gone out and purchased a new
power supply, some of you may still be researching which one you'd
like to get and the rest of you may just be reading through this information
for future reference. Either way, you can print this tip out or save
it to your computer and that way, you'll have it whenever you need
it. That's the beauty of this newsletter! Okay, so what do you say
we get started with this? Let's go!
Once you have
your sparkling new power supply, double check one more time that all
the power around your computer is turned off. You don't want any power
running through your system when trying to install a new piece of
hardware. Otherwise, you may get the shock of your life! When you're
ready, take the screws you saved when you removed your old power supply
and use them to secure your new one into place. It should fit perfectly
into the spot where your old one used to sit. When you're done with
that, go ahead and follow these steps:
1.) First, find
the ATX power connector on your new power supply and plug it into
your motherboard's receptacle. Make sure it's plugged in tightly as
well.
2.) Next, take
the rest of the power connectors and plug them into your hard drive,
CD ROM drive and any other components that may need to be hooked up
to the power supply. This just depends on how many devices you have
along with your computer. Just make sure they're all firmly plugged
in and then move on to the next step.
3.) Once you've
got everything hooked up, take a look around and make sure there are
no unused power connectors just hanging there. If you just leave them
there, they could eventually touch a fan or the heat sink and that
could be bad news! If you don't need them for anything, you can tie
them up with a rubber band and put them in a safe spot, away from
any of the other components.
4.) Now, you can
put your computer case back together! Just slide the panel back on
and screw it into place.
5.) You can reconnect
your monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc.
6.) Next, flip
the On/Off switch on the back of your power supply to the On
position.
7.) Finally, plug
the power cable on the back of your power supply to the wall socket
or your power strip.
That's it! You
have now installed your very own power supply. I'm so proud of you!
You can now start up your computer and experience what it's like to
have a nice, quiet fan. No more awful noises coming from your computer.
Oh yeah!
~ Erin
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