I’ve been having power issues with my desktop for a couple of months. Often this manifests itself on startup, where it just shuts down. I suspect it is the power supply, but wouldn’t rule out something else.
Other little things like needing to reset the wireless adapter and an optical drive that is no longer reliable.
I’ve never replaced a power supply before, but have done a few other relatively simple things like optical drive replacement. I think I can probably handle it, but wonder if it would be simpler and maybe even as economical to just get a new PC and just move over the hard drive.
My needs are pretty simple. I’m running Windows 10, Windows Office, web browser, Quicken and a few other applications. No intense graphics or calculations.
If the computer meets all your needs, the power supply is a cost effective repair. I haven’t used an optical drive in years. It depends on your finances regarding getting a new computer. The plus of a new box is you get Windows 11…doc
Thats the nice thing about most things (card readers,optical drives, wifi device, camera, microphone) we used to build into a computer, you can now just add it through a USB. I mean, you can have a computer built with just a MOBO, power supply, cpu, ram video card , SSD and OS. Then you can plug everything else in via USB and if you need , they have USB hubs that increase the number of things you can connect. I hadn’t reallized how easy it is to build or buy a new computer…doc
At my last upgrade I went in a whole new direction. I’d assembled my own systems for years - decades - buying cases, power supplies, motherboards, and all the rest. I took the totally opposite approach, and bought a good laptop. One at the high-end, with enough storage an oomph to last me many years. But the key to me being happy with it, after nothing but full sized setups, is a Kensington Thunderbolt 4 Docking Station.
There is one (1) cable connected to the laptop. It runs from the docking station, and is a USB Thunderbolt 4 connection. It powers the computer; the brick that came with the laptop sits in the bag I use if I travel. But it is what else is plugged into the dock that makes things more interesting.
The computer sits on a stand to the left, with the dock underneath, secured to the base with Scotch Command strips to keep it there.
When I travel I disconnect that one cable from the laptop, and put the laptop and wireless mouse in the travel bag where the power brick that came with it stays. When I come home I put it back on the stand, plug in that one cable, and I’m back where I was. All the comforts of the big screen, real keyboard, good speakers, and no muss or fuss coming or going. The two screen are configured so that if I move the mouse off the left side of my monitor it appears on the laptop’s screen, but I rarely display anything there when it is docked.
Fumbled my way through the power supply replacement. Still, it only took about an hour with my 60 year old eyesight and not always knowing exactly what I was doing. About 3 steps in, I thought I really ought to be keeping track of what cables I am disconnecting and where they go, so I started to do that. The dismantling took longer than putting it back together. Powered right up and everything seems to work, at least for now. Even the optical drive seems to be working now, so perhaps the power supply had something to do with that too.
