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kribuDecided that just maybe, trying a new power supply first might be a better idea than getting a whole new computer, especially since I had a spare one somewhere behind the bed linen in a cupboard.
I have never, ever, ever seen SO much dust in a computer. :-| And I *have* opened and cleaned this one before... granted, not for a couple of years, I suspect. I really wouldn't be surprised if the issues with random restarts were caused by dust and overheating, if not by the old power supply. So it took me forever to clear it all out. And getting the old power supply out was a hard task - had to take a DVD drive out first to make space. Never mind remembering where all the cables go, but that's something I've done before, at least.
Of course, the new one (getting it in was considerably easier than getting the old one out for some reason) had some bits missing, but I could salvage some extensions from the old one, and didn't bother connecting the old DVD drive (which hasn't worked forever, but as I've lost the bit of plastic that should go in its place in the front panel, I'm keeping it there), so I managed to reorganise the connections a bit. And I *think* I've got everything connected now.
Have it running with side panels missing now, just as a check that everything worked ... good thing, too, as the first attempt showed I'd managed to dislocate the (good) DVD drive cable and so that one didn't work. Now it seems fine.
The amount of dust that can fit inside a computer is just staggering, though. I cleaned up as much as I could, including unscrewing the main fan and cleaning that one up separately (*winces at the mountains of dust that one held*) but didn't quite dare to have a proper go at the CPU fan, so that one still has some inside. Ah well, still considerably less than before.
And the new power supply is 400W compared to the old 350W, which probably isn't a bad thing.
Of course, it remains to be seen if it actually improves anything, as it did work just fine almost all day yesterday, until starting with the random restarts in the evening. If it keeps working fine now, I'll not need to consider a new desktop just yet, even though I still want one (it's still too sluggish, this one) at some point in the not too far future, but if it starts with the stupidity again, I'll at least know it wasn't the dust and the power supply.
Am feeling a little better today than yesterday (fever again yesterday) - lots of sneezing, but half of that might be due to the dust. And I've finally made a start on the challenging prompt - 1600 words yesterday, and I have a feeling I might actually get somewhere with it.
Right, need to turn off the computer now and reattach the side panels. Musti's already showed interest in the inside of the case, so can't really keep it opened up for long. And then I suspect some general cleaning is in order.
I have never, ever, ever seen SO much dust in a computer. :-| And I *have* opened and cleaned this one before... granted, not for a couple of years, I suspect. I really wouldn't be surprised if the issues with random restarts were caused by dust and overheating, if not by the old power supply. So it took me forever to clear it all out. And getting the old power supply out was a hard task - had to take a DVD drive out first to make space. Never mind remembering where all the cables go, but that's something I've done before, at least.
Of course, the new one (getting it in was considerably easier than getting the old one out for some reason) had some bits missing, but I could salvage some extensions from the old one, and didn't bother connecting the old DVD drive (which hasn't worked forever, but as I've lost the bit of plastic that should go in its place in the front panel, I'm keeping it there), so I managed to reorganise the connections a bit. And I *think* I've got everything connected now.
Have it running with side panels missing now, just as a check that everything worked ... good thing, too, as the first attempt showed I'd managed to dislocate the (good) DVD drive cable and so that one didn't work. Now it seems fine.
The amount of dust that can fit inside a computer is just staggering, though. I cleaned up as much as I could, including unscrewing the main fan and cleaning that one up separately (*winces at the mountains of dust that one held*) but didn't quite dare to have a proper go at the CPU fan, so that one still has some inside. Ah well, still considerably less than before.
And the new power supply is 400W compared to the old 350W, which probably isn't a bad thing.
Of course, it remains to be seen if it actually improves anything, as it did work just fine almost all day yesterday, until starting with the random restarts in the evening. If it keeps working fine now, I'll not need to consider a new desktop just yet, even though I still want one (it's still too sluggish, this one) at some point in the not too far future, but if it starts with the stupidity again, I'll at least know it wasn't the dust and the power supply.
Am feeling a little better today than yesterday (fever again yesterday) - lots of sneezing, but half of that might be due to the dust. And I've finally made a start on the challenging prompt - 1600 words yesterday, and I have a feeling I might actually get somewhere with it.
Right, need to turn off the computer now and reattach the side panels. Musti's already showed interest in the inside of the case, so can't really keep it opened up for long. And then I suspect some general cleaning is in order.
