Pentium 3 System Making Weird Noises

[geokilla]

So I have a Pentium 3 system that I'd like to use to outsource videos from my computer and stuff onto my TV. I tried booting it up today and it was making weird noises. I placed my ear by the hard drive and the power supply, and it seems that the weird noises are coming from the power supply. To be exact, I think the sound is coming from the PSU fan because every time I hit the PSU fan, the weird noises would go away.

So if it is the PSU, does this mean that the computer is dying again? Or is it just the PSU fan? The fan still spins and everything, but I'm scared it'd explode cus it'd be placed behind the TV, so it'll be running 24/7.

To give a bit of history, this computer died 3 years ago. Then one day, I decided to boot it back up to make sure that it was dead before we threw it out, and voila, it works again. Stresstested it with Prime and Memtest and everything was fine, so we kept it. Then around 5 months ago, we stopped using it. Now, we have a use for it but the above problem came up.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Replace the PSU.

 

[corkyg]

Or replace the PSU fan - sounds like a shot bearing.

 

[mpilchfamily]

If this isn't the original PSU then sure replace the fan. If it is the original then it would be best to replace the unit all together.

 

[geokilla]

Hmm. I have no clue if it's the original PSU or not because my mom got it from work. Her workplace didn't want the computer anymore because it was too old and slow so they gave it to my mom, whom gave it to me. This was many years ago.

If I was to replace the PSU, what should I replace it with? I heard that these old systems require a good 5V rail as opposed to today's 12V. I wouldn't want to spend much on this system anyways since it's basically junk. Just found a use for it now thanks to our TV.

If I was to replace just the fan, how would I do that? I thought you shouldn't open up PSUs, like it says on the cover of all PSUs.

 

[geokilla]

Bump for help please.

 

[mpilchfamily]

Your just going to have to look for the right PSU. Problem is finding one compatible with that old system. It should be pretty cheap but hard to find.

If you want to replace the fan then buy a new fan, open the PSU up. Remove the old and place in the new. Then you can either leave the power coble for the new fan outside the PSu so you can plug it in or you can splice it into the cables of teh old fan.