Fixed the computer but fans died.

[J McRae]

I had two identical pentiums (CTX brand) and a hard drive from a third CTX. Both computers had their own problems, hard drive dying in one but it had a good CD and the other with no hard drive and a bad CD. I cannibalized the computer with the bad hard drive, taking the good cd and implanted the extra hard drive in the second computer. The hard drive and cd work fine,...but neither the fan on the power source or the mother board are working. I checked the wire from the motherboard fan and it is hooked up to the wires from the power source.

Suggestions?

[randyrhoads1981]

Check the voltages on the power supply fan and the processor fan..be careful inside of that PSU though..should be getting a reading of 10 to 15 volts..although id say the powersupply fan has died and may be taking the PSU along with the ride..id replace the power supply and should fix you up..go ahead and invest some extra for a quality processor fan while your at it. Shouldnt be any problem picking up a 300 watt PSU and a fan for about $60.

[saphalline]

How old are these machines? By "pentium" do you mean the orginal Pentium that topped off at 200/233MHz? A PC that old is probably of the AT case style, and the case may be proprietary which could make it difficult or impossible to fit a standard ATX power supply in it.

You mentioned two machines, does the other power supply work?

[randyrhoads1981]

Well i have at least 40 pre 233 computers here and all of the AT power supplies are the same size and bolt pattern as a standard ATX, untill you get into the "baby" ATX ive never had any problems using ATX's in a old AT case..in fact the PC im using now was originaly a 133MHZ with 200watt AT PSU and now has a super 7 with a 300 watt ATX so go figure..now of course i know the motherboard connectors are different from the two,but you can still buy AT power supplies new. And if that fan in the PSU has stopped that usually will lead to all sorts of problems. And more than likly its several years old and if you plan on getting any use of that id get a new one.

[J McRae]

Thanks for your thoughts! Yes, the machines are original Pentiums - they were used exclusively for word processing and hit the junk pile after five or so years. I'm going to attempt to swap the power supply first...then try to find a new one if that doesn't work. I really don't have the equipment to test voltages, I probably shouldn't even be messing around the way I have been...no training and all...it's just so much fun fixing things!

I really appreciate your support!

Judi

[Paleo Pete]

If by "fan on the motherboard" you mean the CPU fan, you should be able to test it with a 9 volt battery. That's how I test them. It won't run at full speed, but should spin with 9 volts. Just make sure it's NOT connected to anything on the computer when you try it...

Cut a couple of short peices of small wire from an old phone cord or similar, and use them to plug into the connector on the fan. Solid one-strand wire works best.

If that shows that the CPU fan does work, I would think the power supply has problems...

[BigBlue66]

I think they make adapters that will convert an AT connector to an ATX connector. Or, is it vice versa?

[Rick]

You can convert from ATX to AT but not AT to ATX
the AT only supports 12 and 5 volts

[J McRae]

Cool! Thanks again for the info. I'll give the cpu fan a test!
I don't know converting AT to ATX or vice versa...if I can't get it to work, I'll just give it to the boys who know what their doing and go back to the kitchen!

You folks are great! I love the new site!

Judi