The power supply went out on our home computer and my husband and I replaced it ourselves to save the $75 an hour labor costs.
Supplies we needed:
New power supply
Small technicians tool kit with an antistatic wrist guard
Preparations:
First we had to unplug and remove the wires and connectors to the back of the computer and place it on the workbench for easier access. Next we removed the access panel on the computer with the attached thumb screws. As a precaution my husband wore an antistatic wrist guard and attached it to a metal surface on the chassis of the computer so he didn’t get any static buildup.
Replacing the power supply:
First my husband begins by unplugging the main power connector the power supply to the motherboard. There are several pins on this and he had to be careful not to damage them. When he’s finished with this, I moved the other ribbon cables and wires to the side without disturbing any of the connections to make room for the power supply to be removed when necessary. Next my husband disconnects the power wires from the peripherals inside the computer. After removing the five screws that hold the power supply to the computer, he removes it from the tower case and sets it to the side.
After I handed him the new power supply he places it and reattaches the five screws that hold it in the case. When the power supply is secure he then replaces the power wires to the peripherals that he disconnected previously. Last to reconnect is the power supply main cable to the mother board.
Using the thumb screws I replaced the side of the tower case. He made sure that the voltage switch on the back of the computer was set to the correct electrical current for the US before we plugged it in . All that is left to do is to get the new power cord from the package, plug it in, reattach the external hookups and turn it on! The computer came right on the first try and now were ready to compute again!
It was a great experience doing it ourselves and look at the money we saved on labor!