# changing the power supply



## robut (Aug 22, 2007)

Is it very hard to change the power supply ?
Is this a matter unpluging, unscrewing and re energizeing the system
providing I buy the right supply and can I buy a little larger wattage and install it 

I keep getting a message in green ( AUTO Processing)
and on start up {VGA} The screen will then freeze, after re starting it will run perfect for hours. and other times 5 min. The fans are running.
It runs nice and fast. I have cleaned all the fans too.

robut :whistling2:


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

The PSU is a very easy replacement. Unplug the computer, disconnect any peripherals that also plug in (the monitor, printer, etc). After opening the case, there are 4 screws (sometimes 3) on the back of the computer that hold the power supply in place. Remove them and the PSU will slide free. Other than that, it's as simple as unplugging the motherboard and drive connectors.

You may want to open your machine up and see how many of what types of connectors you currently have. Some of the lower cost PSUs you can buy may not have enough SATA power connectors, or if you have an old machine it may be the opposite problem - SATA connectors you don't need.

How old is your system? Other than the power supply, it sounds like it could _possibly_ be a faulty video card.


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## robut (Aug 22, 2007)

*changing power supply*

how hard is it to change the vidio card
is there a way to check this.

robut


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## poppameth (Oct 2, 2008)

It's even easier to change the video card. Just one screw or clip and you pull it out and pop the new on back in. Make sure to uninstall the drivers first if possible. Install new drivers for the new card when back in the OS.

If you have onboard video you can switch to that to see if video is the issue. If your current video is onboard and that's what's giving you the trouble, then only thing you can do put put a separate video card in to see if that fixes it.

And yes you can upgrade the wattage on the supply. The main thing is making sure it has the correct connections for your motherboard. Can you tell us what model your PC is?


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## injvstice (Oct 30, 2010)

It is all relative depending on what PC you have. I have an HP workstation and the power supply just slides out without tools, but that means I can only buy a replacement from HP. Nevertheless, I love tool less components, they feel well thought out.


I have had pcs where I would have had to remove everything from the motherboard to wiggle the power supply out. Usually I just ended up popping up the motherboard with all components still attached.



as for the video card, it is again all relative, but usually much simpler. The only complications usually come when the new card requires separate power supplies, in which case you need to find power directly from the power supply. But that is unlikely on a consumer PC since consumer cards tend to be low power. Generally must make sure that you have the right slot available in your PC, and there is enough space for the form factor of your new card. Sometimes the right port is not the most convenient one (check the card specs, then the slot specs, e.g. 8x, 16x, etc). Stay away from workstation grade cards (such as the nvidia quadro series) for home applications and to keep from going broke.


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