My first computer was an IBM PS/2-30 that I called Percy.
Percy ran at an astonishing 8 MHZ and had a 20 MB HDD. Due to poverty I was still running this machine as late as 1991 when the power supply inexplicably failed. The motherboard etc. would only work with that power supply. The case and power supply were proprietary and I couldn't find one for sale in town anywhere. That was before the internet took off so I couldn't just hop online and order one.
So I resolved to fix it. I had it on good authority that it was probably just the switch and it would be an easy swap once I got it open. That's where the fun began. It was sealed with little star-head bolts that were somehow locked in place. Well I didn't have a star driver, but I did have a hacksaw. So I tried to hacksaw off the side of the case and the power supply. (I did remove everything else from the case first)
Well that didn't work because the bolts were just too strong. I sawed and sawed but only succeeded in making a terrible racket. My mother hollered at me to take this project outside, so I continued out in the driveway. I gave up on the saw because it was just taking too darn long, but I'd made some headway and figured I could break the bolts and get into the guts of the deal with a steel chisel and a hammer.
I thought the saw was loud. By the time I started whaling on the thing with the hammer and chisel the neighbors were complaining. I snapped the bolts and got the side partially pried open but found I couldn't get to the switch because it was actually on the opposite side of the power supply, stuck to the back side of the case, out of reach.
Rather than pound the crap out of the back of the case I gave up and went inside. A buddy was over the next day and asked if the computer with the side torn out of it still worked. I decided to humor him and try it, and to my surprise it powered up. In fact it was quite a lot quieter than it had been before. I hooked the motherboard and HDD back up and it worked for another year and a half before I finally threw the thing away.
Now whenever I have a power supply act up I just take out a hammer and chisel. It seems to get the message across.
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My first computer was an IBM PS/2-30 that I called Percy. Percy ran at an astonishing 8 MHZ and had a 20 MB HDD. Due to poverty I was still running this machine as late as 1991 when the power supply inexplicably failed. The motherboard etc. would only work with that power supply. The case and power supply were proprietary and I couldn't find one for sale in town anywhere. That was before the internet took off so I couldn't just hop online and order one. So I resolved to fix it. I had it on good authority that it was probably just the switch and it would be an easy swap once I got it open. That's where the fun began. It was sealed with little star-head bolts that were somehow locked in place. Well I didn't have a star driver, but I did have a hacksaw. So I tried to hacksaw off the side of the case and the power supply. (I did remove everything else from the case first) Well that didn't work because the bolts were just too strong. I sawed and sawed but only succeeded in making a terrible racket. My mother hollered at me to take this project outside, so I continued out in the driveway. I gave up on the saw because it was just taking too darn long, but I'd made some headway and figured I could break the bolts and get into the guts of the deal with a steel chisel and a hammer. I thought the saw was loud. By the time I started whaling on the thing with the hammer and chisel the neighbors were complaining. I snapped the bolts and got the side partially pried open but found I couldn't get to the switch because it was actually on the opposite side of the power supply, stuck to the back side of the case, out of reach. Rather than pound the crap out of the back of the case I gave up and went inside. A buddy was over the next day and asked if the computer with the side torn out of it still worked. I decided to humor him and try it, and to my surprise it powered up. In fact it was quite a lot quieter than it had been before. I hooked the motherboard and HDD back up and it worked for another year and a half before I finally threw the thing away. Now whenever I have a power supply act up I just take out a hammer and chisel. It seems to get the message across.