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A friend of mine has an old Gateway machine whose power supply cooling fan is starting to make a funny whirrrrrring noise. I'm sure it's the bearing in the fan motor.

The computer is so old that I don't think that Gateway even makes the power supply any more and I doubt that I could order one from them at a price that is feasible. It is a proprietary form factor, so I cannot just drop an AT or ATX power supply into the machine either.

My question is this: if this noise just started within the last week, how long can the fan be expected to run before failing completely. After that, how long will it be before the power supply overheats and fails? If the power supply does overheat, what are the expected consequences? Melt everything in the case? Cause the motherboard to shut itself off? Fire?

I have never heard of a power supply cooling fan going bad before the power supply itself. I told her that the fan probably won't quit tonight, and it probably won't quit tomorrow either. However, she sould seriously think about replacing the entire machine within the next couple of months. How long do you guys think she has?

I advised her not to run the machine longer than she had to and to shut it off at night or when she's not around instead of leaving it on as she is prone to do.

Anyone else had an experience like this? Thanks in advance.

I don't know how long the fan itself has, but from personal experience I'd say that the power supply will follow shortly.

I had a fan die (of all things, to dust) in my old Dell computer. First I knew of it was when the system just shut off. "What's that smell?" Opening up the supply, you could actually see melted parts.

My sister's computer (incidentally, it had about 30% of that old Dell in it) had a busted power supply once too. Just shut off and wouldn't turn back on. I don't think it was her fan, though.

In both cases, the computer itself did not get harmed. I don't know if that's by luck or design, so you might not want to try your luck. Just a quick switch of power supplies fixed the computer both times.

It mostly depends on the condition of the power supply interior and ventilation. If you can't find a replacement power supply, I'd suggest buying a can of compressed air, taking the lid of the PSU itself and giving it a good blast. Dust it the big killer for any electrical component, so if you can keep it clean it should keep going for some time yet.

Another option is to replace the fan itself. Most power supply units use 6cm or 8cm fans with a very standard power connectors, so you may be able to replace it at little to no cost.

I have thought about replacing the fan, but I have this thing about working inside power supplies. I don't like it. There are just too many capacitors and other things that can electrocute me in there, so I would just assume replace the whole thing for a few bucks rather than open them up. The problem with this particular power supply is that it's so old, the cheapest I can find it at a surplus site on the internet is about $80 plus shipping (I think that's outrageous for a 150W power supply).

I blew all of the dust out of the fan when I had the case open, so maybe that will buy her a few more weeks of life.