Ok my power suplt died in my dell OptiPlex GX260. I have a few questions 1. Can I plug in the hard drive from that computer to another(I have all my program code in there) 2. I smelt something burining awhile ago, could it just be a short or a problem. 3. A little extra info what does a blinking yellow light mean in the power button
Its the power suply that I know is faulty. The problem is that my dad is a cake and so he won't lewt me try and fix it. Mainly I want an answer to #1
answer to #1: yeah, you can plug your HD using another computer as long as it won't be the primary master HD... answer to #2: it's not just a short... the PS is fried.... I always have that burning smell right before the PS is about to die. answer to #3: I guess it's a way for dell to find what is wrong... a simple diagnostic. The easy way to fix this problem is to change your PS. takes about 3 minutes to change one and cost around 50 $... but I guess you'll have to buy a DELL PS and that can cost alot more...
if you think your PS is starting to go bad stop using it. That thing puts out alot of amps and if it's acting up you can start to fry your hardware. Most people can get a replacement powersupply for their computers for under 100 dollars. Try http://www.newegg.com Cheapest rates in most cases, users reviews and prettty good support. You might have to return it but they don't fight you about stuff. I've had buring smells come from a bunch of different things. I friend my CPU once, my MB once but if you think it's the PS that's likely all it is. You can swap the drive into another computer. I believe you can even boot from the drive if you want just depends on which side of the IDE cable you plug it into Master/Slave. Either way just make sure to go through the bios setup and reconfigure it all for the new drive. I believe the yellow light means power but no signal but I can't be sure because I've never owned a dell. Also most people don't own diagnostic tools and just do swap and checks, works fine just means you have to have compatable spare parts. It's why computer junkies always have a broken down computer or two laying around.