RE: Fixing my Daughter's Computer

Glad it was just a simple problem with an easy fix, and parts for those mini PCs are in abundance. I should get one of those. They're great for all these DePIN mining and other airdrop farming activities that I'm into right now.

So, to answer your question, let me tell you a bit about myself. One of my uncles (he's an electronics engineer) got me into computers back in 1981 with a computer kit (Acorn Atom) he brought back home from a trip to the UK.

He taught me everything I needed to know to get started into the wonderful realm of computing. That fired up my interest in computers and graphics so much that I decided to take computer science (instead of Fine Arts) later in college. And I've been building, troubleshooting, and repairing computers since 1987.

Now, let me share with you a fix I've done on a fan too, but that of a power supply unit. This happened back in 2020 during the start of lockdown. I heard my computer make this grinding sound and found out that it was the fan, it had stopped spinning too. So I pulled out the computer from under my desk and plopped it on the table.

Got the power supply out and poked the fan with a stick and tried to turn it. Sure enough it was stuck and I thought it was a goner. Since it was lockdown, going out to the store to get a replacement was impossible, and so was ordering online. People were afraid to go out and deliver stuff.

But then I thought of opening up the power supply and taking out the fan to see if I could do anything about it. i chatted first with my uncle and he told me to peel off the label underneath the hub and remove the rubber cap. Then I applied a drop of sewing machine oil and turned the fan blade around several times.

When I felt that it was lubricated enough I put the rubber cap back on and glued back the label and put the fan back into the power supply, being careful not to touch any of the big capacitors in there, or I wouldn't be here right now typing this lengthy reply. 🤣

After installing the power supply back into the computer and connecting the cables, I powered it on a checked to see if the fan was spinning. Yep, it was, and no grinding sound. So, I let it run for a minute and then turned the computer off again to put it back into its place under my desk.

And I've been doing this to the fan twice a year since then, and the power supply is still working right now, powering this desktop in my bedroom that I use for personal stuff, including all my onchain social activities and airdrop farming. 😁