Removing PSU fan - very bad idea, hugely bad idea or just a bad idea?

[Audigex]

Sorry for the slow reply here - thanks for the advice guys - I've never had so many people giving the same advice

The problem with the PSU is that it's normal ATX sized, with the fan sort of jury-rigged to the bottom. Unfortunately I'm not at home so I can't take any photos, but basically the fan and its holder make it too high. I can't get the back of the PSU to where the ATX screws are in order to screw it in because the fan hits the area where the IO backplate juts into the case.

The old case and PSU are presumably not ATX standard (or rather the PSU isn't to the standards, and the case fits the PSU so may or may not be standard); either way it doesn't fit.

Anyway, I'll definately be putting my safety above my mum's £50 - I'll just have to hope their hardware out until I go home for christmas; the excessive heat can't be good for it. I've gotten rid of the dust as much as I can, but it'll just build up again.

Merci buckets.

 

[radar19]

I made the mistake of trying to take apart an old HP PSU, its been unplugged and left for about 6-8 months. Me being me, I had a dig around with a metal screwdriver. Yes I know it was stupid but I couldnt find another one. Well I payed the price for my stupidity. I got quite a nasty shock from something in there. Made my arm go numb for about an hour.

 

[Hotwired]

Nothing special about the psu capacitors.

They're only mains voltage or lower.

If I was to screw with a psu:

1) Switch off mains

2) Press power switch on computer

3) Any LEDs might briefly glow as the capacitors in the psu get drained.

If you want to be certain, use gloves/make sure to never touch the tracks or terminals on the PCB, just the component bodies and short out the caps from the bottom using a screwdriver blade between their terminals or if you don't like sharp cracking noises, a large resistor.

It's not a bad idea as in something inherently dumb about it. You just need to be aware of what you need to do to be safe.

 

[capriboy1978]

I our workshops the technicians used to discharge microwave caps with a good insulated screwdriver. Those things make ~350w psu caps look like a aa battery and afaik this was standard practice. However - Safety first - those guys were seasoned engineers in a proffesional environement and knew what they were doing.