A user solved a problem with his computer in a very questionable way. To silence the power supply’s noisy fan, he blocked it with a pair of scissors that he stuck through the fan grille.
If there are problems with the computer, not all users can or want to take action themselves. In such cases, service technicians can help remotely or on site. In private circles, relatives like to use both options depending on the problem when IT support is needed.
On Reddit, a technician reported on a special on-site operation. A user blocked his power supply fan with a pair of scissors to stop the annoying noise. He had no idea what danger he was exposing himself to.
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“The fan makes too much noise” – user inserts scissors into his loud power supply
What did the user do? On Reddit, a service technician reports on an on-site operation. A customer contacted him about a problem with the image output on his computer. It turned out that the monitor was defective.
There was also another problem with the computer. But the customer didn’t mention that on the phone. The fan in the power supply is said to make annoying noises. To fix this, the user allegedly decided to block the fan with a pair of scissors.
The fan is making too much noise, so I found a solution.
The user told the technician who posted this experience on Reddit
Why does he use scissors? The technician asked his customer why he had chosen such a risky solution to the problem.
According to the service technician, the user appeared to be ignorant. A gamer had a similar experience with a noise after installing his new graphics card.
The user is said to have simply not recognized the danger that arose from his careless actions. When he showed his computer, he simply says, “Oh, and the fan is making noise, so I put this in there” (via Reddit).
The user told the technician that he did not turn on the computer regularly. He only needs it for a maximum of an hour a day for everyday things like checking emails. Due to the low usage of the computer, this solution seemed to be fine for him.
Dangerous “repair” horrifies the community
Why is this dangerous? During operation, current flows continuously through the components and the risk of electric shock is very high. With modern power supplies, the mains voltage is between 100 and 240 volts thanks to automatic adjustment.
In general, we strongly advise against opening a power supply unit, for example to repair it yourself. Even when switched off, there are still residual voltages inside that can be life-threatening.
The user was very lucky that the scissors apparently only blocked the fan and had no contact with other live components.
Instead of the scissors, the user now uses a plastic part because he doesn’t want to have the power supply replaced due to the low usage, although there are now models that can be installed without much effort.
How does the community react? Users who respond to the service technician’s Reddit post are horrified. Some of them hope that the technician explained his mistake to his customer. Cool_Cheetah658 hopes that the user now knows what danger he has put himself in.
Please tell me you explained to him what a PSU is and how close he came to potentially taking his own life.
Cool_Cheetah658 on Reddit
LD_weirdo has a very clear opinion about the user’s behavior:
The average person should be able to tell from the power cord running from the wall into the computer that it’s probably not a good idea to plug metal objects into it. Could just be me, but that’s just stupid in my opinion.
It should now be clear to the user that he was very lucky with this action because nothing bad happened. But his new solution with a plastic part may not be permanent either. Without a rotating fan, the power supply could overheat and cause further problems.
Another user had less luck with his PC. Although he didn’t make a direct mistake, he underestimated how strong a lightning strike could be and found a way around it using his technology: Users disconnect their computer from the power during a thunderstorm, but it is still hit by lightning via the modem’s LAN cable