OT: Removing fan from 486's power supply?

[Gryphin]

I would discourage you from trying to remove the fan. I'd suggest finding a sourse of "white sound" or "background noise". What I mean is play a CD with music that counters what I am guessing is a high pitch whine. something with a deaper bass might work.

What ever you do:
Backup your data. If that power supply goes you may not be able to find a replacement.

[geoschmo]

If the issue is cost you might help the situation a lot by simply making sure the fan blades and air vents are clean. A thin layer of dust is enough to cause a significant db increase in noise. Also make sure the fan is mounted tightly to the supply and the supply is mounted tightly to the cabniet as vibrations cause noise as well. It won't make the fan silent, but it could drop it below the threshold of what your ears percieve as annoying.

[Baron Munchausen]

Yes, removing or disabling the fan is likely to cause problems. Those old power supplies may have had a bit less wattage but they definitely built up a lot of heat. It's dangerous to even open the power supply, actually. There are capacitors in their which hold very large charges for a long time.

There are 'special' power supplies available these days with very quiet fans if all you want is a lower noise level. I don't know if they are available for the old AT type systems, though. They might only be available for ATX systems. You'll have to do some Googling and see what turns up. Try searching for something like 'quiet power supply'...

[Thermodyne]

Some PSU’s will not start unless they detect the fan. A trick that you can use to quiet them down is to take the 5+ lead and connect it to the 3.3v rail. Fan will run about 40% slower.

[Asmala]

The only purpose of the computer is to work as a electronic dictionary (my main computer isn't there where I need the dictionary) so I don't want to take pains with it. I just asked if it doesn't need the fan because it would have been an easy and fast way to muffle it.

Gryphin:
Hey thanks, that's a good idea I haven't even thought about it As I said the computer is only an old 486 and I just took it from the storage so there's nothing important to backup.

Geoschmo:
Thanks, I'll check those. Perhaps I'll also remove the safety grid from the front of the fan.

Baron:
Hmm, I think a new special silent power supply to an ancient computer would be a bit exaggeration, even if I'd manage to found one somewhere.

Thermodyne:
Do you think it will still cool enough?

[Thermodyne]

Originally posted by Asmala:
The only purpose of the computer is to work as a electronic dictionary (my main computer isn't there where I need the dictionary) so I don't want to take pains with it. I just asked if it doesn't need the fan because it would have been an easy and fast way to muffle it.

Gryphin:
Hey thanks, that's a good idea I haven't even thought about it As I said the computer is only an old 486 and I just took it from the storage so there's nothing important to backup.

Geoschmo:
Thanks, I'll check those. Perhaps I'll also remove the safety grid from the front of the fan.

Baron:
Hmm, I think a new special silent power supply to an ancient computer would be a bit exaggeration, even if I'd manage to found one somewhere.

Thermodyne:
Do you think it will still cool enough?

Sure. They manage to cool when they are packed full of schmegma, which cuts it back by more than 50%

[Asmala]

Originally posted by Thermodyne:
Sure. They manage to cool when they are packed full of schmegma, which cuts it back by more than 50%

OK. But when they're full of what? schmegma: bad command or word name for me