Loud Crack : PSU Problem ?

Newbie here. Got a persistent problem. Every now and again there is a loud crack comes from the tower, this has gone on for around 1 week, I suspect it may be the PSU, is it OK to put any PSU into tower, I was thinking 350w - 500w ?
It is an old system as follows: AMD Athlon XP 2200+ 1.8ghz 1.25 GB Ram

Any help would be appreciated

 

Greetings, lucca.

Loud cracks ain't good. Is the system working correctly, regardless?

If you're leaning towards a PSU replacement, this calculator might help you decide the proper wattage, and with the age of your machine, a replacement supply shouldn't have to be anything fancy.

You might visually check your motherboard, look for any burn tracks, bulging or leaking capacitors - 'loud cracks' might be a cap expanding.

 

Thanks for your reply, appreciated. Yes it is working OK although very faint interference on screen, it has been happening 2-3 times a day.
Could you advise next best step after checking motherboard please.

 

Got a problem with the calculator, ahem, would not know where to start.

 

Clicked on calculate and it came up with 84w, does that mean that I should not exceed 84 or can I go higher to say 350 or 500 or would that not be a ggod move, just I chave a couple of spare towers and would remove one from them.

 

I'd be willing to bet that a 350-500w supply will be sufficient.

Do this, so we can get a handle on your specs:

Download and install Everest, a free system information tool.

Run Everest and click Report (top menu) > Report Wizard > Next - Choose System Summary Only > Next - Choose Plain Text > Finish and wait for report to generate.
Click Save to File and leave the File Name as Report, then click the Save as Type dropdown and choose Report files (*txt) - click Save (n.b. Save to desktop, use Browse to locate desktop).

Then attach your log to your next post per these instructions: HOW TO: Attach Items To Your Post.

 

That is brilliant, I will check that out tonight, much appreciated, I will post the outcome.
Thanks again guys.

 

Report attatched

 

Sorry forgot to mention, battery appears to be dead and Windows only re-loads after re-start then preesing F1.
I know I'd be better scrapping and starting again but cash is tight, lost job, plus PC runs very well when up and running, better than some folk that I know with new systems.

 

Agreed with the CMOS battery - easy fix.

I plugged in your specs and came up with around 265 watts: any PSU above that should be good - with power supplies, more is better.

So, that would be the logical next step - if visual inspection shows nothing, pull a known good PSU from another unit, hook it up and see what happens.

 

Many thanks, I will try that this week, I really appreciate your help and will let you know the outcome.
Again, many thanks.

 

No problem - keep us posted.

 

I would open the case and take a whiff! Do you smell any burnt smells? Do the same at the back vent of the PSU.

Before changing the battery, make sure you unplug the PSU from the wall first. And after replacing the battery (available at most any battery/watch/camera counter) boot directly into the BIOS Setup Menu and reset the date and time, then Save and Exit to boot normally.

 

Opened the case no smell, changed PSU to one I know that works and still the same problem.
Powers up, tries to load and keeps trying monitor clicks and goes off tries to load again then clicks and goes off, this goes on and on.
Windows XP logo page loads, eventually tries to go to load but nothing happens.
I have noticed there has been interference on the monitor similar to the intereference on a TV screen when an amplifier fitted to aerial and is a bit overpowered, very faint lines on the whole sreen in the background. I have changed the battery.
Any help would be appreciated.
Many thanks

 

Keep going with the replacement procedures, if possible - video card, RAM, etc. The loud crack could have come from any component, but this is sounding more like a motherboard problem.

 

Well, usually load cracks or pops, when electrical in nature (that is, not something banging into a fan blade or the like), are caused by capacitors bursting, literally, at their seams. So I would inspect the motherboard for leaking or bulging capacitors. It is not common these days, but you said this was an old system, and the motherboard may have been made before the switch to solid capacitors. The capacitors look like tall soda cans and there will be many on the motherboard, with most in the regulator circuits surrounding the CPU socket to take advantage of air flow from the CPU fan. Look for white to dark-brown, dried foam that has leaked from the top or bottom of these devices. Bulging capacitors are a sign that it may blow soon. These caps will have a letter or symbol stamped in the tops - these are actually stress relief points so the caps burst open rather than explode.

Motherboards can be re-capped, but it is usually not cost effective.

If you don't see any leaking capacitors, then I agree with Caliban's course of action - I would start by disconnecting and removing everything not needed such as extra drives and all but one stick of RAM.