Bang Bang Bang Goes the power supply

So I was working along happily this morning, listening to some music, courtesy of iTunes, when I heard a lound BANG come from my computer (which sits on a shelf above to me to the right). The side of the case had been off for awhile, and I saw a large amount of light and sparks come flying out of the machine. I kid you not. Then the UPS started beeping uncontrollably. It was at that point that I realized blatter control should be my top priority. It was bad enough that the computer exploded. I didn't need the added thorn of pee down my pants.

So a few seconds later, then computer was no longer humming. I unplugged all of the cables and took it down off it's perch. It stunk. bad. Burning silicon has a very distinct smell, and it still permeates my office. I started sniffing all over inside, and it was definitely the power supply that burnt. I didn't see any bad places on the motherboard, so I prayed that it was OK.

I talked to my wife, and explained that the computer just died. I told her I had to go buy a new power supply and I might get a new case anyway (since I really don't care for the one I have at all.

I headed off to CompUSA, who unfortunately is the only place I know locally that carries a wide variety of these things. I bought an Antec TruePower 330 power supply, addly enough, that is the low end of the wattage they have. They have a 550 watt power supply! wooo!

So I brought it home, and installed it. Plugged everything back up. Pressed the power button. Nothing happened. My heart dropped, and I thought the whole thing must be dead, then I noticed another power switch on the back of the power supply. i flipped it, and my baby powered back up. From sparks to new power.

As an added bonus, the new power supply is considerably quieter. The other one was driving me nuts.