When Moore Met Murphy...
or... "how to retrofit a modern PSU (power supply) to an aging and proprietary PC"...

As most of us know (or at least believe), existing technology self-obsolesces.  As equipment gets older, it tends to break down, forcing consumers to periodically purchase new technology.  This in turn increases market demand, which in turn increases competition, which tends to yield innovation... or at least the perception of innovation.  This is usually referred to as "planned obsolescence".  If you think about it, it's really the driving force behind "Moore's Law".  As such, that term could be appropriately renamed "Moore's Law of Obsolescence".  Well, enough soapbox, on to the subject at hand.

As with all things in life, "Murphy's Law" can catch up to you when you least expect it.  My recent unfortunate incident is such a case.  It all started about 6 months or so ago, when I decided to upgrade the NVIDIA GeForce 4 Ti 4600 graphics card that came installed with my Dell Dimension 8200 P4 system several years ago.  (As a software developer, I usually buy Dell PCs for production and development use, and do other brands and custom builds for additional testing.  While I'd rather build all of my own from scratch, as it is quite a bit of fun, I do this so that what we're working with is what the largest percentage of our customers will be working with.)  Anyhow, about 6 months ago or so, I decided to replace the GeForce 4 card with NVIDIA's then brand-new 6800 series (which is still top-of-the-line).  It's a sweet card that is ideal for developers that want to take advantage of all the latest DirectX features in code, and actually test them without emulation.  The only downside was that the 6800 required significantly more power to run than the GeForce 4 series.  My Dell Dimension 8200 came with a 250w PSU that was well suited for the default configuration for the machine, but would not give nearly enough power on the appropriate rails for everything I'd swapped in and out of the system, especially not with the new 6800 series graphics card.  (In fact, at this time, the only components that remain the same on the system are the motherboard, processor, and case.  So... I don't know if you'd really call it a Dell computer anymore, as it's been so heavily modified... I'll let you decide!)  In any case, I needed to get a minimum 350w PSU.  However, due to Dell's case design, which has sheet metal all the way up the back with cutouts for the PSU's plug/voltage switch and fan (rather than a wide opening like you find with off-the-shelf cases), I couldn't find any PSU on the market that had the plug socket in the right spot.  (Maybe I should have looked harder!)  So, I knew I was going to have to do something hinky to make it fit, so I found a very cheap generic brand 400w PSU and underwent the painful process of taking the PSU apart and cutting a new hole for the plug outlet that would fit the Dell case, rewiring the plug socket to the new location, and slapping it into the machine.  It worked just fine for 6 months or so (without so much as a hiccup)... until yesterday... when Moore met Murphy...

Yesterday morning, I was racing against the clock to finish testing a new version of a piece of software for a customer.  It was expected to be delivered that same day, but everything was going very well, so I wasn't too worried.  During the middle of a test cycle, the picture disappeared off the monitors, and the computer started giving off slow and steady warning beeps.  I figured something had crashed, although I'd never had a crash quite like that.  Ever.  With half my mind worried, and the other half strangely curious, I looked over at the PC, and the power light built into the power switch was flashing amber.  As I'd never seen that before (it was always solid green), it was not a good sign.  I turned off the PC.  I waited a moment, then turned it back on.  Nothing happened.  I pressed the power switch a couple times, just to be sure, and still... absolutely nothing.  It was dead as a doornail.  It suddenly dawned on me that this wasn't a system crash at all, but that the power supply had died... or the motherboard died... or both... I wasn't sure, but my gut said told me it was the power supply.  I even asked a friend and he agreed it sounded like the PSU.  I then had the dubious task of having to call the customer with the bad news.  The software update would have to wait until Monday, as all the most recent code was on one of the hard drives in that system.  This was especially unfortunate as the customer was really looking forward to this particular update, from which he could finally make the full and final migration from his old system to the new system I was providing.  Needless to say, I was not a happy camper!  (Nor was my customer, I'm quite sure!)  I guess I could have simply moved the hard drive with the project on it to another PC, and installed all my dev tools on that machine.  Even though there are many tools to install, that may even have been the faster solution (albeit still quite a project, not to mention potentially violating a few license agreements by having two installs).  However, either way, the software was not going to be able to be delivered on that day since either project would take enough time to delay it to Monday, the next business day.  So, I decided to simply replace the PSU.  After all, it was going to have to be done soon anyhow to get this system up and running.

I considered, ever so briefly, purchasing another generic PSU and cutting its case (or, if possible, transferring the contents of it to my already modified PSU case), but quickly reconsidered that notion, as buying a generic brand PSU was what got me into this mess in the first place.  As you can see from the picture below (which displays the innards of the failed generic PSU), there are some burn/chemical looking marks between the fuse and that capacitor, and extending to one of the power lines.  Weird.  Not sure what happened there, but it's not a good sign!  (And no, for those of you wondering, it had nothing to do with my refitting the case on that PSU, as I never touched the wiring on the board itself. lol :P )

So, it was power supply shopping time.  There are a lot of great brands there, and as I looked around, I found that PSUs with the plug in the appropriate spot to fit the DELL case were available, but not as common as those with the plug in the "normal" spot.  Even more rare would be a power supply with the right power rating on the right rails, with the plug in the "right" spot, and with no other extra features, like a manual power switch, fan control knobs or buttons, etc.  You get the idea.  Those extra features just wouldn't work, since the sheet metal on the back of the Dell didn't have cutouts for them.  Since the PC is leased, I can't legally make any permanent alterations to the computer itself.  Needless to say, cutting the back of the Dell case would certainly qualify as a permanent alteration.  To make a long story short, I did find a PSU that was an absolutely perfect match, made by Zippy.  I searched the web, and found that Zippy PSUs got excellent reviews all around.  This was a good thing... however, it would take several days to get to me, which was NOT good.  I needed one today, so I could get the software update to my customer first thing Monday morning.  Even with overnight delivery, the best case would be to get it on Monday morning, leaving me to install the new PSU, rerun the tests, finish the build and update the installer... a whole day's work, leaving Tuesday as the earliest delivery date for the customer.  Unacceptable.  So, back to shopping.

EUREKA!  I had found a nearly-suitable PSU at CompUSA being sold from a relatively new California based company under the name "Mad Dog".  Well, the plug was in the right spot, so no PSU case cutting.  (That GOD, that was a HUGE PAIN!!)  I had our corporate sales guy at CompUSA set one aside for pick-up.  I checked around online, and found professional reviews for the Mad Dog PSU's to be good, as long as what it offered in terms of power and connectors was useful for your system.  (Some reviewers felt it had heat sinks that were too small, but I think the additional twin fans on the top case make up for that.)

In any case, the Mad Dog PSU seemed like a good choice, but the problem was that it came with a power switch and fan button on the back, and again, there were no cutouts on the Dell PC for such extras.  So, I called the company, and spoke to a gentleman there at Mad Dog about their product.  He seemed very interested in my problem, and even wanted me to let me know how things went.  That right there was a good sign... a company that cares is a company that I can feel confident in!  Anyhow, I asked him about removing the switch and fan button, and he said that it would void the warranty... which is to be expected.  So, I asked him a few more questions, under the premise that I was willing to scrap the warranty, and he was very helpful.  All-in-all... I was feeling pretty good about Mad Dog.  When I got the PSU in hand, it just shined of better quality than the preceding PSU.  Now to just find a way to get rid of that pesky power switch and Fan control knob (and lights), displayed below.  (IMPORTANT: Opening the case of your PSU will void its warranty, so if you care about the warranty, find a perfect match instead.)

When I opened the case, I immediately noticed that the insides were fairly neatly arranged, so I wasn't going to have too much trouble manipulating things.  It was at this point that I decided not to simply tuck away the switches and such somewhere inside the case, but to remove the voltage switch as well (the 115v/230v switch), extend all the relevant wiring through the hole for the voltage switch, and re-hook up all switches within the confines of an external enclosure.

As you can see in the pictures below, the switches came out of the casing quite nicely.  If you look closely at the power switch, you'll see several silver dots on it, and silver dots on the connected wires to match.  This is a great way to mark specific wires for specific terminals, so you put everything back together the way it was prior to your tinkering.  (Thank God for Sharpie Silver pens!!!!)

The trick to separating wiring from the switches is to get yourself a decent desoldering iron.  With a desoldering iron, you can heat up the solder, then instantly suck it away from the contact, making it it very easy to remove the wiring without any mess whatsoever.

Once you have removed the switches and such, get your new extension wiring ready.  Don't forget to match gauging.  In this case, the gauging required 18 gauge for power related wires and 24 gauge for the Fan switch and lamps.  I used 18 gauge and 22 gauge respectively.  (22 is a fine replacement if you don't have 24 gauge handy, as it's thicker, so it can hold the signal, without being too thick.)  By the way, it is important to use stranded wiring for projects like this, as solder takes to them much better than solid wiring.  This brings me too my next points.  The way to properly extend a wire is using wire nuts.  They keep the connection tight while providing shielding so the exposed areas don't touch anything and create a short somewhere.  However, wire nuts can work loose under certain conditions.  As such, it is wise to first solder the joints between the two wires, so if the wire nut were to loosen, you won't lose your contact between the two wires.  Once soldered, screw on the nut, then wrap high-quality electrical tape tightly around the wires, wrapping upwards around the nut as well, anchoring the nut in position so that it can't turn loose on it's own.  Finally, use heat shrink tubing (you can get this at Radio Shack among other places) over the electrical tape to ensure that the tape doesn't ever unravel.  Some people like to use heat shrink tubing without tape, however, the heat shrink tubing will allow the nut to have some play, it's only really useful for sheathing.  In any case, to heat the tubing so it shrinks to fit, some people may suggest a lighter.  I find that a good high-powered hair dryer does the trick just fine, and without burning anything.

Another good use for heat shrink tubing is to neatly group wires. 

Once all your extension wires are attached and ready to go, tuck them somewhere safe in the case, making sure they can't come in contact with any of the fans, etc.  Using zip ties, you can anchor your wires and nuts just about anywhere out of the way (I couldn't find my small zip ties, unfortunately, which would have been ideal, but really any zip tie will do.)  Once you have a place for your new wires and nuts, run the wires out of the hole that the voltage switch left behind.  You may have to pry back the two metal "tabs" that point to the center of the voltage switch hole to make sure you have room for your wires.  Use a pair of Robo-Grips or some other decent tool to flatten the tabs on the inside, so they can't cut your new wiring.  Finally, create a protective sleeve out of some thin cardboard (like a piece of a serial box) and wrap it around your wiring right next to the hole, and sliding it into the hole to make sure your wiring is protected from the metal edges of the hole.  (Be sure to use a small metal file with very fine grit to smooth off any edges on the metal as well.)  Once the protective sleeve is in place, hold it down on each side with electrical tape.  Finally, use more heat-shrink tubing around the whole assembly of wires to make the wires "one piece" and to hide the protective sleeve, which is, well, pretty ugly by itself.  Once you're done with that, you can put the cover back on the power supply.

Now on to Phase II of this project... making the external enclosure.  For this project, I used one of those Radio Shack project boxes.  They're very handy for things like this!  What you'll need is some kind of a project box, a decent 12-24v cordless drill with a variety of differently sized general purpose drilling bits (I have a kit from 1/64" up to 1" diameter titanium drill bits), a good small wood chisel that's fairly sharp, and a variety of small to medium sized rasps and files.  The rasps and files should come in two basic shapes, round and flat.  Those are the most useful for making adjustments, depending on if you need a square-ish hole or a rounded hole.  You should also have finer grit files for smoothing and rougher grit rasps and files for cutting/removing material.  Decide on a layout, measure carefully, and make your holes.  Have a couple project boxes like this handy, in case you mess one up.  It takes a bit of practice, but in the end, it's really not bad at all.

With the project box made, and the PSU back in your computer's case, run the new wiring into the hole you cut out of the project box for that purpose.  Once done, now you're ready to re-solder the switches and such.

As you can see, the inside of the project box has lots of little scrapes and such... just remember, do any "rough work" such that blowouts and scrapes happen on the inside, as the inside will never be visible, so that's a good place for any necessary roughness.  If you do get blowouts when drilling, use a file to smooth them out... the inside of the case doesn't have to be pretty, but it does have to be flat.

In the case of my new power supply, the fan switch and lamps were attached to a small circuit board that was merely held in place, and not screwed down.  I didn't feel comfortable drilling new holes, as a blowout could potentially cut circuit lines, and that wouldn't be a good thing.  So, I decided to mimic what the manufacturer did, and merely hold it down.  For this, I used to thin bolts and nuts.  If your nuts don't rest up against some structural part of the case, and therefore can't reliably hold it down without sliding away from the circuit board (where it would then pop out) then get some metal AND rubber washers of matching size, and use them to hold it down.  Actually the rubber washers can be larger in outside diameter, and must be the same size or smaller inside diameter (the hole) when compared against the metal washer... the whole idea of course is that you don't want a conductive piece creating a short.  The rubber washer won't hold anything down, but it will insulate against a metal washer.

Also, when re-attaching your switches and such, make sure you do it from the correct side.  In this case, the power switch must be installed from the outside of the case, since it has a lip.  No big deal though, just slide it in and solder it careful within the box.

One more thing... REMEMBER your wire marking scheme... have it written down if need be, so you can remember how to put the right wires on the right terminals.

Once you get your switches installed, the outside of the case will begin to look a bit nicer, as show in the next two pictures.

Here it is, all "done".  It is a good practice, when meddling with the wiring inside a PSU to test it BEFORE you hook it up to your PC.  If you've made any fatal wiring mistakes, they should immediately burn your house down... err.. show up in some way. ;)  Once you've verified that it generally responds as expected with no smoke or sparks, unplug it again, and begin hooking up the PSU to your computer.

In the final test, I recommend that you put a bootable floppy disk or CD that won't do anything but boot up to some prompt.  You don't want your system loading up Windows, it isn't necessary for testing purposes, and could lead to lost files if you turn it off at an inopportune time.  (After all, if this is the first time turning it out since a power failure, Windows will start going through all your disks and verifying that there were no lost files.  That takes time, and without a monitor or peripherals, you won't necessarily know if that's still in progress.)  In any case, using a bootable disk lets you do a full power test without having to worry about anything else.  So, here's my new PSU installed with with the external enclosure for its various switches.  Ready to rock and roll!

The final touch is to anchor down the enclosure.  In this case, the enclosure will be covering the serial port, and partially covering the parallel port.  These ports are hardly, if ever, used anymore, but just in case, I decided to anchor it down with self-adhesive Velcro, so the enclosure can be lifted if I need to use those ports.

It all works!!!  Hooray!!  Time to get this back on my desk and back to work...

The last step of course is to put the computer back in place, hook it up, cross your fingers, and turn it on... As it began to boot Windows, it ran the disk checking utility that always runs when you have an unexpected turn-off of the computer.  So, here it is, working, checking the disks... hopefully not to find any problems.

When this was done, the system finished loading Windows just fine, and my project was 100% intact, along with all other data (to the best of my knowledge!)  The project re-compiled just fine, so a big sigh of relief was had.  I had previously backed up the project, but that was two weeks ago... I didn't want to have to repeat 2 weeks of work, so I was very, very relieved.  Needless to say, I will never purchase a generic brand PSU... it's just not worth it.  The money you think you save will be lost 3 or 4 times over if the unit fails, if not mroe. <sigh>

Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed this tutorial on retrofitting a modern PSU to an older proprietary system with only PSU cutouts.  Oh, before I forget... if you're using an older system by Dell or another major manufacturer... BE SURE that your new PSU is a pinout match for the motherboard.  I was lucky, as my nearly-not-a-Dell-anymore uses standard ATX pinouts.  If your system does not conform to the industry standards (and it may not, even if it looks the same), then you can fry your motherboard.  Fortunately, people make adapters to make such non-standard mobo's work with standard PSUs.

Now, all you hardware junkies out there are probably going... "dude, get a new box already"... and maybe you're right! lol... HAVE FUN!!