Hi there,. I recently brought my computer to my families to do some work over the holidays...Basically whats going wrong is when I plug in my computer ( a HP a500n ), the power supply on the back blinks rapidly and there is a clicking sound if I lean close and listen. This has happened once before after a power outage. I brought it into best buy who for 24 bucks shipped it out to one of there repair stations to be looked at. Two weeks later I got it back they told me all it needed was a reseat of ram and what not and a cleaning and it fired up. Interesting....ive had it back for about two weeks now and its happening again. Ive tried reseating the stuff myself but it didnt happen. Im suspicious they didnt do anything and the long duration of shipping reset it somehow? Any ideas or suggestions?

Im suspicious they didnt do anything and the long duration of shipping reset it somehow?

Essentially, that is possible.


1. Open the computer's case and see if you can more definitively determine which component is making the clicking noise (the power supply, the hard drive, etc.). A clicking from the power supply can indicate two things: that the supply itself is shot, or that some component in the computer is faulty, and is "dragging down" the supply.

2. Turn the computer off and unplug the internal power connections from all non-essential devices (CD-ROM, DVD, floppy drive, etc.). Does it power up correctly with only the motherboard and hard drive powered? If so, start reconnecting the other devices one at a time. Is there a certain device that, when connected, causes the problem to occur?

3. Try the process of elimination in the above step with all PCI cards and RAM modules: remove one at a time to see if you can identify a particular suspect.

Essentially, that is possible.


1. Open the computer's case and see if you can more definitively determine which component is making the clicking noise (the power supply, the hard drive, etc.). A clicking from the power supply can indicate two things: that the supply itself is shot, or that some component in the computer is faulty, and is "dragging down" the supply.

2. Turn the computer off and unplug the internal power connections from all non-essential devices (CD-ROM, DVD, floppy drive, etc.). Does it power up correctly with only the motherboard and hard drive powered? If so, start reconnecting the other devices one at a time. Is there a certain device that, when connected, causes the problem to occur?

3. Try the process of elimination in the above step with all PCI cards and RAM modules: remove one at a time to see if you can identify a particular suspect.

that is what i said in a roundabout way DMR where thetwice has posted this post elsewhere on the site. thanks for agreeing with me:)

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