Bad power supply AGAIN

I purchased a 20" iMac in the fall of 2005. The computer would turn off at random times without warning. At first it would only happen once a week or so, but it started happening more and more frequently until it finally got to where the computer would not stay on long enough to finish booting.
I took the computer into an Apple dealer and they determined that the power supply was bad and replaced it under warranty.
One year and 3 months later the computer has the same problem. Only this time it went from occasional power failures to continual power failures in a week. I looked on the web and found this:
http://www.apple.com/support/imac/powersupply/repairextension/
My computer has the EMC number 2056 as stated on their website. However when I called about the problem they said they would not replace the power supply because my serial number does not match their list of "affected" serial numbers.
It seems obvious to me, given that I have had two power supplies go bad in just over a years time period, and that my number matches the number that they state on their web site, and that my computer was for the correct time period that I am a recipient of their bad power supplies. But this didn't matter to their support or customer service people.
I have been an Apple customer since the early days. My first Apple was an Apple II+. I have purchased my share of Apple computers and iPods. I have had my company purchase many Apple computers for me and other employees. I have to say though that if this is how I am going to be treated when they have an obviously defective product that it is time for me to look elsewhere for my computers.
20" iMac    

The Apple dealer or support person is confusing the TWO DIFFERENT extended repair programs, daburton. We've seen this happen a number of times here.
The original repair program was for the "first generation" iMac G5's. It depends on serial numbers - see http://www.apple.com/support/imac/repairextensionprogram/
The second repair program applies to the 20" ALS 2 Ghz model, released about April 2005. THis is the model you have. This is the one that you have linked to - http://www.apple.com/support/imac/powersupply/repairextension/ It applies to ALL 20" ALS 2 GHz imac G5's, regardless of serial number.
Unfortunately some repair providers and even some Apple phone staff don't seem to be aware of the second one and assume people are talking about the first when they ask for support.
Your repair should be covered by the second program without any problems if you point out the existence of two programs, not just one, to them.
If not, then it is certainly time to contact Apple at a point further up the food chain.
Cheers
Rod

Similar Messages

  • Is a bad logic board due to a bad power supply?

    Computer specs:
    iMac G5 20", 2.0 ghz, 1 GB RAM, 250 GB hard drive
    Back in October of 2008 my iMac G5 Power PC shutdown intermittently and then when I went to go to start it back up, it booted to the blue screen and hanged there forever. So, I did a hard shutdown and then waited and then booted again and it still hanged at the blue screen. I tried booting in Safe Mode, and that worked, so I had a chance to backup everything that I needed to. Then, I took the computer to my local Apple Store to speak to a "genius". They could not diagnose my computer while I was there, so they needed to take it overnight and let me know over the phone what the issue was. The next day they called to tell me that it was a Logic Board issue and that it would cost $900 to fix it. I obviously was blown away at the cost for the problem, and I could not afford that charge so I seeked out other options. I found a shop in my neighborhood that offered me a used 1.8 ghz logic board for half of what Apple was quoting me, so I went with it. Then, 9 months later (which brings us to present) my iMac completely shutdown on its own and would not start up. I ran it through some tests (LED lights on the interior) and confirmed that it was a Logic Board issue again. So, I took it back to the shop in my neighborhood and they told me that the warranty for the part they replaced had expired. So, I called Apple Customer Relations to talk to them about the issue. They confirmed, using my serial number, that I could get my issues fixed for free. They then told me about the "iMac G5 Repair Extension Program for Power Supply Issues" which was news to me. This Program ended in December of 08, meaning I would have qualified in October of 08... the time I initially brought in my computer. So, I brought my computer to the Apple Store to drop it off for repairs, and when going over the history of the machine they confirmed that because there was a used 1.8 ghz part in my machine installed from a non-authorized Apple place that they COULD NOT fix my issues now.
    My question is:
    Back in October of 2008 when I brought in my computer to the Apple Store and they diagnosed it with a bad Logic Board, could that have been because of a bad power supply? If that was the case, does a bad power supply cause a Logic Board to go bad?

    Welcome to Apple Discussions.
    The short answer is no, but it's actually more complicated than that. The original iMac G5 17 and 20 inch models were plagued by two problems: defective capacitors which affected the logic board, and an unrelated set of defective capacitors which affected the power supply. Rarely were both conditions present at the same time, but Apple decided—when they issued the repair extension authorization—that replacement of both components was a more cost effective approach. By far, the most common of the two problems involved the logic boards.
    The REA covered machines for a period of three years from first sale, and ended in December of last year. Yours likely would not have been covered due to the date of sale provision. On a case by case basis, AppleCare representatives did allow coverage for machines beyond the three year limitation, but not past the end of last year.
    It's not likely that you have both a defective logic board and power supply, though you may. The combination of these issues is actually found most frequently in the iMac G5 ALS models, none of which were covered by a repair extension authorization.
    Your issue is a difficult one, as Apple authorized dealers and service providers have every right—and, actually, a responsibility under their annual agreements—to reject warranty, AppleCare or REA coverage for parts or labor when compatible but not similar logic boards have been placed in your machine. This is because they must exchange these parts for the part they are requesting from Apple on a like-for-like basis, and that part must be associated with your machine serial number. In trying to resolve your issue, the shop in your neighborhood actually created an additional issue for you which would only be triggered in the event of component failure. I have no idea what period of coverage they typically offer, but Apple provides for 90 days or the balance of any warranty or AppleCare extension in place at the time of the repair, whichever is greater.
    Your logic board can be refurbished for $ 189.00 if it in fact exhibits the capacitor issue. That process is covered by a one-year warranty. If you are interested in exploring that option, send a message to the electronic mail address in my Public Profile and I will reply with additional information. To help determine additional information concerning your machine, please include the machine serial number if you elect to do write for more information.

  • Bad Power supply on 20" iMac G5?

    Seen several posts on potential bad power supply causing shut down on attempted start up. This unit had gone through 3 hard drives, 2 under Applecare. It started shutting down on boot about 6 months ago. It would boot into Firewire mode but you couldn't see hard drive. Gave up and bought a new 27" iMac. Here it is 6 months later and we happened to plug it in and amazingly it booted and worked fine. We quickly made a backup. It had been running for about 24 hours and I tried to update and it returned to it's bad habits and won't completely fire up. I've heard a bad hard drive can cause this or a bad hard drive.. The fact it booted after being off for months would indicate to me that the power supply has some bad capacitors and after either discharging or cooling off became functional again. Could a flaky power supply cause hard drives to fail. Should I buy a new power supply so I can have a spare machine?

    As Miriam says getting inside the power supply can be a problem. There are security type Torx screws and if you can get hold of the drivers then it's no problem. However if you look at the surface just above the power supply and if you see a dot pattern that's a good indication of failed capacitors. If the power supply is still somewhat working I've had good luck bringing it back to life by replacing the capacitors. If not and the other capacitors on the logic board pass the visual test then a new power supply would solve your problem.
    Email me and I can provide further information.
    Richard

  • 1st Gen iMac G5 BAd Power Supply

    Hi, My iMac G5 power supply is officially dead. It was confirmed at the Apple Store at the Genius Bar. Apple apparently no longer sells the power supply for the first gen iMac G5s. I have two questions: Does anyone have a suggestion on where to buy a 3rd party power supply for that model? I'm not exactly sure what I should be buying. And secondly, is it worth it to do? I know the second question is more opinion but I'm curious of the success rate of replacing the power supply. My preference is obviously to replace it rather than laying out the money for a new iMac which I probably can't do right now) but if anyone's experience is that I'm just throwing money away on the power supply because of future issues or unreliability, I'd like to hear about it.
    Thanks as always!

    [Synaptech.com] or [welovemacs.com] will not only sell you the correct part, they will give you installation instructions. Another source is [http://www.jimwarholic.com/2008/07/how-to-repair-apple-imac-g5.php]
    As to your second question, as long as the rest of the Mac is in good shape, replacing the power supply should give you a few more years to collect your pennies for a new one down the road.

  • Choosing the Right Power Supply

    First things first. If you've got a poor-quality and/or faulty power supply, nothing else you do will work to solve your problems. Stick to the basics before you go further...The short answer is to buy a hi-powered, brand name supply, like the new ENERMAX line (430 W or higher) or ANTEC True550. Almost nothing else will do with today's computers. In over 30 years of electronic/computer service, I have found that 85% or more of problems were power-related.
    If you want to know more, read on...
    Choosing The Right Power Supply
    If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that one of my colleagues or I believe that you could be experiencing problems with your power supply, based upon the symptoms you mentioned in your post, and provided you with this link. Relax, you’re not alone. In 30 years of electronic and computer troubleshooting, I’d say that the majority of the electronic, mainframe, mini, and microcomputer problems I’ve diagnosed and repaired were with the basic power the problematic device was receiving. The symptoms often included random reboots, crashing, the BSOD, lockups, etc.
    (As the national support technician for few major computer service companies, working US Defense contracts, I was often the person that had to fly in and correct the problem, or “walk through” the on-site technician as he closely followed my instructions. I achieved success in my career by carefully reading the manuals, knowing where to go for more information that was otherwise unavailable to me, and/or systematically troubleshooting until the problems were discovered and repaired. I never had the option of giving up.)
    The most overlooked component when building or upgrading a PC is the power supply unit (PSU). Some people use their old case and PSU when they upgrade. Some use the PSU that came with their new case. Some people even buy a new PSU. And most inexperienced builders all make the same mistake: The PSU that they’re trying to use is simply inadequate for the job.
    Suppose you’re upgrading to a new motherboard, CPU, ram, and video card, but still using the old case and PSU. It’s most likely that you’re upgrading in order to build a machine that is more powerful, faster, has a more colorful display, can number-crunch more quickly, play the latest games, etc. These gains in performance all have one thing in common: They require more raw power. However, have you thought about where that power comes from?
    Suppose you’re building a new system with a new case and PSU. Has it occurred to you that the company that you bought the case/PSU from might make more money if they skimp on the supply, even if the supply has a large wattage rating? Most bulk power supply manufacturers don’t make good PSU’s. They use older, cheaper technology, and slap on labels that represent the PSU’s peak outputs, and not their continuous output rating. These companies are intentionally misleading you in order to sell you an inferior product. Brands I avoid when building/repairing my friends’ and family’s computers: Allied, Q-Tec, Chieftech, and many others.
    For those of you who bought a power supply separately, did you know that you’re only supposed to run a power supply continuously at 30-70% (with 50% being optimal) of its continuous rating for maximum efficiency (which means less heat to you)? Most inexperienced builders either buy PSU’s that are matched to their equipment’s continuous power usage, or ones that are even less powerful than they need. Why? Because they’re trying to save money.
    I mean, what’s the fun in a power supply? You don’t get any games with it, there’s no more storage, hardly ever any more bells and whistles, etc. A power supply is boring, and it’s supposed to be, because it’s supposed to provide a stable, reliable platform upon which the rest of the equipment can easily access the amount of power it needs, and when it’s needed. In almost EVERY review of powers supplies, the same point is stressed: Better safe than sorry.
    But what does safe vs sorry mean? It can mean that you don’t have to waste money on the wrong PSU in the first place, but it can also mean that you don’t have to replace your expensive ram, CPU, video card, etc. NEEDLESSLY, or because your cheap PSU destroyed them. What? A cheap power supply can wreck your computer? YES IT CAN. A cheap power supply can cause thermal damage, not only from the heat it produces, but also the heat it can create in your components as well. RAM is especially sensitive to heat, and there’s RAM in your CPU, your video cards, and, well, your RAM too. A cheap switching power supply, run at its maximum, or peak, continuously can also destroy components by creating RF (Radio Frequency) signals on your power rails, signals which the components on your peripheral devices were not equipped to handle in the first place.
    So this begs the question, how does one choose the right power supply? I’ll illustrate this using my own PC as the example. This is my setup that I use for video processing:
    K7N2G-ILSR
    Athlon 2500+ Barton @ 2125Mhz
    AMD Retail Heatsink/Fan
    2 - 512MB DDR333 w/Thermaltake Spreaders (slot 1&3)
    MSI TV@nywhere Video Capture
    ATI Radeon 9600
    120GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 9 SATA
    30GB Quantum IDE
    TEAC DV-W50E DVD/CD-R/W
    BTC DVD-ROM Drive
    Artec CD-R/W
    Using this Power Supply Calculator link:
    http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/
    I plug in all my equipment values, but some of this can be a little tricky. For example, since I often run the CPU like an XP 3000, I choose the 3000 as my processor; it’s the same chip run at the faster rate. I also choose the ATI Radeon video card, and I select the RAM wattage for 2 sticks of DDR. I also choose every card I have, like my video capture card, but I also select the boxes for the separate cards that correspond to the functions that my ILSR provides as well (and that I use), like sound, USB, Firewire, NIC, etc.  Although I use the onboard SATA controller, I don’t select the SCSI PCI card, because, in truth, I’ve probably made up for it by selecting all the other corresponding devices, including cards that the motherboard replaces. I check the boxes for the fans and drives I use, and I’m done, right?
    Not yet.
    I just remembered that I plan to upgrade soon, so I go back and change the values to reflect my impending changes. I mean, I want to make sure that I have enough power to begin with so that I don’t have to replace the power supply again, right?
    Ok. Done. I look at the bottom and see that it tells me that I need a 468 watt PSU. So a 480 watt supply will do, right? Wrong.
    Remember that, for efficiency, long-life, and less heat, you want your actual power consumption to fall between 30-70% of the PSU’s rating, so add 30% (minimum) to the 468, and you get 468 + (468*.30)= 608 Watts! Holy Cow!
    However, I’d only need a 608-Watt supply if I was using all the devices at once, and I don’t. But, in truth, with video and audio processing, I often get close when I process, burn, and monitor at the same time. (Hardcore gamers also get close a lot, as they blast the sound and push that video to its limits.) So, let’s take off 10% (maximum) of 608, for a total of 541 Watts.
    I need a 550 Watt supply, but not just ANY 550 watt PSU. I need a supply that can give me enough power on the critical 3.3, 5, and 12V rails combined. I also want a supply from a trusted, name-brand manufacturer, so I start hitting the many online reviews. Here are just two from Tom’s Hardware:
    http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20030609/index.html
    http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20021021/index.html
    Read these in their entirety. I didn’t post them because they’re pretty links.
    In the end, I chose Antec, because they’ve got the reputation, the recommendation, and because the Antec True550 has better specs than the rest of the 550 Watt competition. I also bought it from a reputable company I found on Pricegrabber.com, for the lowest price I could find, $95.00 shipped to my door. (In truth, I wanted two mini-redundant supplies, like the hospitals and military use, but they were too expensive.)
    The result? Not only are the random reboots, crashing, the BSOD, lockups, etc., gone like magic, but I also now have “peace of mind” in that whatever might happen to my equipment in the future, I know almost for certain that the PSU is NOT the problem. I also bought an UPS, because the East Coast Blackout proved to me that even the Antec True550 isn’t going to provide me any power for emergency shutdown if it doesn’t get its power from somewhere.
    Even if your problem doesn’t lie in the PSU completely, it gives you a GREAT platform for troubleshooting further. If you’re not reasonably certain that the supply is the cause, borrow one, or buy one that you can return once you’ve solved the problem. But, above all else, BUY THE RIGHT SUPPLY before you do anything else! Otherwise, you could be plugging and unplugging components, buying and blowing up expensive memory, and causing even further damage, until you give up or die.
    I mean, I assume you built your own system to enjoy “more bang for your buck,” right? What’s the fun of a random reboot in the middle of Unreal Tournament 2003?
    William Hopkins
    Former Staff Sergeant, USAF
    B.A., B.S., with Honors
    The University of California, San Diego
    [email protected]
    P.S. It should be noted that while Enermax, ThermalTake, Zalman, Fortron, and others make great PSU’s, and I compared and considered them, the Antec still won out overall in my critical evaluation, like it did in so may others’ reviews. You’d probably be ok if you went with another reputable manufacturer as listed above, but pick a supply that gives you at least 230 watts on the 3.3 and 5V lines combined, and still meets the 30% criteria as stated above. Remember, if the manufacturers don’t give you maximum combined specs up front, they’re untrustworthy right off the bat. With power supplies, you definitely end up getting what you pay for. Don’t say nobody warned you.
    P.P.S. Update! After recent developments, it looks like Enermax is the leader, but only the latest line of PSU's.

    Ok, as an electrical engineer...I have to step in here! LOL
    First, these amp rating are for 2 +12 rails. That is why you see a protection of around 15-18A on the +12 rail. That means each Rail is allowed up to 18A lets say for the new Enermax 1.2 version like the one I have.
    Now, Lets say 18A for 12V....well as you know the Abit NF7-S uses the 12V for powering the CPU.
    Lets say you have a Barton like me and you want it stable at around 2.4-2.5Ghz. You will have to put lets say around 2V to the cpu to get it stable at that kinda speed, specially if you have high FSB like I do. So 12V * 18Amps = 216W ....well the converter on the NFS-7 is really bad, its loss on the step down convertion is probably around 25% along with the PSU lost cuz its not running at 25oC (another 15%)....you will actually only get around 100-120W for the CPU.
    Now, if you go into Sandra and see how much a Barton eats up at 2.4Ghz you will see its around 110Watts.
    So, if you wanna push more, dont even think about it! Prime Power test fails and your +12 rail will drop as low as 11.60 Volts.
    Now, lets say you got yourself a AMD 64 bit chip and you wanna overclock it....I bet it will need more than 110Watts.
    So, what im saying is, dont buy nothing less than a 500 Watt PSU!
    You really need around 20-22 A on the main +12 along with really really good cooling on the case and PSU so it is running at a 100%.
    http://forums.amdmb.com/showindex.php?s=&threadid=287828
    i found this quite interesting especially the bit re the power loss turning the 12v into 1.6v or what ever cpu needs

  • Help! my power supply

    I have the Imac Early 2006 17inch? and For  the last 2 years of ALL my photos have been stored on my Iphoto program. I turned on my Imac one day and it turned right back off 3 seconds later. it repeatadly did this over and over again so I brought it to the apple store at the Tacoma mall. I had one of the technitians look at it and he said that it was most likely the power supply that went out in the computer. and since i technicly have a "vintage" computer since its a 2005, apple does not make that part anymore. or if they do it might be really hard to find. I really cannot accept that EVERY picture of my wedding is lost, and EVERY picture from the first 6 months of my beautiful daughters life os gone! my baby girl is almost 7 months old, and i took thousands and thousands of pictures, i love photography..... someone please please help me find this part, or a place that could supply it, or something that could get me back my pictures!!!!!!

    The good news is that a bad power supply, in general, does not effect the hard drive. So your photos should be safe. I would contact the Apple Store and see what they would charge to retrieve what ever files you wanted from the hard drive.
    I would not put any money into "repairing" the power supply.

  • Sun V210 Server - No Power on Front, Yellow on Power Supply

    This morning the server shut off.
    There is no power to the front of the server at all, no lights.
    On the back, where the power is connected, the light is yellow.
    If I unplug the power, wait, plug it back in, it turns Green, but then after a few moments, turns yellow again.
    Is this a bad power supply?

    Yes, the power supply needs to be replaced.

  • Dead ibook after replaced power supply

    i'm trying to fix my mom's ibook for her. it hasn't powered up in a few years. apparently, she took it to a guy of questionable skills and he replaced the power supply. it then worked for a few weeks and died again. my question is this: could he have installed another bad power supply, or could something else in the computer be killing the power supplies? is there anything else i could try, like resetting it, to make it start up?
    more details: the ibook has a brand new battery in it, and resetting the PMU has no effect on the machine.
    Message was edited by: saridout

    I don't know what you mean when you say that he installed a power supply?
    The power supply of an iBook is an external power adapter which plugs into the adapter port on the side of the iBook.
    So, what do you mean "he replaced the power supply"? Do you mean he replaced the power adapter? Or did he replace something inside the computer? If so, could you tell us exactly what he replaced?
    What is the MHz rating on the iBook? Which type of optical drive does it have? Which version of the OS is installed on it? How much RAM is installed? Do you know the hard drive capacity and how much space remains available on it?

  • Lacie 200 GB FW400 Power Supply

    I was doing some negative scanning the other day using my Nikon Super Coolscan 9000 and accidentally turned on my one of my Lacie drives at the time, which the Nikon scanner doesn't like. Every time it happens, the scanner stops in its tracks.
    Anyways, this time, I noticed that the Lacie drive didn't power up all the way and just kind of got stuck and stuttered on the power up. I shut it down using the blue button on the front and kept on scanning, figuring a reboot when I was done would fix all, but it didn't.
    The drive kept refusing to start up, even after I changed firewire cables and ports. I had given up when I got one last idea... I took the power supply from another of my Lacie drives and hooked it up to the drive in question and it worked. I took the power supply from the drive in question and hooked it up to a drive I knew to be good and the drive wouldn't power on, repeating the behavior of the previous drive.
    So my question... is there anywhere I can get a replacement power supply for my Lacie drive? If anyone is wondering, yes, the drive failed once before - it's four years old - but Data Rescue II and Disk Utility resurrected everything that was on it.

    Hi willscarlett-
    If the drive is still under warranty LaCie will replace the power supply at no charge.
    You can also order the power supply directly from LaCie for around $20. I use several LaCie drives, have been burned by a bad power supply or two, and now keep an extra one around just in case.
    Luck-
    -DaddyPaycheck

  • Power Supply Issues maybe?

    I have always had random and instant power downs. Which I initially attributed to heat. The machine is now shutting off instantly several times a day. It starts up and runs fine, but it is shutting down after anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours later. I am thinking it is a bad power supply that has gotten worse. I want to bounce this off the experts and see if there is anything else I can eliminate before buying a power supply?
    I have reset the SMU I think. I could not find a button so I unplugged for 15 minutes. I ran AHT from cd without errors, ran disk utility from cd, and checked to see if the SMART status is verified. I use temperature monitor which has read as hot as 115, but according to what I am reading that is well below danger.
    I did a safe restart to eliminate any font issues since I use a lot of fonts. I don't know what to look for in the console, but I saw nothing that looked suspicious. I am assuming since the AHT found no problems the logic board is functioning properly. Is that correct?
    Can you suggest anything else to narrow down my issue?
    Thanks for all your help. This machine is within a month of retirement, I think it senses something!

    I have had exactly the same problem over the last couple of days and it drives you nuts! It started to happen just after I transferred some files to a mates cheap firewire drive....no idea why...
    You can try actually pressing the SMU button
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=300341
    These two articles also take you through a good process, including deleting some prefs.
    http://www.gibbilicious.com/gibbilicious/2006/02/troubleshootingthemysterious.html
    http://www.gibbilicious.com/gibbilicious/2005/10/mac_g5_desktop_spontaneously1.html
    Also check all the bits inside are connected. The airport card can get loose in particular. Double check memory is pressed in etc.
    I tried it all but to no avail until I read your post and tried Safe Restart. For some reason it dumped a load of files in my trash, but the issue seems to be gone (at least for now). I don't wanna detract from helping Kenny, but whilst peeps are looking if anyone can shed some light on what they are and whether I should bin them it would be good.
    All in a folder called 501.231504386 and called annex_aux, annex.db, Classic.fodb, filetoken.db, font.db, Local.fcache. Local.fodb, qdfams.db, System.fcache, User.fodb

  • Power supply conundrum

    I've been reading various posts from people with the same problem that I'm having. There seems to be a lot of you out there. My iMac G5 has a bad power supply too. I looked into the repair extension program that apple offered to remedy this problem and my serial number makes mine eligible but, alas, my power supply failure occurred 9 months too late. I don't think it's fair that they exclude older machines since there is an inherent design flaw with this component. The age of the machine should make no difference. Is there any recourse?

    After reading more posts on this subject, I'm replying to my own post with another question??????????
    I'm capable of replacing the power supply myself. When my computer was only several months old I transplanted the midplane of this same computer into an new bezel and display after a display failure. Piece of cake. It was a DIY procedure. Apparently the power supply replacement is not DIY for some reason and they suggest taking it to an authorized repair center. How can I buy one if they're not willing to sell it to me?

  • Power Supply Cooling Question

    Well, I've been up and running now for the last week or so with no major issues.
    I'd like to thank all of you that answered my previous questions during my search for parts and helping me put a good plan in place so that the building of this system was painless.
    I have a question though that kind of concerns me.
    I noticed one day that what should be an exhaust from the power supply is not an exhaust at all.  The air flow is actually into the power supply.  I thought this was very unusal.  Years ago I actually did have a power supply that had a fan mounted backwards, but that was some cheap case/ps combo in the P2 days.  
    My power supply in this system is an Enermax EG465P-VE.  I said to myself "no way could it be mounted backwards".  After checking things out very closely I found that when I removed the side case cover, the power supply started exhausting in the right direction.  Put the case cover back on and the air flow went into the power supply again.  Ifinally came to the conclusion that the 120mm fan in the back of the case about 2-3 inches below the power supply was actual exhausting so much air out the case that this 120mm fan was actually drawing air against the power supply's fans and causing a slightly negative flow of air (in the wrong direction) through the power supply.  I hope I have clearly described the situation.  
    What concerns me is that the negative flow results in very little air flowing within the power supply, which could  potentially result in the power supply overheating and failing resulting in a MoBo and processor frying.
    To clarify again, the power supply is trying to push air out, but the 120mm fan is slightly stronger and is more than neutrallizing any flow through the power supply.  
    Just a little more info... I do have one 80mm fan in the front of the case sucking air into the case, blowing over the hard drive.
    There is another spot for a second 80mm fan in the front, but since I'm not over-clocking and really not producing a lot of heat I didn't think I needed two fans in front.
    The only other solution that I can think of is to somehow rig up a verister or sensor on the 120mm fan, but to cover all temperture combinations could result in something very complicated for something that shouldn't be that complicated.
    Maybe someone has noticed the same problem and has a solution.
    Thanks.
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