Possibly the dumbest question I will ever ask

frau kaleun · 12-17-10, 08:03 PM

...until next week.

So I decided to open up my case and give the insides a good cleaning out and also to see if I could figure out why my floppy drive (yes I still have one so sue me

) wasn't able to read any floppies.

In the process of scaring away the dustbunnies I unmounted all the fans to give them a thorough cleaning. Only with the big square case fan that mounts over the vent on the back of the case, I forgot to pay attention to which side faced which way so after I cleaned it I couldn't remember which way it went when I started to put it back (it will mount facing either way).

Sadly I cannot find a diagram for the innards of this thing at the online support site, but everywhere I check indicates that 1) usually these go up with the manufacturer's label facing the inside of the case and 2) it's an exhaust fan, so when it's running the air should be blowing out the back of the case, not into the case.

However I have it back up with what appears to be the manufacturer's label facing the inside of the case, and it's running, but it's blowing air into the case and not out the back vent.

This IS supposed to be an exhaust fan, right? When it's running and I put my hand up to the back vent, I should feel a stream of air being blown OUT of the case, and not the other way 'round.

Gerald · 12-17-10, 08:13 PM

You've a fan in the front that push the air, and at least one of the back side, where the excess heat goes out,right?

jumpy · 12-17-10, 08:19 PM

hehe

yer, the fans at the rear of the case should be extractor fans - most fans have 2 direction arrows on them somewhere to show airflow direction and rotation of fan blades.
What you're looking for in case ventilation is constant airflow from the front of the case (sometimes with additional fans on the front, top or sides to push air into the box) to the rear.

frau kaleun · 12-17-10, 08:38 PM

Well I'm turning this one around, I'm pretty sure that's how it was before... anyway that's will get the air blowing out the back which is what it should be doing.

12-17-10, 08:57 PM

Maybe you should change your Sig to say......
Angry Wombat Pirate say's Fan direction goes where?

frau kaleun · 12-17-10, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by privateer

Maybe you should change your Sig to say......
Angry Wombat Pirate say's Fan direction goes where?

It's a good thing I enjoy this sort of thing, as frustrating as it gets sometimes.

I am off work all next week and our holiday party was this afternoon and everyone was asking "so what are you doing on your extra time off?" and I'm saying "well, I'm gonna clean out the inside of my computer, try to figure out what's wrong with the floppy drive, and then switch my computer over to Windows 7 64-bit, upgrade my drivers, and reinstall all my programs!"

They all just nod and back away slowly.

The floppy has still got me stumped, I've eliminated the power supply and connecting cable as culprits - switched them both out and still nothing. It shows up as installed hardware that is working properly, there are no driver updates available, but when I click on Drive A I get a message telling me I need to put a disk in the drive. When I do, nothing happens. The drive doesn't read the disk. I think it may be shot.

The only thing I can think to try is to uninstall it and connect up the floppy drive from my old computer, which was still working when I took the thing apart a year ago. If that drive works then I'll know the newer one is dead.

I guess I'll replace it with something, but I don't know what. It's not like I really need it, I mean I had this rig for almost a year before I ever noticed a problem and that may have been the first time I ever popped a disk in there. I still think it's handy for small file transfers but given the availability of portable USB drives it is a bit of a dinosaur.

EDIT: Yep, the old drive works fine. New one must be kaput. Now I have to decide whether I put the old one in the case or find some newfangled thing to put in that drive bay...

Castout · 12-17-10, 10:50 PM

Umm the back is an exhaust fan.

Don't tell me you call yourself a sub simmer without knowing why propeller is shaped as such

Umm calm down and take a look at the fan shape and imagine how the shape is supposed to drive out the air inside.

frau kaleun · 12-17-10, 10:57 PM

I think I've got the fans figured out, the one over the front of the motherboard pulls air in, the one on the back of the case pushes it out.

I'm working now on what to do about my empty 3.5" drive bay. I either have to put something in there or cover up the hole on the front of my case where the floppy drive access was, or both.

I dunno, if I can just find a suitable front cover plate for the drive bay I might spring for a 3.5" HDD.

onelifecrisis · 12-17-10, 11:39 PM

Actually it doesn't matter which way round it goes, as long it's going the opposite way to all the other fans!

Castout · 12-18-10, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Actually it doesn't matter which way round it goes, as long it's going the opposite way to all the other fans!

You're going to confuse Frau

Quote:

Originally Posted by frau kaleun

I'm working now on what to do about my empty 3.5" drive bay. I either have to put something in there or cover up the hole on the front of my case where the floppy drive access was, or both.

I dunno, if I can just find a suitable front cover plate for the drive bay I might spring for a 3.5" HDD.

Umm if you keep the old case cover when that floppy drive got installed you could try that. But more often than not it got discarded. One way is to put the old floppy drive back or get a new one in or cover the hole with tape but that won't be pretty.

frau kaleun · 12-18-10, 01:14 PM

The floppy drive came with the system, so I don't have the cover plate that would go back over that slot. Anyway I just got a USB port bay hub that will fit, it's about the only thing I could find that would go there and still be useful, at least in theory.

Castout · 12-18-10, 05:44 PM

Aaah I'm used to building my own PC so I get to choose the case and get to keep any pried case cover.

Good to hear that. Hope it will fit just fine.

frau kaleun · 12-18-10, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Castout

Aaah I'm used to building my own PC so I get to choose the case and get to keep any pried case cover.

Good to hear that. Hope it will fit just fine.

It does.

12-18-10, 08:21 PM

You want pretty.

I sacrifice 'pretty' to get performance!
But I'm Viking in that area.

Need more cooling?
It's winter out so a small hole in the wall should do the job!
(Don't tell the Wife! Vikings only fear thier Wives!)

A bit of duct tape and some tubes from butt wipe paper?
GREAT cooling fix.

Gargamel · 12-19-10, 12:41 AM

Here's what I got:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820223109 Or actually something close to it. Just check out their card readers page to figure out what you want exactly.

Or just buy another floppy drive for a couple bucks and use that if you still want to.

12-17-10, 08:03 PM	#1
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	Possibly the dumbest question I will ever ask ...until next week. So I decided to open up my case and give the insides a good cleaning out and also to see if I could figure out why my floppy drive (yes I still have one so sue me ) wasn't able to read any floppies. In the process of scaring away the dustbunnies I unmounted all the fans to give them a thorough cleaning. Only with the big square case fan that mounts over the vent on the back of the case, I forgot to pay attention to which side faced which way so after I cleaned it I couldn't remember which way it went when I started to put it back (it will mount facing either way). Sadly I cannot find a diagram for the innards of this thing at the online support site, but everywhere I check indicates that 1) usually these go up with the manufacturer's label facing the inside of the case and 2) it's an exhaust fan, so when it's running the air should be blowing out the back of the case, not into the case. However I have it back up with what appears to be the manufacturer's label facing the inside of the case, and it's running, but it's blowing air into the case and not out the back vent. This IS supposed to be an exhaust fan, right? When it's running and I put my hand up to the back vent, I should feel a stream of air being blown OUT of the case, and not the other way 'round.

12-17-10, 08:13 PM	#2
Gerald SUBSIM Newsman Join Date: May 2008 Location: Close to sea Posts: 24,254 Downloads: 553 Uploads: 0	You've a fan in the front that push the air, and at least one of the back side, where the excess heat goes out,right? __________________ Nothing in life is to be feard,it is only to be understood. Marie Curie

12-17-10, 08:19 PM	#3
jumpy Admiral Join Date: May 2003 Location: Midlands, UK Posts: 2,139 Downloads: 22 Uploads: 0	hehe yer, the fans at the rear of the case should be extractor fans - most fans have 2 direction arrows on them somewhere to show airflow direction and rotation of fan blades. What you're looking for in case ventilation is constant airflow from the front of the case (sometimes with additional fans on the front, top or sides to push air into the box) to the rear. __________________ when you’ve been so long in the desert, any water, no matter how brackish, looks like life

12-17-10, 10:50 PM	#7
Castout Silent Hunter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Jakarta Posts: 4,794 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 6	Umm the back is an exhaust fan. Don't tell me you call yourself a sub simmer without knowing why propeller is shaped as such Umm calm down and take a look at the fan shape and imagine how the shape is supposed to drive out the air inside. __________________ My blog: http://exposingsingapore.wordpress.com/

12-17-10, 11:39 PM	#9
onelifecrisis Maverick Modder Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: England Posts: 3,895 Downloads: 65 Uploads: 3	Actually it doesn't matter which way round it goes, as long it's going the opposite way to all the other fans! __________________ Freedom of speech - priceless. For everything else there's Mastercard.

12-17-10, 08:38 PM	#4
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	Well I'm turning this one around, I'm pretty sure that's how it was before... anyway that's will get the air blowing out the back which is what it should be doing.

12-17-10, 08:57 PM	#5
Madox58 Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Maybe you should change your Sig to say...... Angry Wombat Pirate say's Fan direction goes where?

12-17-10, 10:57 PM	#8
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	I think I've got the fans figured out, the one over the front of the motherboard pulls air in, the one on the back of the case pushes it out. I'm working now on what to do about my empty 3.5" drive bay. I either have to put something in there or cover up the hole on the front of my case where the floppy drive access was, or both. I dunno, if I can just find a suitable front cover plate for the drive bay I might spring for a 3.5" HDD.

12-18-10, 01:14 PM	#11
frau kaleun Rear Admiral Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Skyri--oh who are we kidding, I'm probably at Lowe's. Again. Posts: 12,706 Downloads: 168 Uploads: 0	The floppy drive came with the system, so I don't have the cover plate that would go back over that slot. Anyway I just got a USB port bay hub that will fit, it's about the only thing I could find that would go there and still be useful, at least in theory.

12-18-10, 05:44 PM	#12
Castout Silent Hunter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Jakarta Posts: 4,794 Downloads: 89 Uploads: 6	Aaah I'm used to building my own PC so I get to choose the case and get to keep any pried case cover. Good to hear that. Hope it will fit just fine. __________________ My blog: http://exposingsingapore.wordpress.com/

12-18-10, 08:21 PM	#14
Madox58 Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	You want pretty. I sacrifice 'pretty' to get performance! But I'm Viking in that area. Need more cooling? It's winter out so a small hole in the wall should do the job! (Don't tell the Wife! Vikings only fear thier Wives!) A bit of duct tape and some tubes from butt wipe paper? GREAT cooling fix.

12-19-10, 12:41 AM	#15
Gargamel Lucky Sailor Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Rome Posts: 4,273 Downloads: 81 Uploads: 0	Here's what I got: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820223109 Or actually something close to it. Just check out their card readers page to figure out what you want exactly. Or just buy another floppy drive for a couple bucks and use that if you still want to. __________________ Luck is a residue of Design.