I’m through with Dell Computers. This time it’s the power supply. Our home computer has taken to shutting down suddenly and without notice every so often. That computer runs Ubuntu most of the time, so it doesn’t freak out about “not shutting down correctly”, but it’s annoying and could eventually cause some data loss. No big deal, right? Just replace the power supply. Amazon and Newegg and, well, every place besides Staples has good deals on power supplies. Just four screws hold it in. Unless you have a Dell. They use proprietary power supplies which either: 1)Has connections which fit but subversively supply different voltages than the standard connections, potentially destroying your components; or 2) Use an additional connection to the motherboard, which if missing, will not allow the computer to work. So your options … Read entire article »