Yesterday I received another sign that it's time to buy a new computer.

The Blogging Workstation that just experienced a power supply failure wouldn't start again. When I pushed the power button, nothing happened.

I pulled the front bezel off of the tower and immediately found that the positive lead on the Front Panel Power Switch had broken off.

This kind of failure drives me nuts. I probably have to keep this machine running for another week to 10 days. By then I should be able to receive my new MacBook Pro, or whatever Mac notebook computer I end up deciding to buy after Steve Jobs' keynote on Tuesday. All I have to do at that point is migrate my iTunes library off of that the Blogging Workstation and on to my new computer, and this machine can be put out to pasture.

The question I had to deal with was: What do I need to do in order to get the machine working again while spending little or no money?

The Blogging Workstation is a PC I built myself from off-the-shelf components. I knew that it's an ATX-style machine because of the research I did before temporarily replacing the power supply. I Googled "atx power switch problem" and found a really useful Flowchart for ATX Power Supply Repair that indicated that the Front Panel Power and Reset switches are the same type of switch. I decided to attempt to substitute the Front Panel Power Switch.

Performing this replacement turned out to be easy because I had kept the ASUS A7N8X-E motherboard documentation. (This is proof that being a pack rat pays off at least one day per year.) I pried the Reset Switch out of its plastic holder in the front bezel, pried the old Power Switch out of its holder, and swapped them. The motherboard diagram showed me which connectors needed to be switched. I closed up the case, hit the new Power Switch, and the machine started right up.

I am really looking forward to knowing what new Apple laptop options are and being able to order my new machine. The experience of the last few days strengthens my resolve to buy a support contract for my next machine (in this case, AppleCare).