Well the other day I opened my pc to install a video card and I found a bunch of the power supply cables were damaged. So I got me some electric tape and taped them up as much as I could. After I got done doing that I noticed a lot more that I just couldn't get to because there were almost inside the unit they weren't showing any wires but it was noticeable that they were rubbed roughly against the sharp edges of the case. Anyways the pc works fine now but the power supply won't last long because when I sent the pc for repairs they put in the unit upside down and there is a lot platic smell coming from the back of the pc.  So while it works I was wondering if I should worry all those wires. So they represent any potential danger? Is it safe to leave the pc plugged into the surge protector without having to worry if a pc can catch on fire?
I'm planning on getting a better PSU that way I can add some more ram but I just don't know which one to get because they all have a ton of cables and I don't have a very roomy computer.
My pc is a Compaq Presario S6500NX

Thanks in advance

Sounds like trouble just waiting to happen...

I was talking about the unit being upside down and all that. Does it really matter if it is upside down?

All the cables are well organised. They aren't touching anything except themselves.
They aren't nowhere close to any fans Either. The damage I was talking about was just scratches on the wire covers not the actual wire( sorry I should've clarified). It just looked li[td] [/td] ke they've been rubbed against something but not enoknow. What PSU can I buy that does not have a load of cables? Most of the good ones have like 6-8 molex connectors and on top of that they have that annoying auxliary that all it does is take up space and I have a Micro ATX case which does not have a lot of room. I once tried to installed a fully sleeved Vantec ION with 420Watts but the cables were extremely long and I could not fold them. I need one that does not have that many connectors.
Does anyone know where I can find one?

I don't really have room to put them on top of the case. They only way would be if I could just remove the cd-rom since I have it and a dvd-rw and then put all the unused cables on top of that dvd-rw or under it tied up.  This would be the only way but then it would just leave a hole in the front bezel. However, it sounds really good and it's probably what I'll do and try to find a way to cover that front bezel.
About the CPU fans.
The BIOS is set to run the fans at around 40% their full speed. No matter what fan I'll put in there, it'll run at 40% unless I hooked them straight into the PSU which sounds good.

Well this is a custom made BIOS designed by HP.
I did nitced one thing. The BIOS says the CPU is around 60C idle but his is an ASUS motherboard and I have experience this in the past with ASUS boards, however; according to speedfan and sissandra the CPU is ~ 41C Idle so this was somewhat a relief.
I'll tell you what I'll do, I'm going to get me a piece of fiberglass and make a cover for the front bezel and then I'm going to remove the cd-rom and leave the dvd burner only that way I can have some space to put the unused connectors since most power supplies have a ton of cables.
Would it be ok to have all those cables sitting right on top of the DVD burner?

Thanks,
I'll look into that, I've also thought about getting another case too but the pc is still under warranty and if I did installed everything in a new case and something goes wrong then I';ll have to put everything back in the old case and it can become a real headache.
As much as I hate it I'll try to keep the case for awhile but I can get a controller for one of the bays, the cd-rom in this case. I already have a dvd burner on the other bay so I don't really need a cd-rom.
What I have in mind though is uninstalling that cd-rom that way I can have that space to tie all the unused psu cables.

Congo,

I changed my mind last night after I talked to HP and told them what the situation was. The pc is still under waranty, all I have done so far was taped up some scratched wires. HP offered to send me a new unit at no cost after this I get the choice of installing it or taking it to an authorized service center for replacement.
I'll probably take it to the service center after I get me some more ram that way I won't have to open it ever again.

I'm not going take any drives out or anything.
I realized that all the Asus boards that I've had in the past gave me bad temp readings just like this one in the BIOS. However, If I use speedfan, SisSandrasoft or any other third party utility then the temps read at 39-42C idle and 58-62 full load( this is when both the case fan and the cpu fan start working at full speeds, extremely loud too).

I have had this pc since May this year. The pc works fine up until I open it and stick my hands in it.

Don't you think this is way too much for a 250W psu?
AMD XP Barton 3000+
512 ddr PC2700 Infineon chip
160gb Seagate barracuda hard drive
ATi Radeon 9200 128mb 128bit memory bandwith
Windows XP Home Edition
Onboard Realtek AC'97 sound card
HP DVD-RW 300n
Asus CD-ROM

SO all that + another 512 stick of ram?

Matter of Fact I called hp right this minute again and they told me that the repair center is going to replace the power supply at no cost and I can leave the new videocard and memory in there so this is what I'll probably do.

Just go with the warranty route for now, maybe see if they will put a bigger PSU in there for no extra cost or a few dollars extra.

And yes, I reckon 250watts of power is gonna be stretching it, it's probly struggling. I don't have any reservations about using a generic PSU as long as it has an excess wattage rating.

After the warranty period is over, you can go and buy a midi-tower case with a decent PSU. The slim line micro cases look pretty sweet, but they are very impractical as you have seen; cooling could also be a serious problem with them.

I'm generally not violent, but I feel like slapping every gamer/simmer who buys a Compaq or HP rig! .......but then, I would need a lot of help, wouldn't I  

Mind you, at least you seem to have a pretty good Spec and decent basic gear there.

Make the BIOS your friend. Go in there and check it out, manual in hand, become familiar with it, you don't have to change anything at first, just exit without saving if you are not sure about something.

See if you can find out exactly what mainboard you have, and go and research it so you understand what you have bought. Find out what chipset makes it tick, and research the chipset so you know the PC's limits.

Just learn a little at a time. It won't take long to understand it.

1 last tip, buy a quality stick of PC3200 ram, a quality ram stick is one that can be timed at low latencies and remain stable, it doesn't mean expensive.

PC3200 is the same price as PC2700, and if you run it at PC2700 speed, you will be able to decrease the ram timings for performance, if your existing ram will handle it..... but get a good stick now, no good getting another slow one, think ahead to a future upgrade always.

If you got very brave you could backup the current BIOS and flash a proper ASUS upgrade BIOS to it, that is, if the BIOS chip is standard.  

You had better research that though before killing your mainboard in a failed attempt.

EDIT: I found this..... it the BIOS version 3.08..... you may have a later one though so check.

http://www.e4allinc.info/dir1/motherboards/socketa/a7v8x_la_downloads.htm