Old PC needs new PSU but CPU could get damaged, need help

Hi, I hope I'm posting in the right place...I have an old gateway PC which runs win 98 and still use it for a few programs/applications that can only run on this PC but recently the PSU has been making awful noises like it's going to fail. I wanted to just buy a new PSU but the old one comes with this sort of plastic hood that covers the CPU and because of this the 800mhz pentium 3 processor has a heatsink but no fan on the top.

Looking at the screw holes on the back of the case I think I might need to buy a new case as well as a new psu. the problem is that I still want to use this PC but can I keep it cool enough without the strange hood on the psu or do I risk melting my CPU with a regular PSU?

Oh, and this PC is NOT connected to the internet and I never downloaded any program to show me how hot the cpu is, so could anyone offer any help.

Will a fan on the side of the case near the heatsink drawing away air be enough? I really don't know what to do and I've done lots of internet searches which have left me even more stumped Please help! Thanks

You should never have to modify the case to install a PSU. Keep in mind that PSUs have changed over the years in both power outputs and mechanical configuration. Your's may be an "ATX" configuration, for example, whereas most new PSUs are of the ATX-12 variety. Prior to the ATX configuration there was, gosh, I don't even remember...

You need to determine exactly what type of PSU you now have before you can decide on a new one to buy. You may need to go to a specialty supplier or even to Gateway in order to find the correct PSU for your PC.

Here's the thing I've lost the model number which is so frustrating for me, and it's not printed anywhere on the case and just says n/a when I tried searching for it from within windows. I've really searched my entire house for the model number on any paperwork but after 9 years it's been lost

I'm not sure I could dual boot. I don't have a win 98 disk and want to keep my harddrive and the saved data on it in tact. It's all about the data on the harddrive really, I'm most concerned about keeping that. I don't mind replacing every other component I'm jsut concerned about keeping the saved data on the drive.

What kind of data backup are you doing?
Knowing you have a 800mhz Pentium 3 from circa ~2000 we might be able to scrounge a few pictures of different model Gateways to narrow down the search.

Can you find the DATA label on the power supply in the case? Having the details there would be useful.
Also rough measurements of the PSU and case size would also be handy.

PSU data label example: maker: Astec model: ATX202-3515 max continuous power output: 200W

from: e-Bay

Yes, that is the one pictured above. But I still have the original problem. My PSU came with a plastic hood to draw heat from the CPU, without the hood will the CPU still be efficient or could it overheat, remember I don't have a fan on the CPU just a heatsink.

Without the hood the CPU could overheat. It sounds like that system used the PSU fan to help with CPU cooling. You could probably cobble together a cooling fan and leave the case side panel off to help cool the CPU if the plastic hood can't be used again.

Does the plastic hood detach so you can do an identical PSU replacement?

What is your current PC and operating system?
You should be able to slip the old Win98 HDD into the new system and use it as a secondary drive to give you to chance to copy off the data files you need.

It's really unusual to have a program save the data "within the program". It's usually in a separate data file.
What programs are you most concerned about?

Plastic hood is unfortunately glued on I've already tried to fix that. Would adding an extra fan next to the heatsink help at all? I'm also assuming that there's no chance of being able to replace the ehatsink as it will pull off the processor if I try, so I have read. Is this true?

Transfering files isn't possoble on my new vista as the file system used is different and like I said I need to run this stuff in win 98.

Yes it looks like mine but minus that plastic hood thing. Do heatsinks damage processors when you pull them off? I've never tried this so I don't know.

There is a place for an extra fan to fit near the heatsink of the cpu but would that be enough to keep it cool?

Adding a fan to pull warm air out of the case should also keep the CPU cool enough even if you're not going to re-use that plastic shroud.

You could look get an identical part replacement, used but tested.
NPS 200PB-96