The story

I bought two hard-drive removable containers to provide a hard-drive-based backup process (one drive stays in and is synchronized daily; on a weekly basis I swap them so my data is physically separate from my computer). One of the containers had an irritatingly loud fan that I finally decided to replace.

After hours of searching, I finally found out that Allied Electronics stocked the part (thanks, fan manufacturer, for making my life harder by changing one stinking letter in the part number for your US customers). I ordered it, received it shortly, and saw that it came with two wires for power - no power connector. Not plug-and-play.

After looking around for the tiny little power connector, I pulled out my trusty Leatherman Micra, snipped off the existing plug from the bad fan, carefully stripped enough insulation on each wire to create small loops, stripped insulation from the fan's wiring, hooked them together, wrapped them in electrician's tape, stuffed them into a cranny on the case, screwed the faceplate back on, and popped the case in.

The result

No more wind-tunnel noise!

The moral

Use a knife to strip wiring, not scissors.