on 12/16/03 8:55 PM, Alan Kim at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Thanks for your comments, David -
>
> Having come across info on running bus powered devices and potential pitfalls,
> I never considered driving such things as hard drives from the firewire port.
> Operating a compact flash card reader, however, may be less troublesome.
Yes, the flash card reader should typically draw less power than an
external bus powered hard drive.
> The S900 has been carefully guarded since Day 1 (new) with voltage stabilized
> UPS and I have yet to run into any gremlins.
Knock on wood ... I too am running all my computer equipment off of an APC
UPS and have had great confidence that it was protecting my gear, however a
recent incident took me by surprise.
One Sunday morning (about two weeks ago) I awoke to the sound of the house
power being cycled on and off. The power went out for a few seconds, then
back on, then back off ... about 8-10 cycles. The sound of the UPS alarm is
what woke me up, and I immediately ran into my office and turned off my
computer setup, which I had left running overnight.
When I started up the computer later that day, it behaved very strangely ...
the mouse would freeze for a few seconds, and then move erratically.
I tried the usual stuff such as zapping the PRAM, rebuilding the desktop,
virus checking, CUDA pressing, etc. with no success. At some point in this
process, the computer started locking up before the monitor even came on
("black screen of death").
To make a very long story shorter (ie about 2-3 days of complete diagnostic
troubleshooting) I had to remove every PCI card, all the RAM, the NewerTech
G4/400 MHz card (replacing it with the original 604e/200 MHz), both hard
drives, and start adding them back one at a time.
To finally get TCP/IP from not crashing the computer I had to do something
I've never tried, or needed to do, before (which has been mentioned by a
number of people on this list). Removing the backup battery and leaving the
machine unplugged overnight was the >ONLY< thing that got TCP/IP working
again ... a skeptic is now a true believer ... ;).
The final casualty toll: 1 bad 128MB DIMM, 1 non-functioning VST
Firewire/USB PCI card, and a >very< unstable 9GB Seagate drive. If I add in
either the RAM or the VST card, the computer will lock up during the boot.
The drive will mount at cold boot (usually) but then suddenly the computer
will lock up and when restarted that drive has disappeared.
My machine was working flawlessly before the power outage. I am no longer so
confident in the abilities of my UPS to completely protect the computer from
damage.
> Since I am having to mail order the firewire card reader due to a lack of
> local
> source, I am seeking info from folks who may have run such a device off a
> firewire PCI card.
> I have the following cards and not sure which ones are actually drawing
> current
> or maybe all PCI cards do.
All of your PCI cards will draw some power from the bus to operate. Of
course, if you connect a device that draws power from one of the cards (ie
the firewire card reader) that will indirectly draw it's power from the PCI
bus. If the total draw of all PCI cards + external devices (that draw power)
is close to or greater than what the PCI bus is capable of providing, you
are going to have problems. Some cards (such as the VST FW/USB combo) have a
power connector on them which may help reduce the demand on the PCI bus.
Perhaps Jeff W. or Kennedy B. can jump in with the actual spec (PCI bus
capabilities) for the S900?
--
Gregg
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