On Fri, Mar 12, 2004 at 10:20:59PM -0500, der Mouse wrote:
> > I'll check into the power supply issue.  I actually removed the
> > CD-ROM and floppy drives to compensate somewhat for the "extra"
> > drive, but I believe that the Beige should handle the load OK.
> 
> > I don't have the right kind of equipment to accurately measure
> > ripples and dropouts in my power supply output of [this kind], so
> > beyond some crude measurements, and removing the internal disk for
> > testing, I can't really determine whether this is really caused by PS
> > "weakness".
> 
> If you want to verify, drag out a separate power supply and plug the
> disk in question into it, so it's completely off the machine's main
> power supply.  (Yes, this is generally safe to do; electrically, it's
> basically the same as putting the disk in an external enclosure.)

Except that external connectors typically include fuses somewhere.  This
is *not* "safe," but it's okay for a brief lab test.