Path: utzoo!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!isi.edu!sondeen
From: sondeen@isi.edu (Jeff Sondeen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: How to test/fix a PC/AT power supply?
Message-ID: <17116@venera.isi.edu>
Date: 12 Mar 91 16:24:13 GMT
Reply-To: sondeen@venera.isi.edu (Jeff Sondeen)
Organization: Information Sciences Institute, Univ. of So. California
Lines: 22

Problem: apparent power supply death
Question: how not to kill the replacement?

I have an clone 386 (2 years old) whose power supply (230 watts) died
during power up one day, now making only a faint humming noise which
fades like a motor running down when turned off.

This followed a few weeks after my successful addition of 4 more Megs
of memory (totalling 8); there are also 2 hard disks but the vendor
thinks there's no power overload.  The vendor recommended
disconnecting cards and connectors one at a time to check for shorts
causing the power supply to go into "protect" mode.  No disconnections
seemed to bring the power supply back alive.  A new one costs $45;
however, how can I be sure that I don't fry the new one when I put
that in?

Thanks for any advice.
-- 

/jeff	sondeen@isi.edu				"engineers were discouraged
		from bringing problems to the attention of their supervisors"
	-- John Magnus, final report, Hubble Space Telescope investigation