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On Friday 22 September 2006 2:37 pm, mlist@safenet-inc.com wrote:
Something else to consider... have you added or upgraded hardware in that computer, from the time it was new?
Maybe the power supply was barely adequate to the original configuration, and is now "fighting above its weight", as they say. The result, if that's the case, is usually intermittent glitches as multiple peak loads happen to occur simultaneously - say some demand on the video card, while the CD/DVD drive is spinning up, while the network card is pushing packets, while your USB nite-lite is on, and your USB desk-fan/hula dancer is twirling.... :-)
A nice, quiet, super-stable 400W or 450W unit is simple to install and not too costly.
Just a thought, if you haven't nailed down other causes, and the results of your testing so far suggest that the drive itself might be in fine shape, but it intermittently suffers reduced power when something else in your machine makes demands that the power supply isn't up to.
Been there, done that (after _much_ frustration).
That's an interesting possibility and one I should check out. As I've mentioned before, my system, with both Linux and Windows, was running just fine in the old box. I switched boxes because the old box (actually a newer one) was a gamer-type box with fewer open bays, only one USB port on the front, and a "front door" that kept getting in the way. (It was more stylish, though.) But the old one had a 400W supply and the newer one a 300W supply. So perhaps I should try transplanting the 400W supply to the current box (and get more current :=)). A more general question for anyone who's listening: are there any recommended hardware diagnostic tools out there that can find problems like these and either run under Linux or run freestanding? Paul