Ask the expert (heheh)

[rrrr]

A buddy of mine on another message board is having problems with the power supply in his computer. In an effort to be helpful I offered the following advice to him:
"You prolly didn't test the polarity of the outlet. Take a paper clip or similar object and insert it into the left side of the outlet while you firmly grasp a metal object like a water pipe or window frame. If the neutral wire is properly installed, you won't feel anything.
If it shocks the hairy bejeesus outta you, the neutral and the hot wire on the receptacle are reversed. After you have recovered from the near electrocution, turn off the breaker, remove the receptacle from the wall outlet box and swap the wires. After you are done, turn on the breaker and repeat the test.
Since this condition can cause problems with other electronic equipment, I would test every outlet in the house. Just ignore the metallic taste in your mouth that appears after you have been shocked a few times, it'll go away. The only time you need to be concerned is if you feel your fillings getting hot, then you should take a break for a while and let them cool down."
Wonder if he's gonna try it?

[Phat_Kat]

(didn't read fully)
One problem they were having with some powersupplies was that they actually took more power then they could handle. They're not sure why but they did. A solution was to take some wire and somehow mold in to the powersupply then jam the wire into a piece of wood. You couldn't put it into a wooden desk because it would soak up too much energy and would make your power supply useless. As strange as it sound I tried it and it actually worked well.

[Boozer]

Phat_Kat:
(didn't read fully)
One problem they were having with some powersupplies was that they actually took more power then they could handle. They're not sure why but they did. A solution was to take some wire and somehow mold in to the powersupply then jam the wire into a piece of wood. You couldn't put it into a wooden desk because it would soak up too much energy and would make your power supply useless. As strange as it sound I tried it and it actually worked well. Why not just get another power supply?? Sounds like a lot of work to make a $20 item function properly. Which really isn't functioning the way it was intended to in the first place.

[HOSS]

Coat hangers work much better.

[Phat_Kat]

Boozer:
Phat_Kat:
(didn't read fully)
One problem they were having with some powersupplies was that they actually took more power then they could handle. They're not sure why but they did. A solution was to take some wire and somehow mold in to the powersupply then jam the wire into a piece of wood. You couldn't put it into a wooden desk because it would soak up too much energy and would make your power supply useless. As strange as it sound I tried it and it actually worked well. Why not just get another power supply?? Sounds like a lot of work to make a $20 item function properly. Which really isn't functioning the way it was intended to in the first place. larger better build ones(like mine) run between $80 and $120. This may seem like its being over price but it's well worth it.

[Hal]

(didn't read fully)
One problem they were having with some powersupplies was that they actually took more power then they could handle. They're not sure why but they did. A solution was to take some wire and somehow mold in to the powersupply then jam the wire into a piece of wood. You couldn't put it into a wooden desk because it would soak up too much energy and would make your power supply useless. As strange as it sound I tried it and it actually worked well.
Phat_Kat.... Would you please explain this with a little more detail.

[Phat_Kat]

Hal:
(didn't read fully)
One problem they were having with some powersupplies was that they actually took more power then they could handle. They're not sure why but they did. A solution was to take some wire and somehow mold in to the powersupply then jam the wire into a piece of wood. You couldn't put it into a wooden desk because it would soak up too much energy and would make your power supply useless. As strange as it sound I tried it and it actually worked well.
Phat_Kat.... Would you please explain this with a little more detail. It's something that no one really got down. Atleast not to my knowledge. A computer power supply is rated at a certain amount of watts. Some of the 600 watters running with 13 amps were sucking 1300 watts and 17 amps. It was like they were possesed. The worst one were the ones with a PCI mounted regulator to control power flow. They'd get hot or something and blow power out as well as fry you CPU.