Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with supply

What am I doing wrong with my PSU?

battlebison — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:36:45 -0800

PSU was missing from computer. Bought a new one, now it gives me one continuous BIOS beep when I turn it on. What have I done wrong and how do I fix this? From what I understand, one continuous beep means it isn't getting enough power. I have a 450W PSU brand new from NewEgg and this computer is fairly old, so I figured it would have been good enough! I forget the specs exactly, but I think it's a single core 3.8 GHz AMD processor and it has a GeForce 7800 GT as its graphics card. Everything else about it is very pedestrian.

There is the usual ATX power slot on the motherboard as well as what looks like a 4-pin slot near it. It looks like this:
[::]
[::::::::::]
There are two 4-pin connectors coming out of the PSU: one attached the main plug and one that just kind of hangs out on its own separate from any other cable. The computer will only get as far as turning on and beeping at me if I have either the main plug in on its own or it and the loose 4-pin plug. It doesn't do anything at all if I use the 4-pin plug attached to the main plug.

Does it matter that the plug coming from the PSU seems to be missing a pin? [:::::::.::]

Help me revive this old computer!

Thanks for reading this ridiculously long explanation of what is probably an easy problem.

Lather over Lotion?

CollectiveMind — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 10:07:00 -0800

Why does Palmer's Olive Butter Formula Lotion vary so wildly in price? In looking for a hand lotion, I noticed that their new offering began showing up in Big Lots for $2.00 for a .60 oz tube, $2.50 for a 8.5 oz bottle and $3.00 for a 17 oz pump. Besides that not making any sense, it was on the shelves throughout last winter and spring at these prices, only to disappear for about a month with only the bottle returning at twice the price (which, BTW is the same price it was selling in the grocery stories). Then it disappeared for another month and now, all three are back at last year's prices. Understandably, it is flying off the shelves, again. But (1) Why the disparity in price vs. quantity, and (2) Why even in the discount stores, was the price raised and then reduced again? I'm wondering what kind of market or corporate forces might be at work?

i can has online restaurant supply stores?

Tu13es — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 07:32:59 -0800

Are there any decent online restaurant supply stores? I'm looking to buy a bunch of kitchen supplies for my kitchen, including glasses, plates, silverware, etc. and have heard restaurant supply stores are great places to get good quality, yet cheap, items. However, there don't seem to be many places local to me, according to Google Maps, at least.

Are there any online restaurant supply stores worth checking out?

Extra RAM destroys my PSU!

edbyford — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:31:32 -0800

I installed new RAM, and blew my power supply. Now, after installing a better power supply, the same symptoms which led to the broken power supply are happening again. What is going on? I recently ordered a pair of these to upgrade my computer from 2GB RAM to 6GB, after installing Windows 7 64-bit. This is what Crucial told me is compatible with my Intel DG965RY motherboard.

After turning the computer back on, I noticed that Windows hung on startup. I shut it down and ran Memtest86+, but that ran very slowly (although didn't show any errors).

I then restarted, and after a couple of beeps from the mobo, the computer wouldn't turn on. SO I ordered a new, more powerful PSU.
For comparison, the model I had originally was this one. It is 430W and has a max current on 22A across the +3.3V rail (I think this is important if you want to add more RAM, right?)

The one I have now is this one. This is 600W and has 35A across the +3.3V rail.

Just to be safe, I sent the RAM back and bought exactly the same type again. I installed it, and then ran both Memtest86+ and Windows Memory Diagnostic before attempting to boot Windows. They both showed no errors. When I then tried to boot Windows my computer froze! Scared of blowing my PSU again, I shut it down and removed the RAM. It now seems to work fine.

What can I do? Surely my power supply is more than adequate for some RAM?

Thanks in advance

Apple Powerbook Powersupply Woes

jofuu — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:03:02 -0800

Received a replacement power supply for my Powerbook G4 today. The Apple power supply stats are "Input: AC 100-240V 50/60HZ 1.5A Ouput: 24.5V === 2.65A" The replacement supply reads "Input: 100-240V ~ 2.0A, 50-60HZ Ouput: 15-24V === 4.3A & 75W MAX". Is the new power supply incompatible with my Powerbook? I plugged in the new power supply in and it began charging my laptop. However, there was a slight wine from below the middle of the keyboard near the screen. Obviously I don't want to fry the thing. Should I return this one and order another from a different source?

fat round things in cords?

karl88 — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 03:22:56 -0800

what are the fat round things sometimes found inline on various types of electronic cords? some USB chords have them, printer cords, power supply cords, many don't. what do they do? what if your replacement power supply doesn't have one? (try googling this question- you get nowhere)

Non-traditional building supply sources?

odinsdream — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 08:20:49 -0800

I'm planning a home addition but would like peruse building material sources beyond what's available in consumer hardware stores. What sources do architects and contractors use for non-standard windows and other items? Is there a McMaster-Carr-equivalent for building materials? I'm in the early design stages of a home addition and am trying to figure out windows, in particular. Pictures 4 and 5 on this page show what I'm looking for.

Would a large array of windows like that be a completely custom thing? I.e., I'd need to contact a glass and metal shop and get it totally made from scratch?

In general, who are the vendors for not-exactly-standard building components like this, and where are they listed? Perhaps sources traditionally for commercial applications that I could rework into a residential environment?

Using Old Laptop Charger?

bytemover — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 09:22:04 -0800

My old laptop blew the motherboard after 3 years of great use (Acer Aspire 5670). I just bought a new laptop (Acer Extensa 5630Z). Can I use the power charger/AC Adapter from my old on my new without doing damage? The new one is rated 19V 3.43A. The old one is 19V 4.4A. (plugs are the same). Long live the hive mind!

I need 1KWh

felix — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:51:54 -0800

I need just one portable, reusable, near-silent, non-dangerous kilowatthour. I am planning on doing some mobile outdoor projection using a laptop and a standard video projector. In total, I expect to need about 500 safe, non-spiky, non-saggy watts for two hours.

I haven't been able to find, despite extensive research, any solutions that don't involve loud, super heavy gasoline generators, or inverters hooked up to the batteries of a running car. Those solutions involve slightly too-large amounts of danger/heavy loads/noise/complexity.

Ideally I'd end up with something that could work on a (heavily loaded) bike, or even man-portable/man-draggable.

People seem to think that car batteries won't work, because they will die from too-rapid discharge and be unusable after a few cycles.

Arrays of supercaps seem like an accident waiting to happen.

Surely some burner has found the local maximum on this question?

Fried laptop?

yoyo_nyc — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:05:31 -0800

Did I fry my laptop? (I was really stupid) My power supplied somehow died in a way that made it difficult to fix. Hence I just bought another power supply with multiple voltages.
You guess, the switch moved while on the road and instead of 16 V, I turned it on with 15 V (1 V lower). Realizing this after a second or so, I immediately turned the switch to 16V while the power supply was still plugged (it states that you must not do this). Now my laptop seems dead but not funny smell or anything. Even the van does not turn on.
The power supply makes some low volume but hearable high frequency noise when it is plugged in position 15V or 16V (not not in the others that are available). Maybe a blown capacitor?
Since I don't have access to a Voltmeter before Tuesday:

Did I fry my new power supply, my laptop or both?

(My poor 10" subnote, has served me well many years. May have to bury it somewhere if it died).

Is my power supply dead?

Andy Harwood — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 15:05:07 -0800

I just noticed that my Macbook's battery is running down even though the power supply is plugged in. Do I need a new power supply or could it be something I can fix?

How much sense does it make for a business to expand horizontally in the supply chain?

willy_dilly — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:04:51 -0800

How much sense does it make for a business to expand horizontally in the supply chain? To the business experts,

My family owns a mid-size business that sells construction materials and misc hardware in various islands in the Pacific Ocean. A significant percentage of their suppliers are from the U.S. and brokers in the U.S. handle the sourcing and shipping of the materials. They are looking into having me start a buying office in the U.S. so they can own the "broker" stage of the supply chain also.

However, I am not too familiar with the import/export business and protocol, and have doubts as to whether this will be feasible. What I am unsure about is whether suppliers will do business directly with a small account like myself. The broker that we use sources multiple clients and definitely benefits from the economy of scale and have leverage in negotiating with suppliers. Will my family's business actually benefits financially from expanding the horizontally in the supply chain or will we not increase our profit margin by that much due to the smaller size of our orders compared to our broker?

I understand the question is extremely general and I'm not providing much details but I'm hoping to get a general idea of the relationship between size and gross margin in the supply chain.

If possible, I'd definitely want to connect with someone knowledgeable in this matter to discuss some more once I have more information.

Thanks.

Please explain the economics of energy and oil.

F.Jasmine Addams — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 05:23:51 -0800

How do gas companies get away with raising prices so much when they are reporting such high profits? I just heard on the radio that Shell reported a 14% rise in profits over the last year, the largest increase in history for a US company. British gas here in the UK are raising prices by 35% (!), but they are reporting billions of pounds of profit - so much profit that the government are considering a windfall tax for British Gas, but is that something that is going to reduce that 35% increase? How do massive profits + massive price increases NOT equal profiteering?
I am obviously mostly ignorant about economics, but I would like to learn more, so any books/articles that will help me understand this would be appreciated in addition to your explanations

Why are hybrid vehicles so scarce?

middleclasstool — Sat, 31 May 2008 09:45:18 -0800

Why are hybrid vehicles so hard to find? My wife and I are new car shopping and have set a limit of ~30mpg as the minimum for fuel efficiency. Thing is, it's hard to find a non-hybrid that gets that unless it's small, and we've got one baby with a rear-facing seat and another planned for next year, so we'd like some extra leg room to accommodate them.

Enter the Ford Escape Hybrid. 34/30 mpg, the only hybrid SUV that gets mileage that good and is decently priced, appears to have decent room, and could actually be used to haul some stuff from time to time, which is a plus. We love the idea, want to test drive one.

Except nobody has them. I've checked dealers in Little Rock, Memphis, Nashville, Tulsa, and even Dallas. No dealer websites show them in inventory. My wife called a local dealer to ask about this, and was informed that they couldn't even order one for us if we wanted. They are literally nearly impossible to find in the US. Some cursory Googling tells us that other hybrid vehicles ain't much better.

So here's the question: why? Especially in a market where US automakers are struggling, if there's demand that high for your product, why are you not making more of them? The economics of this evades me -- what does creating artificial scarcity do for them financially, when they could just flat-out sell more cars? Is it artificial scarcity, or are they just seeing a bigger run on their vehicles than they anticipated? If it's the latter, why not ramp up production pronto?

I'm a clumsy oaf and broke a pin on the apparently irreplaceable power supply to my external hard drive. What to do now??

letahl — Wed, 07 May 2008 07:04:11 -0800

I broke a pin on the power supply to my Lacie external hard drive. Only problem is they have ceased to exist, in stores or on ebay... Is there a generic version that would work, or do I have to get someone to solder the pin back on? I have the Lacie Porsche Design 60gb external hard drive. Being a clumsy oaf, I broke one of the pins in the power supply connector which goes into the back of the drive. I've searched all over the internet and ebay and can't find the Lacie replacement IN STOCK. Lacie is even out of it.

This thing is not that old, and I need to fix it, but I'm unfamiliar with what kind of generic connector would work. I'm okay with cutting and rewiring if I could get a heads up as to what that connector's even called. Here's the brand name power supply and it shows the female jack on the back of the drive. Any advice, Mefites??

Where do I go to look up global commodity supplies?

onalark — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 05:19:15 -0800

How do I look up current global commodity supplies? Even better, is there somewhere I can compare global commodity prices versus their supply and consumption rates over an extended period? So we've been inundated with the 'big news' this week that commodity prices are shooting through the roof, with various theories for why this is so. One theory is that speculation and a large influx of money from investors wary of other markets is artificially driving prices up, with a counter-argument that supplies have been unable to keep up with increased demand. I know that things are undoubtedly more subtle than that, but I'm still interested in looking at some raw numbers. I have no idea how one would go about looking for this information, and a bit of googling has not lead very far.

Help me find a power supply in NYC

miniape — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:21:02 -0800

Where can I find an AC adapter with 18-24 Volt DC output capable of 1.5+ amps in New York City. Preferably 18 volts, but anywhere up to 24 volts should work. I don't care about the connection type.

I've tried Radio Shack and a bunch of places in Chinatown. What's my best bet for finding this? Any borough, but Manhattan/Brooklyn/Queens preferred.

Thanks.

Electrical Engineers / Computer Hardware Enthusiasts: Replace fuse in computer power supply?

itheearl — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 23:57:24 -0800

Electrical Engineers / Computer Hardware Enthusiasts: Replace fuse in a computer power supply? I was recently given a 1U rackmount P3 server from a place where i do some computer work.
The fuse in the power supply was blown. You can actually see a film on the inside of the glass where the fuse element melted.
The was a glass BUSS fuse, must be a 5x20 mm size, with markings 'F6.3A L 250V'.
Is this a long-blow or a short-blow fuse?
(I was thinking the L might mean long, but not sure)

The fuse was in a holder (meant to be replaced?), none of the other components in the power supply have visible damage, and I had the computer going for just over an hour on another (desktop) power supply.
(There are also three of those little blue disks (MOVs?) right next to the fuse holder... if i recall, those provide some sort of surge protection?)
The computer itself is a clone, with less dust than i'd expect to see in a year old desktop computer - let alone a computer that was built in late 1999.
If i can get the power supply fixed or replaced ($50 +... ouch), the unit would make a great storage server or media player (think .avi on a tv).... but i'd much rather spend that $50 on a pci to sata card or a pci video card with tv out... and i'm not willing to jurry rig the thing up to a full size power supply on a permanent basis.

The most recent 'date modified' i could find on any of the files was 12/10/2006, which would lead me to believe that computer was running fine until at least that date... and that winter weather may well have caused a power surge.

Radio Shack has a '6.3A 250V 5x20mm Slow-Blow Glass Fuse (4-Pack)' Catalog #: 270-1068...

I was thinking of replacing the fuse,
testing the power supply with a paperclip (green to black), a dummy load (10 ohm 10 watt resistor from red to black), and an led (grey to black),
then using it on a junker computer,
and then using it if that works...

Once back in the computer, the supply will be enclosed by two layers of fairly thick steel... as long as i dont have it near carpet or drapes, i'm not going to burn down my apartment complex... right?

(Specs on power supply at: http://www.sparklepower.com/pdf/MPW-6150F.pdf)

Does anyone know of a company that makes a single metal file drawer?

semidivine — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:30:38 -0800

Does anyone know of a company that makes a single file drawer? I mean in metal (or some other sturdy material, ie. hard plastic) like a file cabinet but with only one drawer. I found this, but this is carboard, so not good for my purposes, but the form is perfect. I've searched and searched on the internet and I can't find anything, but it seems like something that should exist. Can anyone help?

Medical supply question

I_Love_Bananas — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 06:38:36 -0800

MedicalSupplyFilter: Those blue absorbent thingys? Where can I find those large blue-backed protective pads locally (i.e. not at a special medical supply place, but at a CVS or some such)?

Battery charger for 12V power supply?

hodyoaten — Sat, 26 May 2007 14:26:15 -0800

Calling electricians: can I use one of those "battery chargers" they sell at Auto Zone to power a small appliance that needs 12V? The appliance is an RV waste pump that needs to be on just 5 minutes every week. The manufacturer sheet says it needs a 12VDC 20A connection. The only available power is 110 VAC.

It's pretty much impossible to find any kind of 110V to 12V converter, but there's oodles of battery chargers like this at AutoZone, Wal-Mart, etc. Will these work as a basic power supply, or will they act flaky when they don't get connected to a battery? Will those fully automatic chargers refuse to power a motor? Can I just go by the highest amp rating on the charger packaging and make sure it's 20A or above?

Again, I will only be operating the thing 5 minutes a week, so I don't need a certified, by-the-book connection; just something that will get the job done.

Looking for angle iron source for shelving

bagelche — Fri, 11 May 2007 08:09:30 -0800

I'm trying to find angle iron uprights for industrial shelving. My small non-profit was given shelving (well, shelves) that we originally expected uprights to come with and they ended up without the uprights. I'm looking for angle iron around 8 ft(96inches) long, of reasonable strength, and with bolt holes running the length. Holes on the shelves are approximately 3/4" on center from the corner, but are oval. leads are appreciated as my google-fu has mostly failed me. thanks.

Turn on, damnit!

backseatpilot — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 06:49:08 -0800

YACQ (Yet Another Computer Question) - does this sound like a power supply issue? My homebuilt computer stopped turning on. Over the past couple of months, it would randomly shut off and refuse to turn on for about an hour or so, and then act totally fine afterwards. There was no regularity about the shutdowns, which led me away from a heat issue (sometimes it would shutdown after an hour, sometimes after three days).

Two days ago, I turned off the computer and went to work. When I cam home, the computer wouldn't turn on. The power LED on the case, however, is blinking very rapidly at me. I've tried all the jiggery-pokery that used to revive the computer - unplugging it and letting it sit for a few minutes, switching the AC source switch back and forth from 220V to 110V and plugging it back in, but nothing has worked.

The power supply (300W) is about eight years old and powering an Athlon 64 with a pretty hefty video card, so my hunch is that I was just asking too much of the aging supply. Does this sound right?

Welding / Metal Supply for Hobbiests in Northern VA / DC

NGnerd — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 13:17:59 -0800

I'm taking up welding as a hobby and was hoping someone might know of a good metal supply shop that would be a open to hobbiest (i.e.: they are willing to sell small quantities and have weekend hours). I find that home depot and lowes offer a limited selection of steel, so it would be nice to find a place i can buy mechanical tube steel, small gage pipe, and other misc steel.

Help me fix a poor student's computer

14580 — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 06:33:13 -0800

Please help me fix a poor college student’s Dell Dimension E310 desktop PC. I need to know whether they use an industry standard power supply unit or a proprietary Dell unit. My understanding is that Dell used to use proprietary power supplies but they’ve stopped doing that in recent years I’ve also heard that if you plug the wrong kind of PSU into the motherboard it will fry the rest of the computer; and I’ve also read that you really can’t tell the difference between the two types of supplies because they use the same kind of connectors.

I have lots of experience building my own computers. It seems likely that the power supply is causing this PC’s problem and I can get a standard PSU easily and fairly cheaply, so I’d like to try that first. I’ve looked inside the case, nothing is obviously wrong and I’ve tried reseating the cards and memory boards.

The computer is a hand-me-down from another relative. It is probably only three or four years old and it was working fine. They just turned it off and when they tried to turn it back on a couple of hours later nothing happened (there are no fans or hard drives spinning) and power button is blinking orange, instead of the usual steady green.

I’ve done a lot of Googling but I can’t find a definitive answer to my question.