[OFB Cafe] Voltage for a PATA DVD Burner

Fred A. Miller fmiller at lightlink.com
Tue Sep 16 20:40:02 CDT 2008


Timothy Butler wrote:
>> For power, it should be the same as any other optical drive - +12V  
>> and +5V.
>>
>> I think you're asking about current though - it's probably a bit  
>> higher
>> than then 1.2A at 5V/1.5A at 12V I see listed on a 56x CDROM I have handy.
>>
>> Most devices should have this info on a label on the top.
> 
> 	OK. Yes, I may be asking about current. Electricity is definitely not  
> my forte. The big question I am trying to look into is why a  
> particular computer keeps killing optical drives. I was wondering if  
> it could be supplying them with too much power... Thoughts?

YES! Over time, too much "juice" can and will kill a drive. I've not run
into power supplies that do that. Normally they work correctly or die. I
have run into units that can't supply enough power for the entire system.

Fred

-- 
“While addressing the [GOP convention], Sarah Palin criticized
Barack Obama for not having enough ‘specifics.’ Obama was
reportedly angry about the claim, but didn’t say
exactly why.” —Conan O’Brien




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