25 Feb
2007
25 Feb
'07
10:58 a.m.
Tony Duell wrote:
I'll bet it was an SMD tantalum capacitor, and
that it was a decoupling
(bypass) capacitor on one of the power lines. Such capacitors (both
wire-ended and SMD) are well-known for going short-circuit, and if
they're across a power line they generally catch fire (they glow red...)
and emit vast amounts of magixc smoke. And the device just carries on
working...
Just for a second possibility, *always* check the underside of "unknown"
drives before plugging them in (Which Ian may well have done) - because the
electronics are exposed, I've seen a few where there's been component damage
due to bad storage. It's possible (although I agree that a simple failure's
more likely) that something was shorted where it shouldn't be....
cheers
Jules