haney@tramp.Colorado.EDU (HANEY PATRICIA J) (04/29/91)
I want to get a very small portable casing for my internal drive. I know all about the zero footprint casings, but my question has much more to do with power requirements and loads for Mac computers. The casing I want to get is made by Advanced Gravis and there is no power supply. Instead it draws power from the floppy port using a cable between the drive and the floppy port. This works because I know at least two companies selling their own hard drives with such a set up. The advantage is the reduction in size, portability, and easy connect-up. Here is my question: Will a equipment-loaded Mac be able to handle the extra power demand or would adding this kind of drive set up be the straw that broke the camel's back and blow or otherwise damage the power supply? IDS/Jasmine make an extremely small drive that pulls power from the floppy port, but supposedly the drive only requires 2-4 watts. Advanced Gravis sells a similar drive, but the power requirements are listed as 6-12 watts. Apple told me pulling this much power on a Mac that already has an internal floppy and an internal hard drive is definitely not recommended, but were fuzzy on whether it's *not suggested* or *will definitely damage the machine*. The power requirements of my internal drive in question are 5/12 volts and 8 watts. I want to be able to take my drive in the above mentioned casing and plug it *safely* into any Mac (using the floppy port for power), including the new Macs with their low power problems. Would this drive set up be safe even with the most draining configurations, such as a dual-floppy SE with an internal hard drive, or a IIsi with a expansion card pushing it near it's power limits? Comments, suggestions, facts are all greatly appreciated. Either post or mail to me directly - I'll summerize what I can... Thanks! Trish ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^ Trish Haney ^ haney@tramp.Colorado.edu ^ "Do androids ^ ^ Undergrad, CU Boulder ^ 305 30th Street ^ dream of ^ ^ "The Mac Helper" ^ Boulder, CO 80303-3321 ^ electric sheep?" ^ ^ Beginner help ^ (303) 494-0309 ^ -Philip K. Dick ^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^