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Getting Replacement Parts For Sun Clones?
Autoversicherung writes "Two of our production servers started to act up last week and after a few hours of testing and swapping in and out hardware we nailed it down to the power supply. Great, we thought -- probably the easiest part to get a replacement for. Was I wrong. The power supply was specifically made for Sun clones, and contains one standard ATX 20-pin and one EPS 24-pin connector to the motherboard. The original power supply is no longer in production, so far I haven't been able to dig up any suitable replacement for it. Am I able to modify a new PSU? I know how to use the tools required, I'm not sure what the implication are for things like 'separate voltage lines for each CPU complex' etc.
The servers in question are EVU450 from Tritec, AFAIK clones of the E420R Sun server. The original Sun parts don't fit, though. Am I out of luck?"
Apparently all the moderators forgot to actually check the links you posted, since they totally suck. Obviously you saw the results, and noted how crappy they are, were you just trying to get first post and sound knowledgeable at the same time, or were you simply trying to make fun of a guy with a legitimate problem?
It seems pretty clear the guy has already exhausted alternative measures, and ask slashdot was one of his last options. What he wants is some first hand experience on this matter, which the slashdot crowd may very well have!
Next time you try to get first post, at least be a man and say something to the effect of "fr0st p1s+". Making a person feel silly for having such a valid question, and doing it by posting such a silly response... well that's just wrong.
Usually prices for old replacement parts go up a lot once the inventory the company has themselves becomes too small and they still need the part for their own support.
So if you had a maintenance contract, you probably could've bought that part for much less.. or they'd given it to you if it was in warranty.
If you don't have a maintenance contract, well, then the server probably isn't worth that much to you.. and if it is you'll pay their price.
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Switching power supplies are dangerous to work on. Enough voltage to break your skin and enough current to kill. Someone who is unsure about just refitting an old connector on a new PSU should definitely not try.
echo 33676832766569823265328479713269.8639857989Pq | dc
Yes, you are probably right, but are you willing to bet your LIFE on it?
[Eastwood voice] Do ya feel lucky, punk? Well, do ya? [/Eastwood voice]
This also assumes that the person:
1) Has some good analog knowledge. How do you know which part to replace? Testing pars while they are still on the board is even more difficult.
2) Can look up replacement parts for any blown semis. Some transistors are marked with "house numbers," which makes replacing them very difficult, since you cannot even tell if they are NPN, PNP, N-channel, P-Channel, etc.
In short, a person with some experience can fix a PSU, and it is definately not rocket science. But if you have never cracked open a PSU, it can be imtimidating.
"-1 Troll" is the apparently the same as "-1 I disagree with you."
But they had it RIGHT? In fact, if you called them today, they would still be happy to accomodate. Just because it was more than you were prepared to pay, is more or less a non-issue. IBM provides enterprise components at an enterprise price with enterprise quality support.
Food not Bombs is a nice platitude but it breaks down when you notice that the Bombees are usually well fed