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Test Theory
The purpose of the following test procedure is
to eliminate any chance for human error when determining whether or not the Thermaltake Xaser III 1394 is correctly wired or not, as well as to eliminate
the possibility that the person installing the 1394 cable harness to the
motherboard did so correctly. This procedure basically relies on the assumption
that the 1394 hub used below is manufactured correctly and provides bus power
and signal on the correct 1394 pins per the 1394 socket specification. During
the test, positive voltage from the hub will be transferred out of the hub via
pin 1 of the attached 1394 cable to pin 1 of the 1394 socket on the Xaser III.
This positive voltage will then be transferred through the 1394 socket down to
the wires that would normally attach to the installed mother board. In this,
you should be able to measure the POSITIVE voltage on the wire labeled "VP" for
"Volts Positive".
Test
Tool and Peripheral Requirements
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1 multi-meter capable of
measuring up to 50VDC. |
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1 Self-powered (via AC
adapter) stand-alone 1394 hub, such as the Belkin 4-Port Hub model number
F5U524. Technically, any known good 1394 host adapter that provides bus
power via a 6-pin 1394 socket can be used as a substitute for the 1394
hub. |
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1 Thermaltake Xaser III
computer case |
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1 Standard Firewire cable
(6 pin to 6 pin) |
Test
Procedure
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Plug in the standalone Firewire hub and verify
that it is energized.
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Ensure the
Xaser III motherboard
cable that connects the top 1394 socket is not connected to any
device inside the case. Locate the single wire female pins from the top 1394 case connector
cable labeled VG and VP (Voltage GROUND and Voltage POSITIVE).
The two USB headers are also part of this same cable but are not used in any way
during this test and should remain disconnected.
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Connect the 6-Pin standard 1394
cable from the powered FireWire hub to the top 1394 socket on the Xaser III
case. This sends bus power from the hub through the Thermaltake 1394
interface and down the cable to the VG and VP pins.
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Using the Multi-meter, connect the
POSITIVE test lead to the exposed side of the VP pin and then connect the
NEGATIVE test lead to the exposed side of the VG pin. You should see POSITIVE
voltage on the Multi-meter display, indicating that the pins are correctly
labeled. If you see NEGATIVE voltage, such as -12 Volts on the Multi-meter, and
you have verified that the Multi-meter POSITIVE lead is attached to the VP
pin and the Multi-meter NEGATIVE lead is attached to the VG pin, you are affected
by this wiring defect and use of this 1394 socket with a bus-powered FireWire device
or any device that uses a 6-pin to 4-pin FireWire cable will either short out
and destroy the FireWire device, the mainboard 1394 controller chip, or both.
In all test cases seen thus far, the damage done to the devices has been
permanent.
The potential damage caused
by this defect could be far more massive than this document suggests, and you
should not assume that damage caused by this defect will only be limited to the
peripheral and/or motherboard. Example: If a user were to connect
his two high-end, expensive PC's together to utilize Microsoft Windows 1394
Networking capability, the direct short caused by this defect could translate
past the 1394 controller chips and potentially damage other non-1394 devices in
both computers, as well as the power supply in each computer. In some
cases, the 1394 controller chip may get hot enough to actually start to burn and
release smoke.
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