Importance of Grounded Power?

From: Terry Murphy <tsmurphy_at_addr8.addr.com>
Date: Sat Jul 28 01:09:03 2001

I recently got an old AlphaServer 4/275, and it worked for a while, and
then after I moved into another room, and it stopped working. I only have
one or two grounded outlets in my apartment, so I had to hook it to a
non-grounded one (via a surge protector, plugged in with a grounding
adaptor). I'm not sure if it's coincidence, but that appeared to kill the
AlphaServer (the power supply, to be precise). Is it technically possible
for non-grounded power to be able to kill a system? In general, what
type of hardware will require real grounded power to function? I have a
whole slew of PC's, for example, using non-grounded power outlets without
a hitch, so is this only going to be a problem for industrial equipment,
like AlphaServers?

Also does anyone know where I could get an AlphaServer 4/275 power supply
for cheap?

Thanks,
Terry
Received on Sat Jul 28 2001 - 01:09:03 BST