emusonacid!

Apparently, you can also tell which power supply you have by the date of manufacture code in the serial number. The first four digits are the month and year. Seems they moved from the 43W to the 65W power supply in September 2001 (0901...). The change was to accommodate the higher power draw from the RFX-32 card.

Which isn't to say that the RFX won't run in an older machine, but the power might get twitchy.

Hey Guys,

i'm certain that an 80gb drive (7200rpm) will have a start up current that exceeds the recommended amps (1.7a i think)

you will find that it is almost impossible to find a drive with a startup current less than this unless u find a smaller older and 5400 rpm drive...

of course being that it is a momentary thing (start up) it takes maybe a decade, year or months before the power supply has had too much..

i've got 2 ultras and a non ultra - two have this smallish power supply and one has a bigger longer unit - im guessing this is the 65w version

You can tell which power supply you have by looking at the power supply's specs sticker. The sticker is on one of the big capacitors, you may have to remove the power supply to get to it.

As for the hard drive problem, it's a good idea to install a separate power supply that powers just the hard drive. I've done that on my E4XT Ultra. Used a power supply that comes with LaCie external drives - it gives you 5V and 12V, and enough juice to support the drive during spinup and normal operation.

The big advantage is that your Emu power supply will no longer be strained by the hard drive, and you can install all the expansions you want without worrying about your Emu malfunctioning.

If you need details on how to do it, let me know.