Re: when must I reboot?
On Fri, Sep 17, 1999 at 02:29:38AM -0400, William T Wilson wrote:
> On Fri, 17 Sep 1999, Aaron Solochek wrote:
>
> > USB should be fine, it was designed so that you could just plug
> > something into it and be ready to go..... However you are not supposed
> > to mess with ps/2 while the computer is on... That really doesn't stop
> > me, sometimes nothing happens, sometimes the machine reboots...
>
> The machine will only reboot if you accidentally touch one of the signal
> or voltage pins to ground, which is very possible to do with a PS/2
> connector. :}
>
> It's true that you're not supposed to mess with PS/2 connectors while the
> machine is running, but I for the life of me cannot explain why. Other
> than the keyboard being confused as to which lights (num lock, etc.) are
> supposed to be lit, I have never suffered any ill effects. And even that
> goes away the first time you actually press one of those keys...
In contrast, I've killed a computer (requiring a new motherboard) by
hot-swapping a PS/2-style mouse.
It is a stress on the system -- most of the time you'll get away with it,
sometimes it weakens it, and sometimes stuff can break. Don't hot-swap
stuff unless the documentation says it'll work, or you're willing to fix it.
I think the actual mechanism for damage a mix of overcurrent leading to
electromigration and overheating. You'd have to check with an
autority on chip reliability to be sure.
Jon Leonard
Reply to: