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smokin' PC

I would like to put a wireless card in an old [1995 vintage] Packard Bell computer I use to store pictures and other files. I bought one recently, and the card promptly burned up and locked the computer to the point that it would not even boot up. As soon as I removed the card, the old PC started working fine again. Could there be a voltage or some other compatibility issue here because of the age of the computer, or did I simply get a defective card? Thanks.

Reply to
fhm
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You didn't say which operating system the PB is using. Which "card"? What do you mean by "the card promptly burned up"?

Reply to
DanR

Sounds like card was bad. Probably something shorted causing the PC power supply to (hopefully) clamp down. I think it's your gamble if you want to try another card. If there is obvious visual damage to the card it's possible to determine what circuit fried and then conclude if that would take down the computer power supply. But I doubt it's worth the trouble. If you have any old PCI card laying around (not a duplicate of what's already installed) you could install it and see if it smokes. Hopefully the PCI bus is OK but you say you can boot so maybe all is well.

Reply to
DanR

The bus must still be working because my Ethernet NIC is still OK. Thanks.

Reply to
fhm

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