[clug] Slightly OT: disk/psu issue

[Nathan Rickerby]

I recently started hearing unusual disk noises coming from my
mini-itx machine and I was getting a few device timeout errors when
trying to access the disk.

Further investigation lead me to suspect the power supply.  Jiggling
the connector between the external AC adapter and the internal PSU
caused the same noise and errors.  I think the disk may have been
losing power temporarily.

Then I noticed the connector had brown spots on it, like it had
been burnt.  http://rickerby.googlepages.com/psu.jpg

After unplugging the connector and plugging it back in, the disk
seems to be working fine.

I'm still not sure what happened to it though.  I'm left wondering,
is it safe, do I need a new AC adapter or PSU, where did those brown
spots come from, was the connector just loose?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
Nathan