DVD drive's exploding

  • Thread starter Thread starter Husky
  • Start date Start date
it in.

There are several reasons for a low 3.3V:

1) Power supply failure imminent.
2) Poor contact between ATX 20 pin connectors. If the connector is
not properly seated, it overheats (ohmic losses), the metal on the
pins oxidize, and the problem will repeat itself over and over again,
until both the motherboard connector and the PSU connector are
replaced.
3) The ATX power supply has a 3.3V pin that has two wires on it. The
thinner of the two wires is a feedback wire (remote sense). If the
thinner wire is broken, the output voltage will drop, as the
PSU monitors the 3.3V via an internal node inside the PSU, and the
PSU will no longer compensate for drop in the cable harness.

As for our rational in suggesting a preemptive PSU replacement, you
can wait for it to fail, or you can take the free warning it is giving
you. For example, the supply in my first computer, the fan developed
more variation in speed than it used to have. I checked the +12V
via the hardware monitor, and indeed the +12V wasn't regulating very
well. Rather than take a chance on the PSU damaging the computer, I
pulled it and replaced it. You could argue that I don't know for sure
that the supply was faulty, but I would argue that there is nothing
else different in the configuration to account for the new behavior.
If you had a $300 power supply, and only $200 worth of computer
components, replacing the supply would be silly. But if the components
cost you $1000 and the PSU cost $50, it would be silly not to replace it.
And cleaning up the mess afterwards can be costly, especially if you end
up with "domino failures" - one guy took the processor out of his
damaged computer, plugged it into a friend's motherboard, and killed
that motherboard - it is much better to replace the PSU before
something happens than after.

The power supply is the single most likely component to fail. And it
doesn't even matter which brand you buy - they all fail, even the
PCP&C ones have reported failures. But the Leadman/Powmax of the
world fail a lot more often than the good ones, so when someone posts
about how they got a good deal on a $13 power supply, and why doesn't
their computer work, it doesn't take rocket science to decide what is
wrong. All it takes is a few symptoms (burned smell, hot PSU case,
changes in PSU behavior, out of spec voltages, video artifacts, crash
when 3D game starts etc.)

It is too bad devices like this one aren't cheaper. I own one of these
and it is indispensible for determining what is going on. It is a
DC clamp-on ammeter, and the lower ranges are what I use. No need
to cut any wires to make current measurements.

An Amprobe might be worthwhile, but I've found the RS Digital multi range works
just as well for 99.9% of home needs. I'd never be able to use one often enough
to make the purchase sensible.

You can check for shorts with my RS just as easily as with an Amprobe. And this
thing gets extreme use by me.

I've also considered cascade failure. It hadn't happened by the time I took it
to the shop. It's more or less now just sit and wait to see if something goes.

This New DVD has already created 2 BSOD's. I'm thinking a dual layer DVD may be
ahead of it's time, or Memorex hasn't perfected it yet. M$ suggested a NEW
driver. It currently uses a M$ DVD driver. Then there's the conflict with
Nero's DVD player and the ATI capture. I'm thinking that may be related to this
DVD crashing also.

ie: With the ATI [has it's own DVD player] if the TV's on, when you choose DVD
also it asks to shutdown TV, run DVD with reduced capabilities, or cancel.

Fire up Nero's DVD with TV on, Nero bulls ahead with reduced capabilities
disabling capture driver for any other program and never restoring it.
If TV is off and Nero is already on DVD, TV fails to load every time. order of
loading..

This one here also screws up the NEXT loading of the TV. if there's no reboot,
or sometimes even if there is a reboot. It disables the capture driver, or
changes the +/- 0.2 clock stability. Minor inconveniences that a 2nd reboot
repairs.

Today's BSOD with Memorex DVD, TV was on. Usually get the win prompt to run the
DVD via a selection of about 15 different programs either no prompt, prompt
every time, or cancel. That screen doesn't appear with this particular BSOD.
And this BSOD isn't a constant.

Assuming this DVD lasts, I'm dying to see how Nero writes to a Dual layer 9 gig
DVD. 3 pack around $15.00 or more. Just haven't decided on what I have worth
sticking on a $5.00 CD platter.

As for the 3.3v I'm running same as before the shop with a replaced DVD [same
make/model] but haven't plugged the HP CD recorder in yet. And no alerts of any
kind, voltage, fan or heat.
3rd day...

And for the guy that doesn't understand how a motor works, ask yourself how
they can have a variable speed motor without there being more than one motor.
They change the speed by varying the current flowing thru the windings.
[unlimited power = excessive speed] A short can accomplish the same thing as a
DESIGNED change of current.

I'm still prone to suspecting the video card 1st. And these DVD's overloading
the system 2nd.

Without any CB's to pop as they should have previously, long before taking out
the 2 DVD's, and making the power plug too hot to touch, giving these things
MORE POWER before finding the source that started this trouble is just asking
for trouble.. It's been running over a year on this PS.

If the current setup can't handle this DVD, do I really want to increase to
500w, just to use this brand DVD recorder ? How will the P4P, and all the other
components work with all the power they can use after wearing themselves in at
a lower rate for over a year ?

Bigger power supply on Old parts isn't a good idea.

Old parts decay, higher power makes them decay faster.
see : Light bulb if you doubt this statement. <- this for the guy that thinks
motor speed is unrelated to voltage and current.

Then there's always the 1st completely overlooked solution that I've seen as a
source [you mentioned above] is check and see if it's all plugged in. That was
with my A: Floppy [twice this month, strain on power cord stretching it]
I've had to jiggle the ATI card more than once to get things working AGAIN and
AGAIN..

One of my 1st jobs, school milk cooler wasn't working. Because the plug was
sitting on the ground and not in the outlet.

What I find so totally confusing is why they don't have a system hardware
program to check all these voltages, currents, speeds, etc... I know the asus
probe. Nice little Early warning system. But way too limited.
 
Are you saying that you actually think that changing an AGP aperture
overstressed your power supply?? That has nothing whatsoever to do
with your ATI card or PSU. Changing the aperture just allows some
system RAM to be used to hold data such as texture maps. It's RAM
that would be in use, anyway.

I'm not suggesting anything. That's the only change to the system I had
anything to do with the day before the low voltage over heating problem
occurred.
Some sort of warning on the BIOS about changing any of the setting below could
interfere with the stability of the machine. This is on the over clocking page.
And changing design parameters also changes current flowing. Something I find
not worth the cost for the result. I hadn't equated AGP aperture with over
clocking. The ATI claims 128 megs. so it would only make sense that a 128 meg
aperture would work with it. And it did for 1 day.
Then next day the low voltage goes berserk.

The thing that may have a problem here is the asus AGP or the ATI AGP 8x, can't
recall offhand is 1.5v or 3.3v. I'm thinking the ATI AGP is 1.5v, and the asus
AGP is 3,3v. Anyone else now see the relation to the low voltage warning ?
the ATI at a 64 meg aperture NEVER exceeded it's 1.5v design. but with the 128
meg, it may have pulled more power on the 3.3v, but not enough. Over 1.5, and
under 3.3v. resulting in the less than 3.3v warning.
Are you saying that supplying extra power to an optical drive will
increase its rotational velocity beyond spec??
The CD blew up because CDs sometimes blow up in modern drives that
spin them up to 48X and beyond. It was coincidence, nothing more.
Nope, the problem is in the media. If you have a CD with a tiny crack
and spin it up to 52X, the centrifugal force might widen the crack
enough to make the disk break. When it breaks at that speed, it goes
to smithereens and usually takes the drive with it. Yours is not the
first drive to die such a death. This phenomenon started to be
reported when optical drives with 40X speeds were introduced.

Office depot had never heard of this phenomenon. Neither had I till now.
I think in the case of this particular CD, age was the only variable. It was a
7 year old Imation. no cracks, unless they form from usage.

This doesn't sound good. This Memorex shows 48x on CDs.
I can see, don't stick cracked CD's in, but if it isn't cracked and it's an OLD
CD never heard of anything faster than 8x, how do you use them without
destroying a drive ?

Sounds like time to fire up the HP, copy all old CD's to the drive, and
reinstall to 48x CD's / DVD's... wow 9 gig DVD's for data. I think I've found
how to backup every old program on 2 disks.
I think that's what you'll end up doing, but if justice were done, it
would be the unethical shop that built your computer that would have
to foot the bill.
Again ? After a year of working without a glitch ? I've only found one computer
employee in this area that earned the title of Tech.

I was told by Epson when I had a bad floppy, that it was failing because of a
dusty cabinet. [After less than 10 minutes running]. 2nd Shop new repair guy.
Plugged the floppy in. Had nothing to do with dust. That Epson business went
out of business long ago.
 
snip
Office depot had never heard of this phenomenon. Neither had I till now.
I think in the case of this particular CD, age was the only variable. It was a
7 year old Imation. no cracks, unless they form from usage.

We could build an entire new universe using only the knowledge of
which Office-Depot clerks are unaware. Google it; the phenomenon has
been reported many times.
This doesn't sound good. This Memorex shows 48x on CDs.
I can see, don't stick cracked CD's in, but if it isn't cracked and it's an OLD
CD never heard of anything faster than 8x, how do you use them without
destroying a drive ?
Any time you spin a plastic optical disk that fast, there's a little
risk. My intuition tells me that the older the disc is, the higher
the risk of disintegration.
Sounds like time to fire up the HP, copy all old CD's to the drive, and
reinstall to 48x CD's / DVD's... wow 9 gig DVD's for data. I think I've found
how to backup every old program on 2 disks.

No, no, that won't do any good at all. As far as I know, blank media
rated at 48X is NO less likely to fail mechanically that media (of the
same age) rated at 8X. The ratings refer to differences in the dye
layer that allow them to be written to faster, and those ratings have
nothing to do with their structural integrity. The problem is that
ANY disc with a minor manufacturing flaw or with a tiny crack
introduced by wear and tear may fail when it's spun that fast. The
older drives never spun a disc fast enough to make it tear itself
apart, even if it did have a little crack, and that's probably why
this problem began to be reported when newer, faster drives were
introduce.
Certainly "again." You specified, or they chose, top quality
components throughout your computer, then TWICE gave you a PSU that no
self-respecting system builder would even consider using, let alone
use. The fairest way to handle that would be for them to replace it
with a reputable PSU charging you nothing for labor and only the
difference in the cost between the new one and the piece-of-shit thing
they foisted on you the second time.

Ron
 
And for the guy that doesn't understand how a motor works, ask yourself how
they can have a variable speed motor without there being more than one motor.
They change the speed by varying the current flowing thru the windings.
[unlimited power = excessive speed] A short can accomplish the same thing as a
DESIGNED change of current.

I don't understand how the motor works in a CD either. So I found
a datasheet for a spindle motor controller:

http://www.vlsi.com/pip/SA56202TW.html
http://www.vlsi.com/acrobat/datasheets/SA56202_1.pdf

You will notice the chip drives three windings with some half-sine
drive signals. Hall sensors in the motor, are used to sense the
position of the spindle, and velocity information is derived
from the sensors. The system includes the ability to accelerate
and decelerate in a controlled fashion. Now, given this chip,
if the +12V suddenly changes, this chip will reduce the amplitude
of the drive to the motor - in short, the motor, because it is
under feedback control, will not change speed. The speed is
regulated. Another chip on the controller board, must decide the
acceleration profile, or decide what the current velocity should
be (and the info on recording speed is encoded on the media - the
drive reads this info, and the info is used to decide what modes
to support and so on). An acceleration profile is used, to limit
the amount of current drawn from +12V. Bringing the disk gently
up to speed, prevents the supply in an external CD enclosure from
being overloaded.

As for cracking CDs, here is an analysis from four years ago.
CDs are made from polycarbonate, and with a lot of flexure and
handling, who is to say what quantity of microcracks will be
formed:

http://www.rm.com/safety/Downloads/StructuralIntegrity.pdf
Bigger power supply on Old parts isn't a good idea.

Old parts decay, higher power makes them decay faster.
see : Light bulb if you doubt this statement. <- this for the guy that thinks
motor speed is unrelated to voltage and current.

The intensity of a light bulb is dependent on the voltage.
In this case the voltages remain constant, as the power
supply is regulated with respect to output voltage.

If I have a 350W power supply and a 500W power supply, they
produce exactly the same 3.3V, 5.0V, and 12.0V voltages. The
motherboard components in fact, cannot tell any difference
about how they are powered.

What this means is, you can put a new power supply on an
old computer. And, it can have a higher power output rating,
without any change in the voltages supplied. The voltages
will still be 3.3V, 5V, and 12V.

If the power supply is not capable of supplying the current
consumption of the computer, is gets hotter than it was designed
for. The power supply ages, if it is underpowered. A good
supply should shut down if abused in this manner. A cheap supply
has no protection circuits to speak of, and the end result could
be a flameout.

If the ATX20 pin connector gets hot, it is either not seated
properly, or the pins have become oxidized. Such a connector
will only get worse with age, and any observed drop in voltage
can only get worse. There is no effective way to recondition
the pins, except to remove the connectors and replace them.
That is why, it always pays to fully seat the 20 pin (or 24 pin
on newer boards) connector, making sure the latch is engaged as
proof it is bottomed out, so the pins will remain cool and have
a long life.

Paul
 
Good catch. I couldn't find the LPK 2-30 in a web search, but
the Linkworld brand made it much easier to find.

There is a picture here, of the label on the side of the LPK2
supply. From Newegg "Linkworld 3131G-C8815U" N82E16811164017

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...ower Computer Case 300W Power Supply - Retail

Just the picture itself...
http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/11-164-017-07.JPG

What is pretty funny, is the Newegg advert says the supply is 300W,
and the sticker in the upper right hand corner of the picture
shows "400W". And the combined power rating on 3.3V&5V rails,
typically doesn't even allow the 5V rail to go to its maximum
amps. I would say the best kind of place for this supply,
is the local land fill (dump) - I really wish computer cases
did not ship with PSUs in them...

Always be suspicious, when the web site refuses to list specs:
http://www.linkworld.com.tw/power_supply/power_lpk_series.htm

At a time like this, you should be using either the hardware
monitor in the BIOS (which lists the voltages), or Asus Probe
while in Windows (where the computer will have a more
realistic load on it). Watch Asus Probe as you test stuff,
to determine whether the power supply stays within the 5%
regulation limits. If the power dips on any rails, that
could be a sign that the PSU is no match for the computer.
Asus Probe keeps a running history in its graphical plot, so
if you quickly exit a test program like 3DMark, you can look
back at the chart for signs the power supply is dipping.

I recommend a minimum of 12V@15A for the 12V rating (that is
for a P4 system stripped to minimum components). Considering
the number of drives you've got, and the video card, perhaps
12V@20A might be a more comfortable minimum. You can work out
your own numbers here:

http://takaman.jp/D/?english

On my P4C800-E Deluxe, measured 3.3V max amps is 14.4 amps, with
four sticks of RAM. The +5V has very little motherboard load
(~0.5A), but your video card draws 5.5A from +5V, each disk
drive 1A, each CD/DVD could be up to 1.5A, to give you a better
estimate. Takaman cannot know how each motherboard company
loads and derives lower voltages, so 3.3 and 5V ratings will
be less accurate. Asus runs the memory off 3.3V, and that is a
fair portion of the 3.3V load. The video card will also
take a chunk from 3.3V.(The P4P/P4C series would likely share
power supplying architecture, but YMMV.)

The DVD drive exploding could be a media failure (crack in disk,
spun at high speed, flies apart).

So, when shopping for a PSU, look at the individual numbers,
rather than just relying on "400W" or the like.

Paul

I just did some diggin on the LPK 2-30. I tried to take a shot of it, but my RS
digital at $16.00 doesn't have the resolution to capture the text on my PS.

the lowest wattage is the 3.3v at 350w and 18 amps. All the others are 400 on
up. The image in this photo is something else completely different from the
label on mine. Assuming there is anything in the labeling, I'd say this is a
400w despite the 350 on the 3.3v line. Where total power is still only 145 max.
mine =
350w total power on +3.3v +5v is 145w max.

The same entry on the web image at newegg shows
150w total power on +3.3v +5v is 110w max.
 
snip

We could build an entire new universe using only the knowledge of
which Office-Depot clerks are unaware. Google it; the phenomenon has
been reported many times.
It's the sort of thing you would expect someone that deals with these items
daily to have heard about.
Coulda been a new employee..
Any time you spin a plastic optical disk that fast, there's a little
risk. My intuition tells me that the older the disc is, the higher
the risk of disintegration.
I think Imation was glass. Plastic bends or melts. But I think QA is the source
of this problem. the disk was never meant to go beyond 8x, and nothing at that
time built to run them [You'll never need more than 64 megs of ram, where have
we heard that before ?] they weren't tested above 8x.
After all they are just a sandwich.
No, no, that won't do any good at all. As far as I know, blank media
rated at 48X is NO less likely to fail mechanically that media (of the
same age) rated at 8X. The ratings refer to differences in the dye
layer that allow them to be written to faster, and those ratings have
nothing to do with their structural integrity. The problem is that
ANY disc with a minor manufacturing flaw or with a tiny crack
introduced by wear and tear may fail when it's spun that fast. The
older drives never spun a disc fast enough to make it tear itself
apart, even if it did have a little crack, and that's probably why
this problem began to be reported when newer, faster drives were
introduce.
Certainly "again." You specified, or they chose, top quality
components throughout your computer, then TWICE gave you a PSU that no
self-respecting system builder would even consider using, let alone
use. The fairest way to handle that would be for them to replace it
with a reputable PSU charging you nothing for labor and only theWe have responded to your issue.
difference in the cost between the new one and the piece-of-shit thing
they foisted on you the second time.

I can see Judge Judy going for the jugular, but none of the others.
Actually I just got a reply from ATI on my AGP question and this 3.3v.

Semi interesting reply, with 2 years left on warranty.
ATI : Solution: Changing the aperature size just allows the AGP bus to
ATI : carry the packets of data in larger, or smaller, pieces. It would not
ATI : cause the problems you are experiencing.
ATI :
ATI : The AIW 9800 Pro is an AGP 3.0 specification card it should not be
ATI : running at 3.3V in your system.

The AGP slot on the Asus is
ASUS - 1 x AGP 8X/4X (0.8V, 1.5V only)

Now have no idea what the 3.3v is used for. It doesn't popup on the ATI or asus
properties.
And ATI only recommends a 300w supply with other components.

Might just have been the DVD starting to fail cause there hasn't been a repeat
for 3 days now.
 
DVD/CD drives don't use 3.3. Only 12 and 5. Normally 5 and 3.3 share the
same internal PSU core, so limiting max current on both rails.
- Barney

Husky said:
snip

We could build an entire new universe using only the knowledge of
which Office-Depot clerks are unaware. Google it; the phenomenon has
been reported many times.
It's the sort of thing you would expect someone that deals with these
items
daily to have heard about.
Coulda been a new employee..
Any time you spin a plastic optical disk that fast, there's a little
risk. My intuition tells me that the older the disc is, the higher
the risk of disintegration.
I think Imation was glass. Plastic bends or melts. But I think QA is the
source
of this problem. the disk was never meant to go beyond 8x, and nothing at
that
time built to run them [You'll never need more than 64 megs of ram, where
have
we heard that before ?] they weren't tested above 8x.
After all they are just a sandwich.
No, no, that won't do any good at all. As far as I know, blank media
rated at 48X is NO less likely to fail mechanically that media (of the
same age) rated at 8X. The ratings refer to differences in the dye
layer that allow them to be written to faster, and those ratings have
nothing to do with their structural integrity. The problem is that
ANY disc with a minor manufacturing flaw or with a tiny crack
introduced by wear and tear may fail when it's spun that fast. The
older drives never spun a disc fast enough to make it tear itself
apart, even if it did have a little crack, and that's probably why
this problem began to be reported when newer, faster drives were
introduce.
Certainly "again." You specified, or they chose, top quality
components throughout your computer, then TWICE gave you a PSU that no
self-respecting system builder would even consider using, let alone
use. The fairest way to handle that would be for them to replace it
with a reputable PSU charging you nothing for labor and only theWe have
responded to your issue.
difference in the cost between the new one and the piece-of-shit thing
they foisted on you the second time.

I can see Judge Judy going for the jugular, but none of the others.
Actually I just got a reply from ATI on my AGP question and this 3.3v.

Semi interesting reply, with 2 years left on warranty.
ATI : Solution: Changing the aperature size just allows the AGP bus to
ATI : carry the packets of data in larger, or smaller, pieces. It would
not
ATI : cause the problems you are experiencing.
ATI :
ATI : The AIW 9800 Pro is an AGP 3.0 specification card it should not be
ATI : running at 3.3V in your system.

The AGP slot on the Asus is
ASUS - 1 x AGP 8X/4X (0.8V, 1.5V only)

Now have no idea what the 3.3v is used for. It doesn't popup on the ATI or
asus
properties.
And ATI only recommends a 300w supply with other components.

Might just have been the DVD starting to fail cause there hasn't been a
repeat
for 3 days now.

ATI :
ATI : An AGP video card cannot cause the DVD drive to shatter discs. It
does
ATI : not send any information to the DVD drive.
ATI :
ATI : You can send in the video card for an RMA repair it will go through
ATI : extensive testing in the process. You may also want to have your
power
ATI : supply and motherboard looked at though.
 
And for the guy that doesn't understand how a motor works, ask yourself how
they can have a variable speed motor without there being more than one motor.
They change the speed by varying the current flowing thru the windings.
[unlimited power = excessive speed] A short can accomplish the same thing as a
DESIGNED change of current.

I don't understand how the motor works in a CD either. So I found
a datasheet for a spindle motor controller:

http://www.vlsi.com/pip/SA56202TW.html
http://www.vlsi.com/acrobat/datasheets/SA56202_1.pdf

You will notice the chip drives three windings with some half-sine
drive signals. Hall sensors in the motor, are used to sense the
position of the spindle, and velocity information is derived
from the sensors. The system includes the ability to accelerate
and decelerate in a controlled fashion. Now, given this chip,
if the +12V suddenly changes, this chip will reduce the amplitude
of the drive to the motor - in short, the motor, because it is
under feedback control, will not change speed. The speed is
regulated. Another chip on the controller board, must decide the
acceleration profile, or decide what the current velocity should
be (and the info on recording speed is encoded on the media - the
drive reads this info, and the info is used to decide what modes
to support and so on). An acceleration profile is used, to limit
the amount of current drawn from +12V. Bringing the disk gently
up to speed, prevents the supply in an external CD enclosure from
being overloaded.
If there's a short or any other kind of electrical failure, all your theories
about what should happen go out the window.
Though AC isn't the same as DC, if you have one of those cheap $2.00 6-12 volt
DC motors, give it 24-volts or more. Wearing eye protection, and steel gloves,
behind a blast fence.
AC can do the same thing, with much more damaging results because of the size
of most wire and commutators inside an AC motor.
But then almost all motors in the computer probably are DC.
Small motors normally are DC.
And excessive voltage [twice the voltage it's designed for] can be destructive
to EVERYTHING around it.
As for cracking CDs, here is an analysis from four years ago.
CDs are made from polycarbonate, and with a lot of flexure and
handling, who is to say what quantity of microcracks will be
formed:

http://www.rm.com/safety/Downloads/StructuralIntegrity.pdf


The intensity of a light bulb is dependent on the voltage.
In this case the voltages remain constant, as the power
supply is regulated with respect to output voltage.
Increase the voltage - increase the brightness - shorten the life of the light
bulb.
Old light bulbs die faster than new ones.
Electronics wear out and lose their resistance.
If I have a 350W power supply and a 500W power supply, they
produce exactly the same 3.3V, 5.0V, and 12.0V voltages. The
motherboard components in fact, cannot tell any difference
about how they are powered.
What I'm talking about above is RESISTANCE. A new more powerful power supply
will most definitely be in newer better condition than an aged power supply
that's breaking down with age. That's broken down with the rest of the
components over the past year.

Their resistance has degraded over the year along with all components. With
their lowered resistance, they'll decay faster with a NEW power supply where
it's internals haven't decayed at all.
 
Husky said:
If there's a short or any other kind of electrical failure, all your theories
about what should happen go out the window.
Though AC isn't the same as DC, if you have one of those cheap $2.00 6-12 volt
DC motors, give it 24-volts or more. Wearing eye protection, and steel gloves,
behind a blast fence.
AC can do the same thing, with much more damaging results because of the size
of most wire and commutators inside an AC motor.
But then almost all motors in the computer probably are DC.
Small motors normally are DC.
And excessive voltage [twice the voltage it's designed for] can be destructive
to EVERYTHING around it.

The motor in a current CD/DVD drive is a brushless DC motor. If there is
a short in the control electronics the motor will just stop working or
burn out, not speed out of control.

It is by far more likely that the disc that shattered had a crack near
the center of the disc which caused it to break apart when spun at
normal speed for that drive.
 
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