Question about Power Supplies

Is there any reason that I wouldn't be able to run a power supply outside of the computer (aka not attached to the motherboard)? If it will work without being connected to the motherboard, what are the dangers? Thanks!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by RacinReaver

I don't see any problems...just be sure that it's thoroughly grounded.

Are you just looking to use it to power some external drives and fans or something?

I got it working, thanks to mortis & diss. It's an old PSU, and only has 3 power cords. I'm running 3 hard drives, and also wanted to have 2 disc drives for on-the-fly burning, so I wanted to hook up another PSU. Thanks for replying.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by BlindMonk

A splitter or two might have worked if you had the power to spare:

How do I know if I have power to spare?

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Looks like its 120W.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

As long as it has the same number of pins to connect to the motherboard as my old one, there should be no compatibility issues right? I believe the connector to my motherboard is 20 pin, so I should be able to use the ones that say "20+4" right? For example, this one says 20/24. If this one would work, I think I'll buy it.

Dynex 400w 24/20 Pin ATX Power Supply PSU - eBay (item 220381077395 end time Apr-18-09 15:42:43 PDT)

Upon more thorough reading, this one comes with a 24pin to 20pin adapter, which means it will fit on my motherboard. But another question still stands, are there any other things that I need to know in order for me to know wether its compatible with my computer?

I was speaking idiomatically.