Mine didn't appear to have the zener anywhere. The center pin of the
barrel plug was wired straight to one of the pins of the DS2105. So the
IC has no protection whatsoever, be it from overvoltage or static
electricity.
I'm also curious if anyone has found a way to bypass this problem.
Conceivable methods might include modifications to the motherboard, or a
hacked BIOS. Let me know if you have a solution.
'Ejay' (
http://ejay.com.au)