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My computer is jinxed!
10 years ago
General
A mere thirteen months after my PC was rebuilt after it crashed and burned just after getting back from Anthrocon, my PC is dead again. On Saturday while reading something on the net, the screen suddenly blanked. After a pause, I hear the sound of it attempting to reboot... but it doesn't. After several attempts to get it going, including trying to get into the BIOS, I met with utter failure. I took it down to the local computer shop just before it closed and was told they'd test it on Monday and let me know. Well, the motherboard has failed. That's the second bloody motherboard to fail on me, and even faster than the previous one. I don't know if there has been any secondary damage done as yet. The guy reckons that the processor is running hot, but that might only be because of the motherboard trying to make it work 100% flat out. We'll see. I sure hope that's all. I just paid for my car registration and insurance, and I'm tight for money for the moment. The one and only good thing was that I had saved a backup of the story chapter that I had only finished the previous night (or should I say morning because it was getting light!), so I was able to post the chapter that weekend. Right now my laptop is keeping me online, and not doing a bad job of everything else too.
Here's to hoping you can get everything sorted out, Goldy. No one likes having computer drama. T.T
(they didn't send us a bill last month, called and was told it was paid. Not even a note on the door, just locked off ...)
A couple months ago mom got a call claiming to be the water department demanding she give personal info over the phone - just like your everyday ID thief. When she refused, he threatened to cut off the water. When we called about not getting the bill, they told us there was no charge against the account - but they never mentioned that the account had been closed! No other calls or letters after the asshole, not even a note on the door when they locked the service off ...
And of course when we finally did get someone that would explain what was going on (the first one having said 'please hold' and dumped us back in the queue to wait again) it was way too late to get it turned on last night. We've been told someone will be out today - no idea when ...
I was very tempted to call one of the local TV stations that likes to 'help' when things go wrong. Water company asshole decides to cut the water off on a 78 year old lady with the +100F days we're having sounds like it might draw some interest ...
(1) Get a heavier-duty power supply. Overrate it for the job by at least 50% above what you think you'll need -- personally, I never use anything smaller than 650W these days. (If it's an "80 PLUS" model with power-factor correction, so much the better.) They'll run cooler and last longer if they're not being constantly driven right to their maximum. My brands of choice are Thermaltake and Antec; both have proven to be reliable for me.
(2) If you're having to replace the motherboard anyway: Get an MSI. I've built several systems around them in the last few years, and they've all been solidly reliable. If you have an AMD CPU, look for the MSI 990FXA-GD65 or 970A-G46; for Intel, the B85-G41. (Assuming your CPU fits the AM3+ or LGA1150 socket type, of course.)
(3) Swap out the stock CPU fan with the biggest honkin' heat-sink-and-fan combo you can stuff into the cabinet. The dinky little ones that come packaged with the CPU often are just barely adequate to the task. The Thermaltake Frio Silent 12 is an excellent choice, in my experience, if you have room for it; doubly so because its 120mm fan is a lot quieter than the 60mm and 80mm banshees on most stock heat sinks.
(4) Stick a piece of furnace filter over any fan openings that are pulling air into the case. It looks cheesy, but it really does help cut down on the dust getting into the case and clogging up the works.