Dr.Jass
Pastor of Muppets
...I've been messing with computers for quite a while now. I'm constantly working on other people's stuff and giving them advice once it's fixed, and generally, they don't have problems.
So why on Christ's good Earth can I not get a fucking file server to last more than a year, if even that?
Went downstairs, shut down the server, which was working fine. Added a PCI card as I have a couple extra drives I'd like to use, and went to power it back up... nothing. No POST, no BIOS screen, no nothing. Flashes the lights on the keyboard for a second, tests the DVD drives, then does not a damned thing. So, I undo what I've done. Same thing. Hmmm. Try removing everything, one at a time, and repowering. Same thing. Even tried different video cards including an ancient but fail-safe PCI unit. No change. Power off, CMOS reset, unplugged for half an hour. Identical behavior.
No, I did not static-shock it. I know better than that.
So, I drag out ol' Blue, my old 1GHz file server. Worked when disassembled almost two years ago, so it should be fine. I swap the drives into that one, although I didn't bother with the DVDs because I didn't want to do too much work only to be frustrated. Frustrated, I would be. Same exact God-damned thing. Other than a noisy power-supply fan, it worked flawlessly but I took the drives out of it when I moved to Escanaba because I wouldn't have a spot for a file server. It sat unmoved, and untouched, since April '06, and suddenly it's shot.
This is exactly what happened to the ancient Dell P2-450 I used for, oh, three years after (surprise) something similar happened to my Abit BP6 dual-processor screamer (well, at the time two 628s was about the fastest thing going). The Dell I attributed to sheer age, as it's circa 1998. The Abit, well, I broke the tab on the CMOS battery holder and when I soldered a new one on I figured I damaged it because until I did that, it worked but reset itself with every shutdown. That was when I dragged the Dell out of retirement.
This latest server was state-of-the-art gaming stuff about two years ago. I don't remember what all the parts are--I stopped caring long ago, as long as shit worked--but I know it's a 2.66GHz proc, 1GB RAM, and some sort of go-to-hell dual-monitor gaming video card that was all the rage at the time. None of this stuff should be worn out, judging by the lifespan of the Dell. To be honest, though, it was never terribly reliable in active use. It froze up a lot and did occasionally fail to start, but tapping reset once or twice would always solve it. It is not the power supply, as it has a relatively-new 500W unit... and swapping in my older 450W changed nothing.
I'm writing this on a '99 Dell laptop on which the speakers don't work, nor does the touchpad or battery, but damned if I can't do what I need to do with it. My "entertainment" PC (connected to my stereo) until recently worked perfectly, but suddenly most of the keyboard is dead... but I can still use it for everything for which I need it. I used to post here from it until the "P" and "0" keys quit. Many of the remaining keys went out in the last week... but by and large, it still works, damn it.
So why the hell can't a desktop PC that only needs to sit there and idle all the time in a cool, dry environment just keep working?! Christ, this is frustrating... virtually everything is on those hard drives (which still work) but I have no way to get to any of it.
I know it solves nothing, but smashing that shit with a hammer would certainly make me feel better.
So why on Christ's good Earth can I not get a fucking file server to last more than a year, if even that?
Went downstairs, shut down the server, which was working fine. Added a PCI card as I have a couple extra drives I'd like to use, and went to power it back up... nothing. No POST, no BIOS screen, no nothing. Flashes the lights on the keyboard for a second, tests the DVD drives, then does not a damned thing. So, I undo what I've done. Same thing. Hmmm. Try removing everything, one at a time, and repowering. Same thing. Even tried different video cards including an ancient but fail-safe PCI unit. No change. Power off, CMOS reset, unplugged for half an hour. Identical behavior.
No, I did not static-shock it. I know better than that.
So, I drag out ol' Blue, my old 1GHz file server. Worked when disassembled almost two years ago, so it should be fine. I swap the drives into that one, although I didn't bother with the DVDs because I didn't want to do too much work only to be frustrated. Frustrated, I would be. Same exact God-damned thing. Other than a noisy power-supply fan, it worked flawlessly but I took the drives out of it when I moved to Escanaba because I wouldn't have a spot for a file server. It sat unmoved, and untouched, since April '06, and suddenly it's shot.
This is exactly what happened to the ancient Dell P2-450 I used for, oh, three years after (surprise) something similar happened to my Abit BP6 dual-processor screamer (well, at the time two 628s was about the fastest thing going). The Dell I attributed to sheer age, as it's circa 1998. The Abit, well, I broke the tab on the CMOS battery holder and when I soldered a new one on I figured I damaged it because until I did that, it worked but reset itself with every shutdown. That was when I dragged the Dell out of retirement.
This latest server was state-of-the-art gaming stuff about two years ago. I don't remember what all the parts are--I stopped caring long ago, as long as shit worked--but I know it's a 2.66GHz proc, 1GB RAM, and some sort of go-to-hell dual-monitor gaming video card that was all the rage at the time. None of this stuff should be worn out, judging by the lifespan of the Dell. To be honest, though, it was never terribly reliable in active use. It froze up a lot and did occasionally fail to start, but tapping reset once or twice would always solve it. It is not the power supply, as it has a relatively-new 500W unit... and swapping in my older 450W changed nothing.
I'm writing this on a '99 Dell laptop on which the speakers don't work, nor does the touchpad or battery, but damned if I can't do what I need to do with it. My "entertainment" PC (connected to my stereo) until recently worked perfectly, but suddenly most of the keyboard is dead... but I can still use it for everything for which I need it. I used to post here from it until the "P" and "0" keys quit. Many of the remaining keys went out in the last week... but by and large, it still works, damn it.
So why the hell can't a desktop PC that only needs to sit there and idle all the time in a cool, dry environment just keep working?! Christ, this is frustrating... virtually everything is on those hard drives (which still work) but I have no way to get to any of it.
I know it solves nothing, but smashing that shit with a hammer would certainly make me feel better.
