Well, just festive. I could replace the power supply, but I'm wondering if that's even worth doing on a 7-y.o. box with a Socket 478 AGP mobo. I mean, the hard drive needs replacing, too...
The smart thing to do would be to replace the whole box, or at least all the guts. The CD and DVD drives are obviously salvageable and I can recycle the case, but we're looking at a new mobo, video card, and at least one hard drive, at a minimum, and that's an expense I just can't afford right now, at least without conducting another impromptu yard sale.
Sigh.
So, watch this space, I guess.
Anyway, how was your morning?
(EDIT: As I am reminded in comments, I shouldn't bitch too much. I mean, you've got to be a decadent Westerner to wake up; note "Dammit, my computer's dead"; unplug the mouse and keyboard from it and plug them into the spare computer sitting on the desk right next to it because you couldn't be bothered to go find your netbook and power it up and then whine wirelessly to all your friends on the intertubes about how much your life sucks).
Sorry to hear that your P/S went belly up. Having lost file/ incompatible format issues here myself. I can't find Metallica's S&M Disc 1 anywhere on my drives, and the CD itself is currently.... misplaced.
ReplyDeleteI shouldn't bitch too much. I mean, you've got to be a decadent Westernter to wake up; note "Dammit, my computer's dead"; unplug the mouse and keyboard from it and plug them into the spare computer sitting on the desk right next to it and then whine wirelessly to all your friends on the intertubes about how much your life sucks.
ReplyDeleteI shouldn't bitch too much.
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. Shopping for a new dishwasher, I try to remind myself that just having one is pretty darn good.
Kinda hard to remember, though, when I'm forearm-deep in effluvia and softened food-bits, trying to muck out a non-removable filter so the darn thing will drain properly. We get used to our conveniences. It's good to keep in mind that we might need to be able to survive and function without them, but they're still nice to have.
The wife and I were up most of the night with a puking kid. I can hear the Wirlpool scrubbing the puke out of the sheets now - while I'm on hold with the national help desk so I can get system access to work at home today.
ReplyDeleteA real half-empty / half-full puke smelling morning.
Hey, guess who's under spousal pressure to cull his stash of old PC parts? Drop me a line, I'm sure I've got an ATX P/S and a drive or two.
ReplyDeleteP/S? I've always seen it abreviated as PSU.
ReplyDeleteYou can get a nettop for under $200. It's essentially a netbook with no monitor, they're tiny and would do pretty much all the web/writing type stuff you do. No optical drive tho.
http://tinyurl.com/ygly4fb
That or go to Fry's and get one of their MOBO/CPU combos and toss it in your current rig. They have that stuff cheap.
Really, replacing the PS is easy and not very expensive. If you are going to re-utilize the case you will need a new one anyway. So you could just replace the PS now to get back up and running then replace the mobo, HDD, Video, etc. when you can liberate some pesos from the budget.
ReplyDeleteReminder: With a new Mobo, you will probably also need to get new RAM as what you have is probably not fast enough.
s
Ah, hell, whine away. We might as well enjoy the ability to whine about the little things (Rule #32)until the democrazombiepocalypto lands. Bet you can find a powsup cheap on fleabay. Alternately, powsups are relatively simple devices, electronically speaking, and your roomie could prolly find and fix the problem with an $.90 component. You know, in her spare time.
ReplyDeleteNevermind your "old spare" has more computing power than existed inthe world when you were born.
ReplyDeleteHell. I think my phone has reached that level now.
http://microcenter.com/storefronts/clearance_center/recertified/refurbished.html
ReplyDeleteI'm currently running 2 Dells and an IBM, 24/7, all refurbs, 2 from Microcenter aka Nerd Central. I only ended up with so many to get on the air again, and diagnose the older Dell. Turns out the box is fine, the problem is a subtle Windoz problem. The files on that disk are still accessible but if I boot from it, there will be freezing up. Three comuters is fine though, they're all running this: http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/home.do
A yard sale, you say? Cool.
ReplyDeleteAT
Tam,
ReplyDeletewhat else is plugged into the circuit your system was using? I just replaced the P/S on my Athlon, again, and discovered it was connected to the kitchen circuit. All those high draw items were stressing the p/s with the current/voltage fluctuations.
Noah,
working on a dishwasher myself. Wasn't draining, seemed like it was clogged up. Appears to be a control valve that closes off the drain so it can recirculate the water during the wash cycle. I'm going to replace the control board (got a spare), to see if that solves the problem.
Your moment of emo;) We won't tell anyone.
ReplyDeletetweaker
w.v. - dedna, as in, your p/s is dedna water.
You could also go to TigerDirect dot com and check out their refurbished units. Some of the P4s start at under $100, which might be a cheaper way of getting you back up and running. I'm currently getting some old P4s set up for a friend's wife that homeschools their kids, so we can get them off of Mom's computer.
ReplyDeleteJust yesterday I remarked to Bobbi that it was a minor miracle that, given its 7 years of being powered on pretty much 24/7, the old box hadn't suffered any major component failures.
ReplyDeleteThere's your problem: you jinxed yourself! Never comment on how well any piece of electronic or mechanical equipment is performing - whether it's your PC, your refrigerator, or your car - unless you want an expensive repair bill in the next few days when the "minor miracle" suddenly decides to expire. Happens to me all the time...
Been there and done that. Several times. Fortunately, backup is cheap. And so are confusers.
ReplyDeleteThe Christmas morning crash resulted in this Win 7 box from the Bentonville Behemoth. Six gigs of memory, 750 gig HD, $378 - and postpone purchase of another 1911 clone for a month. That last was VERY annoying.
On the other hand, to replace or not to replace a $29.00 PS, xcopy *.* F:/ to an external drive, reformat and reinstall?
And on the other foot, the DOS box behind me has been on 24/7 since May, 1994. 1 PS, one video card, 5 monitors, and a bunch of keyboards.
Es en los manos de Dios. Flip a coin.
Stranger
Well since you asked. I had a decent nights sleep and got up at a reasonable hour. Got showered and dressed. Grab my jacket and car keys. Pull out of the driveway and notice the car's pulling to the left. Although I know what I'm going to see I get out and take a look. Sho'nuff, gots me a flat tire.
ReplyDeleteBut hey, thanks for asking. :)
I'd replace the PSU; 50 or 60 bucks will get you one that you can use to power whatever parts you want to get in the future.
ReplyDeleteHeck, check the classifieds, someone surely has an old box they're not using for cheap.
Jim
Another option for used/refurbished PCs for cheap:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.intechraoutlet.com/home/
Decommissioned/repurposed corporate PCs, pretty good equipment for not very much dinero.
JT, Tam pretty much builds her own.
ReplyDeleteCuz she's kewl like that.
Oh, and Tamara-- just swap the PS and go on down the road.
ReplyDeleteYou're exactly like the chick who buys a pair of shoes on sale, but then realizes that she has to buy a new dress, purse, hat, and wrap to go with it.
Or, uh, this guy I know, who, uh, got a deal on some dies and some cases, and, um, had to go buy a rifle to go with it. He's just a friend. Uh, no one you'd know. Honest.
Random internets stranger says: I've got a box of random newish (last couple few years) computer parts that I'm sure my wife would love to see our house. That being said, I'm currently in GA right now, and my home is in Germany. When I get back in April, would you be interested in a grab bag of stuffs?
ReplyDeleteTam,
ReplyDeletePM sent to you at TFL.
Re: Big, black, 4-engine IBM box...
Same as the rest of these guys offering help. I've got a mess of serviceable gear taking up space, if you need something.
ReplyDeleteMaybe post a list of specs, and see what we can come up with?
but then realizes that she has to buy a new dress, purse, hat, and wrap to go with it.
ReplyDeleteMy left kidney and a shiny new donkey to the person who can get a photo of Tam thus attired!
Jim
Hey Tam,
ReplyDeleteI'll take the leftovers of the system if you don't want them. I have 7 kids and only 5 computers in the house currently, and the little ones are tired of fighting over who gets on the computer next. If you're interested send me an e-mail. I'll pay for shipping it.
w/v worises