The Old New Thing

Stories of anticipating dead computers: Windows Home Server

November 9, 2009 Nov 9, 2009 11/9/09

Raymond Chen

Like most geeks, I have a bit of history with dead computers. In the past, I used the "wait until it breaks, and then panic" model, but recently I've begun being a bit more anticipatory, like replacing an old laptop before it actually expires. Anticipating another future dead computer, I bought an external USB hard drive for backing up ...

The dead desktop computer: From good, bad, and ugly back to dead

May 14, 2008 May 14, 2008 05/14/08

Raymond Chen

When last we left my dead desktop computer, it had returned to the world of the living with the assistance of the onboard video adapter. The screen was fuzzy because I was running my LCD monitor through the analog VGA cable. Performing an auto-adjust helped a little but it was still blurry. Still, it was within the realm of acceptability for...

The dead desktop computer: The good, the bad, and the ugly, but not in that order

April 10, 2008 Apr 10, 2008 04/10/08

Raymond Chen

When last we left my dead desktop computer, it had fried its second video card, and I was considering whether I should get a third. I did indeed get a third video card, a cheap one since I knew that if the computer really did eat video cards, I'd have to feed it on a budget. I plugged it in, and... Computer still dead. Bad. Remove the ...

Maybe that's how you do it, but around here, we have a different convention for indicating which things are broken

April 2, 2008 Apr 2, 2008 04/2/08

Raymond Chen

One of the reactions to my story of investigating a dead computer struck me as rather strange. Commenter Steve wrote, "Usually video cards left on a table don't works well (the one inside a computer have a better probability)." While it's true that the ones inside a computer are more likely to work, it's not the case, at least around here, ...

Why did the display become a snapshot of the last time the monitor was plugged into the computer?

February 5, 2008 Feb 5, 2008 02/5/08

Raymond Chen

I left the story of the return of the dead home desktop computer with a puzzle. When I plugged the monitor back into the original computer, it showed a snapshot of the screen at the time the monitor was unplugged. The computer itself continued operating, but the screen never updated. The frozen image remained until the power was turned off to...

The dead home desktop returns from the dead

February 4, 2008 Feb 4, 2008 02/4/08

Raymond Chen

I brought my dead home desktop computer to the office so I could fiddle with it after work while surrounded by large quantities of geek equipment that could step in to assist. I tried to use a power supply from another computer in a sort of computerish version of jump-starting a car, but it was a hopeless endeavour because the cables on the ...

The dead home desktop problem returns

January 31, 2008 Jan 31, 2008 01/31/08

Raymond Chen

The computer I bought not a year and a half ago decided to keel over last week. When I push the power button, the power light goes on, the drives spin up, but there is nothing out the video card and not even a reassuring beep from the power-on self test. I've disconnected all the external peripherals as well as all the IDE devices, and no ...

Another retired computer: The Alpha Rawhide

February 28, 2007 Feb 28, 2007 02/28/07

Raymond Chen

This computer didn't die like the previous one; it merely outlived it usefulness. In its prime, the machine was a force to be reckoned with. It was about the size of a small refrigerator and generated about as much noise as a vacuum cleaner. It contained four, count 'em, four Alpha AXP processors, each running at a mind-boggling 400&...

Let the dead computer scavenging commence!

October 26, 2006 Oct 26, 2006 10/26/06

Raymond Chen

Now that my old computer is up on bricks in the virtual front yard, the scavenging has begun. I got a piece of email from one of my colleagues saying, "Say, you aren't using that PC-2100 memory any more are you?" Why no, in fact, I wasn't. Christmas comes early. (He offered to buy the memory off of me, but since I had already written the old...

Non-resolution of the dead home desktop problem

October 25, 2006 Oct 25, 2006 10/25/06

Raymond Chen

Last time, I told of attempting to upgrade my home computer and failing. I ultimately gave up and returned the parts to the store, telling them that I thought the IDE controller on the motherboard was dead. They refunded my money after a false step where they refunded me more than I paid for the components in the first place! (I bought the ...