inori
08-10-2003, 07:48 AM
The following is a long and probably uninteresting saga about my computer disaster. If you don't like long and uninteresting computer disaster sagas, this isn't the topic for you. :kawaii:
I was trying to boot my desktop computer into Linux the other day, so that I could work on my research project. The hard drive began to make all sorts of funny noises, and eventually Linux failed to boot because it couldn't read the drive. The computer locked up; I had to use the reset button to unlock it. When I rebooted, the Linux partition was pretty well demolished (though strangely, my Windows partition on the same drive was, and so far still is, fine).
No biggie, I think... I'll go to school and do work on my laptop. Well, the display on my laptop is on the fritz too. I tried plugging it into an external monitor, but that didn't help much. In the process of trying to get it going, I have to reboot it as well. Finally, I got to a login screen for the Linux side of my laptop, but it's screwed as well. At least Linux still exists there... but I can't login, even with the root account.
So because the noises my hard drive is making scare me, I decide to go pick up a new hard drive. One trip to Best Buy later, I have a shiny new 80 GB drive, about twice the size of my old one. (I needed a bigger drive anyway... :kawaii: ) I open up the computer and install the new drive; this entails about ten minutes of swapping the four drives in the computer around in order to get the drives on the right IDE channels (I don't want my CD burner on the same channel as a hard drive) and to make the cables reach all the drives. I also swap in an older video card I have that I actually like better than the current one.
Finally, I get everything arranged, and kick on the machine, hitting the "Go to the BIOS" button. The new drive isn't there. Meh. I shut off the computer, and discover that I somehow pulled the IDE cable out.
I plug it back in, and try again. This time, all four drives appear in the BIOS. Good sign, so I continue toward Windows. Bad sign: I get a BSOD.
The BSOD mentions a possibility of video driver problems, so I swap back to the old video card and try again. Nope: still a BSOD.
For the next twenty minutes, I swap drives around, changing the IDE master/slave positions, swapping back and forth between video cards, leaving the new drive unplugged, leaving the old drive unplugged, going back to the original hardware configuration (which worked before I started this whole process), and doing everything else I can think of to get the computer working. No luck.
I get out my Win2K CD, thinking to try the installation program. But that gives me a BSOD as well.
Just as I'm about ready to punt the whole machine out the window, I notice that the BSOD also suggests checking the memory. I actually have two 256MB memory modules in the computer, so I decide to try pulling one out and see if that makes a difference. It does; the computer boots fine now. Apparently, the memory module somehow got fried during this process... I have no clue how, as it was plugged in the whole time, and I never touched it nor the motherboard. In addition, I was (electrically) grounded.
I just bought this memory stick a couple of months ago; it should be under warranty. I look for the receipt and, of course, fail to find it.
So now the computer is working again, minus half its memory, but for some reason it doesn't see the floppy drive. I shut down again, and check the cables to the floppy. They're all fine. I reboot and head into the BIOS again, noticing that the floppy drive doesn't do any sort of spinning as the computer boots. I wonder if I fried the floppy drive.
In the BIOS, I note that the computer lists "none" under floppy drive A. I change this to 3.5", 1.44 MB, wondering why the BIOS isn't auto-detecting the drive like it's supposed to. The change works; the floppy drive is now recognized. I move on to wondering when the BIOS forgot it had a floppy drive to work with.
I partition the new hard drive, giving a little more than half to Windows and leaving the rest over for Linux. Then I reboot with the Linux install CD, intending to reinstall Linux, and hoping I might salvage some files from my previous installation.
No such luck. The install hangs because it detects the vestiges of the former install, but can't read them well enough to progress. I reboot to Windows, and reformat the former Linux partition as a Windows partition. It makes more horrible noises, but ultimately succeeds. I run scandisk on the partition, with similar results. I decide never to use that partition again.
Finally, with the old Linux partition gone, I make a completely new Linux installation on the new hard drive. All my settings and files are gone from the old one.
Since my research project takes forever to compile with half my computer's memory, I head out the next day to get another stick of RAM to replace the one that fried. (My motherboard actually has three memory slots, so if by some chance I do get a warranty replacement for my fried stick, I'll still be able to use it.) By some miracle, I get the new RAM in without breaking anything else.
So, finally, my desktop machine is back up and working. I'm plus some hard drive space, and minus many of my files, a bit of my money, and my laptop. I think that I can get warranty repair done on the latter, but I don't really want to send it away for three weeks while they fix it.
... So that's my computer complaint for the day.
I was trying to boot my desktop computer into Linux the other day, so that I could work on my research project. The hard drive began to make all sorts of funny noises, and eventually Linux failed to boot because it couldn't read the drive. The computer locked up; I had to use the reset button to unlock it. When I rebooted, the Linux partition was pretty well demolished (though strangely, my Windows partition on the same drive was, and so far still is, fine).
No biggie, I think... I'll go to school and do work on my laptop. Well, the display on my laptop is on the fritz too. I tried plugging it into an external monitor, but that didn't help much. In the process of trying to get it going, I have to reboot it as well. Finally, I got to a login screen for the Linux side of my laptop, but it's screwed as well. At least Linux still exists there... but I can't login, even with the root account.
So because the noises my hard drive is making scare me, I decide to go pick up a new hard drive. One trip to Best Buy later, I have a shiny new 80 GB drive, about twice the size of my old one. (I needed a bigger drive anyway... :kawaii: ) I open up the computer and install the new drive; this entails about ten minutes of swapping the four drives in the computer around in order to get the drives on the right IDE channels (I don't want my CD burner on the same channel as a hard drive) and to make the cables reach all the drives. I also swap in an older video card I have that I actually like better than the current one.
Finally, I get everything arranged, and kick on the machine, hitting the "Go to the BIOS" button. The new drive isn't there. Meh. I shut off the computer, and discover that I somehow pulled the IDE cable out.
I plug it back in, and try again. This time, all four drives appear in the BIOS. Good sign, so I continue toward Windows. Bad sign: I get a BSOD.
The BSOD mentions a possibility of video driver problems, so I swap back to the old video card and try again. Nope: still a BSOD.
For the next twenty minutes, I swap drives around, changing the IDE master/slave positions, swapping back and forth between video cards, leaving the new drive unplugged, leaving the old drive unplugged, going back to the original hardware configuration (which worked before I started this whole process), and doing everything else I can think of to get the computer working. No luck.
I get out my Win2K CD, thinking to try the installation program. But that gives me a BSOD as well.
Just as I'm about ready to punt the whole machine out the window, I notice that the BSOD also suggests checking the memory. I actually have two 256MB memory modules in the computer, so I decide to try pulling one out and see if that makes a difference. It does; the computer boots fine now. Apparently, the memory module somehow got fried during this process... I have no clue how, as it was plugged in the whole time, and I never touched it nor the motherboard. In addition, I was (electrically) grounded.
I just bought this memory stick a couple of months ago; it should be under warranty. I look for the receipt and, of course, fail to find it.
So now the computer is working again, minus half its memory, but for some reason it doesn't see the floppy drive. I shut down again, and check the cables to the floppy. They're all fine. I reboot and head into the BIOS again, noticing that the floppy drive doesn't do any sort of spinning as the computer boots. I wonder if I fried the floppy drive.
In the BIOS, I note that the computer lists "none" under floppy drive A. I change this to 3.5", 1.44 MB, wondering why the BIOS isn't auto-detecting the drive like it's supposed to. The change works; the floppy drive is now recognized. I move on to wondering when the BIOS forgot it had a floppy drive to work with.
I partition the new hard drive, giving a little more than half to Windows and leaving the rest over for Linux. Then I reboot with the Linux install CD, intending to reinstall Linux, and hoping I might salvage some files from my previous installation.
No such luck. The install hangs because it detects the vestiges of the former install, but can't read them well enough to progress. I reboot to Windows, and reformat the former Linux partition as a Windows partition. It makes more horrible noises, but ultimately succeeds. I run scandisk on the partition, with similar results. I decide never to use that partition again.
Finally, with the old Linux partition gone, I make a completely new Linux installation on the new hard drive. All my settings and files are gone from the old one.
Since my research project takes forever to compile with half my computer's memory, I head out the next day to get another stick of RAM to replace the one that fried. (My motherboard actually has three memory slots, so if by some chance I do get a warranty replacement for my fried stick, I'll still be able to use it.) By some miracle, I get the new RAM in without breaking anything else.
So, finally, my desktop machine is back up and working. I'm plus some hard drive space, and minus many of my files, a bit of my money, and my laptop. I think that I can get warranty repair done on the latter, but I don't really want to send it away for three weeks while they fix it.
... So that's my computer complaint for the day.