Wednesday, June 27, 2001

The reply at Suggest A Fix Forum points to the article, Troubleshooting The Case And Power Supply.  The only thing on the list I haven't tried is the UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supplies).  Keith suggests I shop for one while we are in Anchorage this week.

HKEd asked me the wattage of the new power supply.  I didn't get a box with it and I don't know where the receipt is.  I wonder how I can find out without taking the cover off.

Three times in the past 24 hours, the computer has shut down. It does not reboot on it's own. I don't get lots of error messages, only one kind of error.

Twice the computer was knocked offline with this error message:

DSP Code could not be uploaded.

Error 1010 Failure Cause #2

The modem is not recognized any longer unless I reboot.

Before I could reboot the computer, it would shut down. I don't know if the two are related.

After the first shut down, we opened up the case to install another new fan. While we had it apart, I wrote down the information on the new power supply:

Input 115V - 6A 60 Hz
230V - 3A 50 Hz
Output 250 W Max
at the bottom it said
+5V & +3.3V Total Output 110W
There was a couple of logos and what looked like a serial number.

We installed the new fan and removed the pentium II from the motherboard and used forced air to blow out any dust that was on the blades and inside the little fins. It was dusty, so I thought, "Aha, we've found the problem."  We tested everything with the case off and all looked fine.

We put the case all back together and screwed it on. It came on and worked fine for only an hour before blip... powered off. The DSP error occurred about 10 minutes before the shut down.

I waited about an hour before the computer would come back on. Then we shut it down and took off the case. Since I had waited an hour already, everything inside was cool. It's been raining and 50 degrees outside all day, so inside it's about 65 - 70 degrees.

After about 10 minutes, the computer would come back on. So I was trying to finish my project. I left the case off this time and I'm sitting eye level with the inside. I can hear every little titter of the harddrive. All the fans are working - all four of them.

I worked less than an hour when I got the DSP error. I kept working offline. I was sorting and zipping up html files.

The computer shuts down again. This time I could touch everything inside the case. Everything is cool to the touch except the harddrive which is only warm, maybe 100 degrees. Is this too hot?

With the case off, I was able to power up again in about 10 minutes. And I'm writing this now while I have the chance. My long spiel is more of a rant than anything.

thanks for list'nin'...

...whew! I got knocked off the Net as I finished typing this. It wasn't an error or anything, thank goodness!

Tuesday, June 26, 2001

I was beginning to feel that the problem with my computer was solved. A few days had passed and no more ~blips~.  I posted the problem at Suggest A Fix Forum.

Then this morning, it happened again.  The computer wouldn't come on for more than an hour.  After I impatiently waited for scandisk to give me back the computer and before I could use the computer, the electricity went off.

Flash Rant

I don't know if I like flash or not.  What I don't like is having to have special programs to view webpages.  I believe webpages should be accessible to all browsers with a choice for extra features. 

Why haven't I given flash a try?  Well, basically, it's because of compatibility problems.  I like using my computer.  I don't like spending time figuring out why this won't work with that.  It has been my experience, on more than one occasion, that when I add a new program to my computer then something bulges out the other side somewhere else and won't work anymore.

If I had the troubleshooting skills of some of the experienced users of the RivalPro forum, I might be willing to experiment more.  But I don't, and I have no desire to spend my learning time focusing on troubleshooting tasks.

I want to learn more about CSS, Perl, and CGI-bin instead.  Besides I already have some quirky thing going on in my computer ever since I added a new CD writer.  I don't know if it's that or that I added more memory, and a new power supply at the same time.

I should have done these three things one at a time, but I had the computer in the shop (getting the new power supply) and I figured, "Why not? Let's get the whole shebang taken care of while we're at it."

Was that a mistake? We'll see...

Monday, June 25, 2001

Every time the computer has went off without warning, I have to flip the reset switch on the old surge protector.  Sometimes I have to do it more than once.  A couple of times I have had to move the plug from one socket to another before the computer would come back on.  Before we got the fan, I would sometimes wait several hours before the computer power switch would turn on the computer.

Since the repair shop has run a diagnostic on every component, replaced the power supply and CD writer, and we've put in a new fan, what else could it be?

I get my coat and we drive to Sam's Club.  We buy a spiffy new surge protector that also has a place to plug in cable and the telephone.  (Now if I only had a cable Net connection!)

I crawl under the computer, untangle the mish mash of wires and phone cords.  I dust everything.  I plug all the computer cords and phone wire into the new surge protector.

The computer has been running fine ever since.....

~~~* blip *~~~

yep! you guessed it!

Friday, June 22, 2001

"Get your coat," says Keith, " Let's go down to Sam's and get you a new surge protector."

Sure, maybe that will do the trick. The fan certainly didn't change anything. Well, maybe it changed a little. The computer worked for a little over 24 hours before it blipped on me this time.

Wednesday, June 20, 2001

No sooner do I click post on the previous entry than...

~~~* blip *~~~

the computer shuts down.

Keith comes home from work with a new computer fan.

The computer case sets to the side and the guts are showing from the night before.  After a little fiddling with the plug, we get the fan going.  Snap the cage onto the front of the tower, and we're in business.

Keith turns off the computer and we need a couple of tries to line up all the notches on the outside case.

The fan whirrs.  All is right with the world.

Monday, June 18, 2001

Keith leaves a message for Jeff, and when he calls back, Keith hands the phone to me.

"It's not crashing," I tell him, "it's more like a light switch being flicked off."

"Can I come over right now," Jeff asks.

"Sure," I say, and then I hop up to straighten up around the computer before he gets here.

When Jeff arrives, I offer him a mixed drink, "All I've got is diet Sprite and a bottle of Snapple rain, agave cactus fruit drink.  I can mix 'em half and half."

Jeff opens up his tool kit, takes off the cover of the tower, and checks all the connections. "Looks good."  He examines the whole inside with a flat flashlight. "Nothing wrong in here." He turns on the computer and examines the bios. "It's nice that you can look through these with a mouse."

Other than dust inside the case, everything is working fine.

"All I can figure is that it's getting too hot.  The power supply fan is working and the cpu fan is working, but there isn't any air going over the harddrive. We can mount another fan here."  He points to a small plastic square cage apparatus inside the case.

About that time Keith comes into the room, "How we doin'?"

"Another fan might fix the problem. I can't find anything else wrong. We could go to Fred Meyer and pick one up."

Off they go, the two of them to Fred Meyer, and I go to bed.

Saturday, June 16, 2001

The frequency of the shut downs is picking up. 

Thursday, Keith called the computer repair place.  They said, bring it in and we'll reformat the harddrive.  Whoaa!  Is that really necessary?  And can I trust them to do this after I've spent the past two weeks recovering from their last helpful scenerio?

My theory is that the new power supply is bad.  I know, the diagnostic said it was okay, but I've never had this type of problem with this computer before.

This afternoon I was typing away on my template for Reflections when blip, the computer is off.  I did my usual: crawl under the computer, flip the surge protector on and off, and then push the power button on the tower.  I did this several more times.  Then I checked the surge protector to make sure it was plugged securely into the wall.  Okay.  Then I went through the whole process a second time, and then a third time.

Oh, brother!  I decided to vacuum the floor instead of stewing over this latest conflagration (okay I know that means 'fire' but you weren't here to see how hot my temper was getting!).  From time to time, I'd try the surge-on-off-power-button-push method, but the computer remained still.  More vacuuming.  If this keeps up, I'll have the whole house cleaned.

After I'd mopped the floor, I tried one more time.  Voila!  The computer lights started flickering red and gold, the whirring of the harddrive started, and we are in business.... well, for the time being anyway.

Friday, June 15, 2001

My computer is still giving me fits.  Out of the blue, it will shut down.  No, it doesn't crash; it shuts itself off, like flicking a light switch.  If I push the reset button, nothing. If I push the power button, nothing. If I flip the switch on the back of the computer off and on, nothing.

What does seem to work is to turn the surge protector's switch off and then on.  Then I push the power button on the tower, and the computer reboots.  Of course, I have to wait for the interminable scan disk to finish before I can get back to work.

By that time, I've forgotten what I was doing, and all inspiration is lost.  I'm left with a pile of anger and frustration instead.

Thursday, June 14, 2001

I've been out of sorts ever since Darlene and Jim died.  This latest tragedy is not really my tragedy even though I'm affected deepy by the sorrow of it all. 

I cried non-stop so much that on Sunday morning, Todd and Keith had to go on without me.  I really did intend to drive myself later, but I also felt compelled to make a website for Josiah.  After I'd started it, then I just had to call my parents.  The past few days have been a whirl of plans for the site. 

Last night I didn't sleep at all.  About 3:30 a.m. I decided to call home and see how things are coming.  For the first time, the realization that I'm not going to the funeral set in.  I don't know what I was imagining, that some fairy godmother was going to wave her wand and I'd get to go.  My heart sunk down in my stomach.  All reason says, I can't do anything for them there that I can't do here.  Still I feel like I've really missed something.

Monday I talked to a counselor about these recent losses and my uncontrollable grief reactions.  I sat there and rattled them off like a grocery list.  I never shed a tear.

I commented to her, "I've been crying non stop and now I'm not crying at all."

Her reply, "You are able to distance yourself from the situations." 

In this way, the web site making is really a help... a help to distance myself.  The activity absorbs my mind and keeps me from wallowing in my emotions.

On another level, I know I am not where Joyce and Gary are. I hope I never will be.  My small sorrows are but a fleeting moment to their lifetime ahead without Jo.