Re: [gentoo-user] My PC died. What should I try?

[Dale]

Alan McKinnon wrote:
> On Tue, 28 Aug 2012 20:04:55 -0500
> Dale <rdalek1967@×××××.com> wrote:
>
>> Alan McKinnon wrote:
>>> Rule #1 in dealing with odd weird strange computer faults is ALWAYS
>>> test with another PSU of at least twice the capacity you think you
>>> need.
>> +1  I always start with the P/S.  Well, unless I see something else
>> unrelated letting the smoke out.  Even then tho, a bad P/S can cause
>> the smoke to get out of something else too.  It's good advice all the
>> way around.
>>
>> Why not let the computer shop test the P/S?  If it blows up something
>> of theirs, it's bad.  ;-)
>
>
> You obviously have a much better opinion of the average repair techie
> than I do. The average repair techie would know how to fault find his
> way out of a paper bag - the "change bits till it starts working" is
> the only technique they know.
>
> That's not to say you don't get good ones - you do - but they are rare.
>
>

I worked on a friends rig a couple months ago.  It would reboot at
random.  She runs windows so I tried booting a Linux CD.  It did the
same thing.  Eliminates a bad OS, well, windoze is still bad but
anyway.  lol  I checked for dust bunnies, reseated the memory stick,
only one of them, and it did the same.  So, off to the computer shop I
go.  I got a P/S and a new stick of ram, she only had 512M so it was dog
slow.  The computer place tested both parts on the spot for me.  They
actually plugged the P/S into a mobo and turned it on for a few
minutes.  Anyway, put in the ram which gave her 1.5Gb and in goes the
new P/S.  It has worked ever since. 

The two best tools to diagnose a computer problem is this.  Smoke and
the beep codes.  Most important one is first. I also HATE random
problems.  If you are going to die, just don't cut on at all.  At least
we know where to start.  ^_^

Dale

:-)  :-) 

-- 
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