First Time

[azurelunatic]

Never took a system completely apart before today. I'm not half so intimidated when I know here's the motherboard, video card, processor, RAM, power supply, network card, plugs for lights and power and reset and speaker...

We powered up the system first. Keyboard error and no OS; all well and good. I was partnered with Hari, who's done all this before. He'd forgotten his computer kit, so I wore my grounding strap (I may have to upgrade to something that definitely won't do Bad Things to my skin) and dove right in. We took it apart, cleaned it (not very dirty, as these computers are shredded to bits and put back together by students every tri) and put it back together in approximately the same configuration as it was before. In doing so, we discovered that the zip drive was getting no power, and that there were not enough in the way of screws to go around.

I had to strip my rings and keep my hair tied up and back out of the way so it wouldn't get caught in anything. I intend to design a Geek Chic grounding strap for myself, something handy, sturdy, and good-looking enough to potentially pass as a fashion statement if worn outside of lab. There's no reason electrical safety needn't look good...

After it was all screwed back together, and Hari helped me figure out how to properly use my bendyratchet from the tool kit, we plugged it back in and started it up...

...Same keyboard error and no OS.

We rock.

Comments

[warpedshadow.livejournal.com]

pfft grounding straps are for best buy technictions just touch the power supply before you start and you fine..


oh yeah the problem is bad ram

[azurelunatic]

Grounding straps are for best buy technicians, those who haven't the foggiest, and people in my class.... I'd rather wear one than get yammered at by the instructor for not, especially as he did say something about ejecting repeat offenders from lab.

Bad RAM. Ok.

That's the sort of thing I intend to know coming out... at the moment, I'm a happy clueless newbie.

Re:

[warpedshadow.livejournal.com]

yeah granted i could fix that in bout half a sec if i was there but from what you say it sould like a server i was building from older computer parts and it was bad ram there

[azurelunatic]

What we're doing in this class is, we've been each group issued a slightly the worse for wear computer, and all semester we're going to be tearing it apart, both physically and program-wise. The instructor says that the worst thing that'll probably happen is that something will melt or catch on fire, and they know how to deal with this.

All part of the Learning Experience. Whee! I think I'm going to love that class.

Re:

[warpedshadow.livejournal.com]

*smirks* yeah i keft my computer to do some compileing and i went to watch some denis learly in the other room and when i came back an hour later there was foot flames and sparks comeing from my computer then again that was an off the shelf computer and i work that thing day and night cruntching numbers ahhh the things that can happen to computers...