[Novalug] OT: Worst Computer Building Stories

Stuart Gathman stuart@gathman.org
Mon Feb 22 23:47:09 EST 2016


I started to fix the neighbors HP h8 computer, bought a new video card,
and the BIOS won't boot with any video except the (crappy) model that
came with the system.  There is a BIOS update that allegedly fixes this,
but the BIOS updates expect you to apply them using Windows . . .  (yes,
there should be a way to extract the DOS exe using cabextract, and boot
a DOS ramdisk containing the DOS exe)

But for a story in line with the starter story, 20 years ago a customers
rack mounted mini-computer was overheating.  On removing the cover, a
family of rats had made their home in the warm cavity over the card
cage, and were using the fan (which sucked air down over the cards) as a
convenient toilet - that kept their nest clean without having to go
outside, and blew the odor away as well.  The cards were coated with a
thick layer of rat poo.

On 02/02/2016 05:55 PM, Roger W. Broseus via Novalug wrote:
> From Life Hacker, for those who might enjoy a moment of reflection,
>
>   
> http://lifehacker.com/your-worst-computer-customization-horror-stories-1756416294
>
> Which reminds me of a fix for my daughter's laptop: it overheated,
> having a processor designed for a desktop put into an HP laptop. The
> beast had three cooling fans and a ton of copper used as a heat sink.
> After hours of work, taking it apart revealed a hair ball in the
> intake duct for a fan blowing air onto the CPU.
>





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