[ale] Stacks of boxes

[Steve Litt]

Leam Hall via Ale said on Sat, 7 Jan 2023 14:44:36 -0600


>Back in early December I started the "Back to the new desktop
>question". That's not really the full story though, I had started the
>same conversation back in August of 2020. There was probably another
>time or two as well, I tend to come up with the idea to build a
>desktop, and then chicken out. Partly because I think in money
>scarcity, partly because things have changed so much and I learn
>slowly.
>
>This time I came close to backing out again, and then someone from the
>list asked if I'd be interested in a slightly used motherboard, CPU,
>and RAM. My assumption was that even a decent used price would be more
>than my brain wanted to pay. Turns out the asking price was "pay for a
>box, and shipping". If not for such a generous offer, I would have
>probably backed out and stayed with my Dell from Goodwill.

Great news! That person is really nice.

This gives you an opportunity. Once your new computer is running the
way you like it, I'd recommend you take the covers off your Goodwill
Dell, look around. Shine a flashlight in there. Vacuum or blow out
the dust. Run it without the cover. Start disconnecting and reconnecting
things, and running it each time to make sure nothing got screwed up.

Now, remove the mobo, motherboard and power supply from the case. You
may or may not be able to leave the daughtercards attached to the mobo,
and you'll for sure have to disconnect the power supply from the mobo.
Run the computer on a static proof mat, or at least an insulated
surface covered with a newspaper or paper towels. There's a real
feeling of liberation running a computer with no case. It
seems a little less magical when you see the components
without the obfuscation of the case.

Disconnect the hard disk(s) and notice the monitor count memory and
then stop. If you don't see it count memory, disable "fast boot" and
try again. Reconnect the hard disk and boot with no RAM, and see what
happens (I don't know what would happen).

Use some form of electronics lubricant when reconnecting everything.
See this page: http://troubleshooters.com/tpromag/200310/200310.htm .

When you're done fooling around with it, put it back together, and if
it doesn't work, troubleshoot.

If you haven't assembled a computer before, assembling a computer is a
life-altering experience. It's always tense building a computer because
of the money involved, but the first time is truly white-knuckle. You
have the advantage of doing it with an old beater computer that if you
destroy it is no big deal.

The first computer I built was a $700 cheapo (but $700 in 1993 was a
heck of a lot of money). I built it on my dining room table, very
slowly and deliberately. It worked. I had been a programmer for over 10
years at the time, but the hardware still intimidated me, until I built
that one. Since then I've built many, many more. By building my own
computer I fulfill MY priorities:

1) Lots of RAM

2) Optical drive (getting rare these days)

3) Radeon video (nVidia is Linux hostile)

4) AMD processor

5) Quality mobo

6) Enough room in the case for my big hands to perform maintenance

7) I don't care a flying flamingo about "sleek", "pretty", "beautiful",
   multicolor blinking lights, or any other aesthetic property. This is
   a work tool, not a piece of art. The following is a link to a photo
   of one of my computers:
   http://troubleshooters.com/lpm/200610/dual_celeron.jpg . Besides
   this, I also


SteveT

Steve Litt 
Autumn 2022 featured book: Thriving in Tough Times
http://www.troubleshooters.com/bookstore/thrive.htm