DeYank

As the title implies, my computer is screwing up. It will run ok for a quite while, but when I start up a fairly graphic-intensive program (especially one as full-screen like Flight Sim 9 or Trainz 2004/6) it will take about ten minutes and then crash. The last sound made continues unabated, and the last screen image stays on the screen (or it will blank out). The computer does not shut down, but is totally unresponsive to mouse or keyboard. The only way to get out of this situation is to hold the power button for ten seconds and kill the computer. ATI tech support is located in a basement near West Nowhere, India and is of no help at all.

This whole thing started when I noticed that I had two different sticks of memory in the slots: one was PC2100 and the other was PC2700 -- both 512Mb. "Aha!" I said, I'll go out and get another stick of PC2700 and put it in. So I did.

Everything sped up a bit since I had gone from 1G to 1.5G (I bought a 1G RAM stick - which the motherboard manual said was OK). I started multiplayer flying and BOOM the display went black and the computer froze up. I restarted and five minutes later the same thing happened. Since that time I have reverted to precisely the same configuration I had before all this sillyness. No chance of recovering - still getting frozen screens and unresponsive computer. I have tried everything from Safe Mode malware/virus scanning to pulling out and reseating the video card. Damn thing is, I'm not convinced it is the video card; it could be just that the CPU quits. I've even tried to see if it is overheating - no go.

So, luckily, I have three other computers here to get on and this one (my "Internet" computer) has been running for over three weeks withought rebooting. In an emergency I could also use my print server for internet working.

All in all, not a good day.

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Posted by: DeYank    in: My entries

Modified on October 22, 2006 at 12:37 AM

What a wonderful day here today.  The temperature is running just over 60 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.  Looks like a truly brilliant day.

UPS delivered the rear bumper for my pickup on Friday so now I have to pull the old one off and put the new one on.  I also bought a new trailer hitch as the old one was rusting badly and I was worried that it might not have the carrying capacity it used to have.  I really don't like getting uder the vehicle, so maybe I'll have the local Nissan dealership to do it for me. Much better that way.

The company that "laid me off" (read: moved my job to India) back in 2002 called me the other day and asked if I had the software sources for a program I wrote for a monorail down in Jacksonville, Florida.  Ha! Sometimes it pays off to be anal about saving things like that.  Hell, I might even get an expenses paid trip down there to modify it for them if I play my cards right.

 I might also get to drive back to Colorado to visit with my daughter and the grandkids.  It's hunting season out there (Elk & Deer) but I probably won't get a crack at them because the state has raised the licensing fees high so only a rich out-of-stater can afford them.  The locals only pay pennies on the dollar for a license, but the "foreigners" pay through the nose.

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Posted by: DeYank    in: My entries