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FUNCTION RANDOM - All Things Technological On Your Mind

Started by Camazotz Automat, August 17, 2012, 04:04:35 AM

Tarbaby

I sometimes use Dropbox for a small text file backup. If you guys know something I should know about Dropbox, tell!



cweb

So as some may know I'm putting Linux on my old Dell laptop. Replacement hard drive arrives today. In anticipation, I felt like messing around on it with a LiveUSB of Lubuntu yesterday.

Except that it kept popping up asking for the BIOS password. So I typed it in. No good. Tried other possibilities. No good. And I'm going "WTF! I know what the damn password is. How can it be changed?"

After much Internet searching, I find a suggestion that says pull/replace the mobo battery. Took apart the top half, no battery. Well, maybe it's under the RAM? Nope. But it WAS underneath the mobo in some godforsaken corner. (Oh, Dell....) Of course it was soldered in, so I gave up and decided not to mess with it. Then I reassembled the laptop.

Tried to fire up the laptop. Monitor didn't turn on and the whole thing turns off after 10 seconds. Ooookay. Turns out that you have to reseat the RAM perfectly. I thought I did a pretty good job. Heck, the clips were happy. So I pulled the RAM, gave a quick little wipe to the terminals, and reseated it. Now it works.

I'm thinking "okay, well that was a dumb solution." Then I remembered another dumb solution for the BIOS password problem. Someone said that the onboard keyboard might not be so accurate for typing the BIOS password, so you should try using a USB keyboard. I didn't quite get it then, but it makes sense now. Sure enough, I plugged in the USB keyboard and typed my password.

It worked. Son of a bitch.

Lesson: it's sometimes worth it to try the quick, seemingly silly solution.

zeebo

cweb your story reminds me of when I thought I'd bricked my mobo recently.  I was fiddling with all my ports in the BIOS for what reason I've forgotten, but I ended up disabling them all, rebooting, and realizing I'd disabled my keyboard port, which meant I couldn't type into the BIOS to reactivate the port I'd just disabled.   :-[

After some panicking I found in my mobo manual that I could reset back to BIOS defaults by moving a certain pin connector to reset, and back.  Whew.   8)

cweb

Quote from: zeebo on August 07, 2014, 12:02:05 AM
cweb your story reminds me of when I thought I'd bricked my mobo recently.  I was fiddling with all my ports in the BIOS for what reason I've forgotten, but I ended up disabling them all, rebooting, and realizing I'd disabled my keyboard port, which meant I couldn't type into the BIOS to reactivate the port I'd just disabled.   :-[

After some panicking I found in my mobo manual that I could reset back to BIOS defaults by moving a certain pin connector to reset, and back.  Whew.   8)
Funny you mentioned that, because my first thought when my laptop BIOS was being difficult was "oh, I'll just pull the password jumper on the mobo." Until I realized that it's a laptop and probably doesn't have the convenience of such space.  8)

Continuing this Linux adventure, I installed my new drive yesterday and promptly installed Lubuntu as well. Which led to the laptop booting up to a "hard disk read failure - no bootable device" error. Checked the connection, reinstalled Lubuntu, checked the BIOS, reinstalled Lubuntu again with partitions set manually during install-- no good. Ran a whole mess of diagnostics on the disk and was told that everything was fine with it. Heck, I was able to boot to the LiveUSB and MOUNT the hard drive from there!

So this morning I had the idea of pulling the hard drive, putting it into a USB enclosure, and booting to the "failing" drive via USB. Worked flawlessly. Okay....

Did a little more digging. Lots of complaints by people with Dell laptops having the same issue. And the same chorus of "your drive is shot, your mobo is toast, your MBR wasn't written correctly blablaabla." I started seeing people complaining about Dell's build quality and the hard drive plug. So I pulled the damn thing out AGAIN and reseated it rather forcefully.

Now the laptop has booted successfully three straight times. Guess I'll test it again after work.  ???

Epilogue: Fuck Dell and their (lack of) build quality. Never buying a laptop or PC from them ever again.

wr250

Quote from: cweb on August 07, 2014, 07:06:36 AM
Epilogue: Fuck Dell and their (lack of) build quality. Never buying a laptop or PC from them ever again.

i never recommend dell computers/laptops. the build quality sucks, and customer service is arguably worse that comcasts. note alienware laptops are made by dell...
also stay away from hp consumer laptops. the business models are ok, just ok, nothing special, but worlds better than the consumer models, which are built with the cheapest possible materials.

cweb

Quote from: wr250 on August 07, 2014, 07:14:15 AM
i never recommend dell computers/laptops. the build quality sucks, and customer service is arguably worse that comcasts. note alienware laptops are made by dell...
also stay away from hp consumer laptops. the business models are ok, just ok, nothing special, but worlds better than the consumer models, which are built with the cheapest possible materials.
I was a naive 19-year-old when I bought that laptop. This is the latest of many lessons it taught me.  :)

Heard good things about Lenovo or Asus, so I might be going that direction when I save up some cash for a new laptop.

wr250

Quote from: cweb on August 07, 2014, 07:21:03 AM
I was a naive 19-year-old when I bought that laptop. This is the latest of many lessons it taught me.  :)

Heard good things about Lenovo or Asus, so I might be going that direction when I save up some cash for a new laptop.
although the general crappiness of laptops has increased dramatically since the ibm sold its laptop division, lenovo and asus are 2 of the better ones. if lenove get a thinkpad (not the ideapad, the thinkpad is built so much better). macbooks are the best laptop, but they are sold for 2x as much as they should be priced at, this is due to apple fanatics with money to burn. as long as people pay the price , apple will continue to to charge what they do. you can get a used macbook pro core i7 starting at around $700 on ebay, which is what they should be new.

zeebo

Quote from: wr250 on August 07, 2014, 07:27:57 AM
although the general crappiness of laptops has increased dramatically since the ibm sold its laptop division, lenovo and asus are 2 of the better ones. if lenove get a thinkpad (not the ideapad, the thinkpad is built so much better). .....

I've had a couple Thinkpads and I'm definitely a fan.  I'm currently writing this on my 6-yr. old T60 (a Lenovo model) that I have absolutely hammered on for years and it's still cranking away like a champ.  Great, bright matte screen and the best laptop keyboard ever.  It's more of a business/work machine, like a little tank, as opposed to some of the glitzier consumer brands that seem to be all about watching movies.

I did all of my programming on it for several years and the keyboard is still perfectly responsive, no stuck keys etc.  It's a clicky joy to type on this thing still.  Also, I just have to have the little red trackpoint stick as I find it so much better than those touchpads, which I have disabled since I dislike them. 

I don't know about current models but they'll be the first place I look whenever I'm back in the laptop market.

cweb

I'm definitely going to have the Thinkpad on my list. Did a little showrooming and they seemed pretty solid.

I agree that MacBooks really are the standard. I have a 7-year-old MacBook Pro which is still chugging along, but it's lost a step or two through the years of multimedia production and general use. I would like to try something different with my next laptop, with hardware that doesn't have as much mileage on it.

That's not to say I'd never return to Apple. I simply feel like broadening my horizons and having a new experience. (Not LSD.)  8)

area51drone

I came home to find that one of my circuits (my office, and my kids' bedrooms) had tripped a breaker.   Narrowed it down to the cord that led to my laser printer.  Only to realize seconds later that the reason it was blowing its lid was because my cat decided to use it as a litter box after he somehow got trapped in my office.   Nothing like cleaning cat piss from your desk and having to throw away a essentially brand new 3 month old printer.    Good times... good times.   Fucker was lucky he didn't electrocute himself.

analog kid

I got an email from Demonoid. Not too trusting of it, but we'll see I guess.

http://www.demonoid.ph

b_dubb

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-send-facebook-messages-without-the-messenger-app/

Facebook tried to make me use their new Messages app. Instead I uninstalled all my Facebook apps and am using a browser on my iPhone to use Facebook. b_dubb - 1. Zuckerberg - 1,200,000,000. Okay. At least I have 1.

popple

Quote from: analog kid on August 12, 2014, 12:50:36 AM
I got an email from Demonoid. Not too trusting of it, but we'll see I guess.

http://www.demonoid.ph
Me too. Is it an elaborate ruse? DO NOT TRUST. I'll sail my pirate ship in safer waters.

cweb

Quote from: b_dubb on August 14, 2014, 07:21:23 PM
http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-send-facebook-messages-without-the-messenger-app/

Facebook tried to make me use their new Messages app. Instead I uninstalled all my Facebook apps and am using a browser on my iPhone to use Facebook. b_dubb - 1. Zuckerberg - 1,200,000,000. Okay. At least I have 1.

I went the same route when I changed phones. That Facebook App is one bloated annoying POS.

I had all notifications and update intervals turned OFF when I had that app installed and it still ran. How rude.

I couldn't believe my phone wouldn't actually allow me to uninstall the Facebook app.

wr250

Quote from: TheMan WhoFell ToEarth on August 15, 2014, 09:30:14 AM
I couldn't believe my phone wouldn't actually allow me to uninstall the Facebook app.

the carriers package that as a "required system app" . i remove it when i root my phone.


zeebo

Quote from: wr250 on August 15, 2014, 12:49:55 PM
the carriers package that as a "required system app" . i remove it when i root my phone.

That sucks.  There's alot of facebook coersion out there which I stand against on principle, like sites that make you login w/ your facebook id to post etc. 

zeebo

Quote from: Camazotz Automat on August 16, 2014, 12:56:07 PM
Wind Turbine To Float Over Alaska

That's pretty cool actually.  I could forsee turbine farms over vast uninhabited reaches of the poles. 

onan

If they place one over HAARP, it will turn into a portal. So Beware.

If the skin were properly flame resistant to sparked ignition, I have to wonder if hydrogen could be used instead due to the ever rising price of diminishing helium supplies.

A single floating turbine could be dedicated to producing hydrogen for all other turbines in the area, using available snow and water.  If there were only one in the area, it could easily produce its own hydrogen requirements instead of bringing in more helium.

It's a beautifully designed piece of technology. I can imagine a version that is auto navigable for easy migration to new tether targets that need off grid power.  A surreal squadron of flying generators.

It's not lost upon me that my love/obsession of zeppelins is simply branching to the toroidal variety. 

Movement Key : VA3


analog kid

If you have a Roku this is what you need

https://github.com/Protuhj/myvideobuzz

and add these subreddits in its settings

fullmoviesonyoutube
fullmoviesongoogle
fullmoviesonvimeo
fullmoviesonline
fullmoviesonanything
fullscifimovies
fulltvshowsonyoutube
fulltvshowsonvimeo
obscuremedia



SCP
Quote from: area51drone on August 18, 2014, 11:46:41 PM
Not kidding. 
Wish you were.


An older, but still interesting item. An obsolete PC would be a cool gimmick for the store front window of a computer repair business, with the screen saver set on the Flying Through Space stars. Local TV would eat it up. Teens would view it as the bizarre hacking of vintage equipment:

Computer Operates Submerged in Mineral Oil

http://www.instructables.com/id/Mineral-Oil-Submerged-PC/

Juan

This past Sunday, I drove to Savannah to see a photography exhibit at the Savannah School of Art and Design.  I left my car parked on the street, and my cell phone hidden in the floorboard.  During the several hours I was inside, my phone went nuts.  When i got back to the car, I saw that the battery was completely dead.  Over the next few days, I learned that it had called my mother about 10 times, a video producer I work with 3 times, my sister a couple of times, and a women in Savannah I've never heard of.  They said they could hear music playing when they answered.  I do not have any music on my phone.

How in the world did this happen? I know that bluetooth was on so that, when driving, I could communicate through the car audio system.  Could my phone's bluetooth system have picked up someone elses?  NSA? Space aliens?  I don't think bigfoot roams downtown Savannah.  It would learn it's lesson as did the Chupacabra in it's one visit to Miami.

wr250

Quote from: Juan on August 23, 2014, 08:12:17 AM
This past Sunday, I drove to Savannah to see a photography exhibit at the Savannah School of Art and Design.  I left my car parked on the street, and my cell phone hidden in the floorboard.  During the several hours I was inside, my phone went nuts.  When i got back to the car, I saw that the battery was completely dead.  Over the next few days, I learned that it had called my mother about 10 times, a video producer I work with 3 times, my sister a couple of times, and a women in Savannah I've never heard of.  They said they could hear music playing when they answered.  I do not have any music on my phone.

How in the world did this happen? I know that bluetooth was on so that, when driving, I could communicate through the car audio system.  Could my phone's bluetooth system have picked up someone elses?

no they would need to pair to your phone. and unless they had your phone in hand to accept the pair

Quote
NSA? Space aliens?  I don't think bigfoot roams downtown Savannah.  It would learn it's lesson as did the Chupacabra in it's one visit to Miami.

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