I installed one of the USB 3.0 cards in my Lounge PC this morning.

I installed one of the USB 3.0 cards in my Lounge PC this morning.

The installation went smoothly, though I had to scavenge an power cable splitter from the defunct Studio PC to get power to it. Installed the driver and then tested it on an external hard drive that I know has USB 3 capabilities. It went a LOT faster than what I was used to! The next test was the docking I'd bought earlier this week. I had to turn it off, make sure the 3.5" was firmly plugged in, and it worked!

The image below is the internal 3D PROJECTS drive in the dock being read by Win10. Just like having a big clunky USB stick! This means that that I get my dodgy drive back, I can plug that in and test it as well, without fiddling around with the innards of any of my PCs. Something worked for once! :D
#StudioPC #USB3

Well I now have the Studio PC sorted. Not with what I wanted, but what I needed.

Well I now have the Studio PC sorted. Not with what I wanted, but what I needed.

I popped into the computer shop where the PC had been built, and had a discussion with the guy who runs it. Having the PC repaired will cost a minimum of $40 for the service charge, plus whatever was needed. And it might break down again. However, $40 would also get me a USB DOCKING STATION for 2.5" and 3.5" SATA hard drives. So that's what I bought. I'll just dismantle the PC and if I need to, plugin any 2.5" or 3.5" SATA Hard Drive that I need to recover.

I'm greatly relieved at this solution. If and when I get a newer PC it'll probably be a laptop.
#StudioPC #USB3

It wasn't the battery.

It wasn't the battery.
#StudioPC

I've decided not to do anything on the Studio PC today, for a reason.

I've decided not to do anything on the Studio PC today, for a reason.

There's a button type battery on the Motherboard. My memory (a side effect of having once had epilepsy) can be vague at times, but I had a similar problem with a previous PC, which I remembered this morning. It wouldn't boot either, because that battery was FLAT. The solution was to get a new battery, which I did, and it booted again.

So tomorrow while I'm out and about, I'll buy a replacement battery, and swap it in, before I do anything else. It may not make any difference, but it might save a lot of fiddling about.
#StudioPC

So I checked the PC, and no progress..

So I checked the PC, and no progress..

Checked the power cable with a new one;,same result. Unplugged everything except the motherboard, same result. No point in testing it with the motherboard unplugged. The result's the same, the fans spin for a second and then nothing. To test it again I have to unplug the power cord for about a minute, or it just won't do anything when the button's pressed. And I don't think it's the power button either. And that's about as far as I can go by myself. There are three alternatives now: get/pay someone to fix it; buy a cheap replacement, or buy an expensive replacement.

What's cheap? Well I can get another tower for $100-$200 via GumTree (as per https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-computers-software/newcastle/desktop+computer/k0c18309l3003104?sort=rank). Of course each of those may have their own limitations and problems. And I'd have to pick them up. That might be OK if all I want to do is use it to browse the web and play music.

The expensive option is getting something built at a computer shop. The three PCs I have here were all built by one particular computer chain, from 2 local shops. The one I've had the most trouble with - the one in the Studio - was built at a local shop that no longer exists. And that would cost me anywhere between $400-$700, depending on what gets put together.

The point of repairing the Studio PC is that it would have at least two spare slots for hard drives if I only use one drive in it with Linux on it. Then, when a friend of mine drops in next month with the damaged hard drive with my graphic novel on it, that I'd be able to to just plug the drive into a spare slot and we'd see if it was recoverable or not. Yes, I still have hope in recovering my graphic novel. So a cheap (or expensive) PC would need spare slots to do the same.

Hmmm.
#StudioPC

So, what do you think happened when I started to setup the rejigged Studio PC? That's right, IT WOULDN'T BOOT.

So, what do you think happened when I started to setup the rejigged Studio PC? That's right, IT WOULDN'T BOOT.

I took the cover off and watched while I tried to do a cold boot. The motherboard and case fans come on for a second (as does the power button in the front) and then then IT ALL STOPS. Er, this is slightly beyond my technical abilities. It's obviously a short, but I really don't know how to track that down or fix it. I can try unplugging things one at a time, but what then?

In which case after a promising restart this seems to be the end of that particular PC. The only difference I can spot is that it's been sitting directly in the sunlight from the Studio window for over an hour. I really don't know what to do with it next. :(
#StudioPC

The killer PC in the Studio strikes again!

The killer PC in the Studio strikes again!

I might not s\install Win 10 on my Studio PC. I booted it up, and once again there was an issue reading one of the drives. KDEPartition Manager under Mint wouldn't even read it. After about 10 minutes in Win 7 it suddenly appeared. Or rather one of the partitions did. I shall have to consult my (paper) notes about what was on that one. The thing is - this is the PC that through away the files for my graphic novel. It has a history of going nuts with at least one drive.

So maybe I'd be better recovering what I can and throwing the PC (minus drives) away.

No point in installing Windows 10 on it in that case. Most likely the problem's with something on the motherboard, because I've had the power supply replaced on that PC. Maybe I should just through the motherboard out and replace that? That will take research to see if it's worth it. Maybe the memory, case and power supply are all that's worth salvaging from it.

But I just can't rely on that PC for now. So I'll recover the files I can, put them on the RecRoom PC, and work from that.
#Win10Install #StudioPC

After lots of mucking about hunting discounted versions, I might just go out and Buy several copies of Win 10 Home...

After lots of mucking about hunting discounted versions, I might just go out and Buy several copies of Win 10 Home tomorrow, at Officeworks. Yes, they're only $4 cheaper than the official M$ price for Australia, but they're the full version and in stock now. The other copies I found that were heavily discounted were wither OEM versions, or located in for me) impossible to get to places, and adding delivery charges would have bumped them back up in price.

These are in stock at a store about 40 minutes away by public transport. But we'll see.
#Win10Install #MediaPC #RecRoomPC #StudioPC