Journal Entries
Just passing through?
Posted Mar 27, 2008
I haven't posted on h2g2 for about 3 years, although I've passed through for the occasional lurk. And then somebody on a footie message board I frequent said they'd been playing with Safari for Windows so I thought I'd try a few websites to see if I like it (which I don't think I do, think I'll stick with Firefox - although according to my homepage I was an Opera user when I was last here). Anyhow, I thought I'd see if I still exist in this incarnation - and I do. Which is kind of 
It's interesting to look back and see what's changed and what's not. I kind of got a bit tired around here - the atmosphere of the board had changed a lot since I first found it, and apart from the people I'd got to know (hi, if you're reading this 
) it all went a bit dull. Which is a shame, when I first got involved it was a blast. I think it started going downhill for me when there was a big influx of people who'd previously been involved in some social website the name of which escapes me which they'd accessed through Telewest digiboxes. I think, could be wrong, I've slept since then. It disappeared, or they lost access, or both, and they claimed asylum here as something near what they'd had - but it wasn't the same. Nowt against them, but they had different interests. I'm probably just passing through, to be honest, but I'll have a nosey around while I'm here.
As for me - well, things are the same but different. Still working in the same sort of area of the same industry, though I've changed companies since I was here last (although I still work with many of the same people) and have been promoted a couple of times. I currently get to travel around quite a bit, which is nice when it's a trip to Europe, not so nice when it's a wet couple of days in Swindon.
Still have the Hillman Minx, still watching City (actually more regularly than I was when I was last here - all the home games, about half the aways, and I have a side-kick, the nine-year-old son of a mate of mine who I take to most games. The son, not the mate, she's a red. Costs me a fortune in Fruit Pastilles and Ribena. 
And I'm still doing the martial arts bit - I don't teach anybody at the mo, and I don't train as regularly as I'd like with all the traveling, but even after 35 years of study there's still plenty for me to learn.
I wonder if anybody will read this. I'll just have to check back in a bit and see if there are any bites.... 
Discuss this Journal entry [21]
Latest reply: Mar 27, 2008
It's the end of the road...
Posted Sep 1, 2003
I think my Morris Minor has passed away. There was a little hole in the chassis by the rear spring hanger on which she failed her MOT. Only on investigating the hole it just got bigger and bigger. It could be done for a couple of hundred quid, and if my welding skills were up to it (and I had any welding gear) I could probably do it, but it's not worth paying somebody else to do it.
I only paid £500 for her and have used her for 3 years as a daily runner. She hasn't let me down and drives really well, and she's probably still worth £200 as she is, so she owes me nothing at all, but it's a shame. She's far too good to scrap, so hopefully somebody with more time and inclination will buy her and put her back on the road.
Goodbye little car... 
Discuss this Journal entry [15]
Latest reply: Sep 1, 2003
Marc-Vivien Foe
Posted Jun 27, 2003
Too stunned for words. RIP Marc.
Discuss this Journal entry [2]
Latest reply: Jun 27, 2003
Computers - doncha just love 'em?
Posted Jun 6, 2003
I got a call at work from the Admiral last week to say the pooter had gone off and wouldn't reboot. When I got home, I found it totally dead. I tried a different lead and socket, but no joy. I checked the power switch with a multimeter, and it was closing the circuit, so I took myself off and bought a new power supply. It didn't make a ha'porth of difference. Worried now, I tried swapping out the ram chips, and another bios battery, but nothing helped.
So that left the motherboard and CPU. I didn't see any point in just buying one without the other, so I nipped out on Saturday morning and bought a new board and CPU. When I finished building it up, I couldn't find a monitor port, and realised I'd bought a board without a onboard graphics (unlike my old one). So off I went to buy a graphics card, brought it home and tried to install it. Then I took the trouble to read the instructions for the mainboard and realised it needed and AGP card, not a PCI one. So back to the store to change that.
Finally I was ready to go. Plugged in, switched on, the fan started ... and then stopped. No beeps, nothing. I tried again and it was dead. Eventually I found that if I unplugged the power supply from the board and plugged it back in again the fan would go once, but that was it. So I tried the old CPU - and it booted!
Well, kind of. Windows wouldn't load. I could get into safe mode, though, and there ensued several hours of checking settings and retrying. Eventually, I found the page file was set too small, and got into Windows. And ran a virus check and got booted out.
I tried installing Windows on a spare hard drive, but it kept falling over.
By now I'd concluded that the new CPU was faulty, so I took it back the next day after work. The tech at the store checked it and agreed it was dead. They replaced it without demur, and I took the opportunity to ask the tech for advice. He suspected (as did I by now) that my old CPU was on the way out.
So I went home, ready to install the new CPU. And when I was undoing the clip for the processor fan, my screwdriver slipped and I clobbered the chipset with it. What a plonker! Back to the store for a new motherboard before they shut, and (with considerable care) I rebuilt the PC.
And I turned it on.
And the fan went for a second, and then it died. Aaaaaarrrrggghhhh!
I saw no point in going any further, and the next day returned the CPU. When the tech (a different one) tried it, it was fine. On being told my saga, he suggested that the motherboard may be shorting on the case, and told me to reinstall it with the foam pad from the package beneath.
Which I did - and the PC booted. Huzzah! I still don't understand why it would boot with the old CPU, nor why it had gone completely dead on Friday, but at least I was moving forward.
Only Windows still wouldn't load - not even into safe mode - all I got was the BSOD I'd seen so much of over the previous few days. At this point I tried reinstalling Windows on the spare drive - and finally I had a pooter that worked.
Fortunately all my files remained on the original HDD, and I now have a long job reinstalling all my software, so I probably shan't be around h2g2 much for a few days, but if you're reading my journal and were wondering where I've been, there's your answer!
Discuss this Journal entry [3]
Latest reply: Jun 6, 2003
Computers - doncha just love 'em?
Posted Jun 6, 2003
I got a call at work from the Admiral last week to say the pooter had gone off and wouldn't reboot. When I got home, I found it totally dead. I tried a different lead and socket, but no joy. I checked the power switch with a multimeter, and it was closing the circuit, so I took myself off and bought a new power supply. It didn't make a ha'porth of difference. Worried now, I tried swapping out the ram chips, and another bios battery, but nothing helped.
So that left the motherboard and CPU. I didn't see any point in just buying one without the other, so I nipped out on Saturday morning and bought a new board and CPU. When I finished building it up, I couldn't find a monitor port, and realised I'd bought a board without onboard graphics (unlike my old one). So off I went to buy a graphics card, brought it home and tried to install it. Then I took the trouble to read the instructions for the mainboard and realised it needed an AGP card, not a PCI one. So back to the store to change that.
Finally I was ready to go. Plugged in, switched on, the fan started ... and then stopped. No beeps, nothing. I tried again and it was dead. Eventually I found that if I unplugged the power supply from the board and plugged it back in again the fan would go once, but that was it. So I tried the old CPU - and it booted!
Well, kind of. Windows wouldn't load. I could get into safe mode, though, and there ensued several hours of checking settings and retrying. Eventually, I found the page file was set too small, and got into Windows. And ran a virus check and got booted out.
I tried installing Windows on a spare hard drive, but it kept falling over.
By now I'd concluded that the new CPU was faulty, so I took it back the next day after work. The tech at the store checked it and agreed it was dead. They replaced it without demur, and I took the opportunity to ask the tech for advice. He suspected (as did I by now) that my old CPU was on the way out.
So I went home, ready to install the new CPU. And when I was undoing the clip for the processor fan, my screwdriver slipped and I clobbered the chipset with it. What a plonker! Back to the store for a new motherboard before they shut, and (with considerable care) I rebuilt the PC.
And I turned it on.
And the fan went for a second ....... and then it died. Aaaaaarrrrggghhhh!
I saw no point in going any further, and the next day returned the CPU. When the tech (a different one) tried it, it was fine. On being told my saga, he suggested that the motherboard may be shorting on the case, and told me to reinstall it with the foam pad from the package beneath.
Which I did - and the PC booted. Huzzah! I still don't understand why it would boot with the old CPU, nor why it had gone completely dead on Friday, but at least I was moving forward.
Only Windows still wouldn't load - not even into safe mode - all I got was the BSOD I'd seen so much of over the previous few days. At this point I tried reinstalling Windows on the spare drive - and finally I had a pooter that worked.
Fortunately all my files remained on the original HDD, and I now have a long job reinstalling all my software, so I probably shan't be around h2g2 much for a few days, but if you're reading my journal and were wondering where I've been, there's your answer!
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: Jun 6, 2003
Captain Kebab
Researcher U155846
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