h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

No, not an audition for some new dance craze. Nor is it a competition to see if women versus men have the best wiggle either.
This is more mundane. Its actually a diagnostic technique used to trace dodgy wiring connections as used by many a technician in the field of electrics and electronics.
So what is this about where I'm concerned? Well, yesterday I turned on my home built pc, (referred to as the Beast by family members) only to be met with a dry click and nothing. No power light, no fans starting, no led's lighting up, nuffink, zilch, not a peep!
I I merely fire up the 2nd HP pc and load all the appropriate stuff for mod duties etc and then I set about looking at the Beast.
I note the led on the power unit is on so power is ok to there so we're now going to be looking at something internal from that unit to the on/off button to motherboard connections.
First up, remove both side panels and carry out visual inspection.(puts glasses on at this stage) No obvious signs of wires off, no sign of any burning/scorching. There is a 3 amp fuse to the side of the mains multi-plug on the motherboard so I test this to make sure it hasn't blown. Seems ok.
Now, this is where the Wiggle test comes in. I start from the power unit and work my way through the maze of wires just 'wiggling' and gently pulling said wires near to where they connect at the various points across the whole motherboard. Lo and behold, the low voltage lead from the power button to the board, although looked in place wasn't actually connected. The tiny square block the cable is in is just sitting atop the connector pin rather than actually pushed on. I push this firmly into place and press on/off switch and hey presto, the whole thing burst's into life.
So there we have it, the good old Wiggle test has found the problem and said problem easily resolved. It does beg the question though, how or why did that cable become detached that way? There was plenty of slack, it runs no where near any moving parts so couldn't get snagged that way so why? Just another of those little mysteries where I'll probably never know the real answer. Suffice to say, while I'd got the side panels off, I went through and checked all similar connections. I did discover the retaining clip on the Solid State Drive multi plug hadn't fully engaged so there was another potential problem resolved before it started.
So there we have it, the Beast is up and running, all systems go, I ran my usual diagnostic tools and utilities to check software and drives, all is and system working well.

On that cheerful note, I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy New Year and hope you all stay fit and well throughout 2015.

Thanks BMT!

I'll have to bring all my faulty equipment down to yours. How much do you charge?

Happy New Year to you too.

Well done, BMT!

The Beast will continue for another year!!


Happy New Year to you too


lil xx

*hic*

I keep all my loose wires and cords hidden behind the desk where I won't accidentally get my foot caught in them and bring down the roof on me

As for the wires *inside* my beast, that's for Data Doctors to unsnag. The downside is unplugging everything and carrying the tower to them. before I unplug anything, I have to make a diagram of what went where, so I can reconnect plugs when I get the machine back.