R.I.P. Wintermute
Sunday night I was making a weak attempt at “cleaning up” a bit by purchasing a couple DVD racks to store all my NES cartridges, which until then were sitting in precariously balanced stacks all over my room. After I had placed one of the racks, I decided I didn’t like where I had put and and went to move it, but got tangled on part of the rat’s nest of cables sticking out from under my computer desk. I managed to kick the cable off the bottom and get the rack out, when my computer, Wintermute, shut down.
I thought it was weird, but figured I had jarred a power cable or something just right to make it do that, and without thinking powered my computer back up. I went back to placing the second rack and filling it with cartridges. At the same time, I was also fixing a friend’s computer (we think a power surge messed his video card up…) and I was hopping between organizing video games and watching a backup on his system. My computer had been on for about an hour after the reboot when I returned to it to grab some software for my friend’s computer. The screen was locked up. Disgusted, I hit reset but the monitor did not come back on.
My computer’s audio POST feedback then reported “System failed CPU test”. I winced and shut it down. I immediately unplugged it from the rat’s nest and pulled the system out. The heatsink on the CPU had woven itself a cozy little dust cocoon. You literally could not see the heatsink, it appeared to just be a little brick of dirt sitting on my motherboard with a fan stuck on top of it. See, my house has an abnormal dust problem. Combined with my house’s abnormal static problem, it creates a pretty hazardous environment for electronics. In fact, I couldn’t BELIEVE it had accumulated that much dust, as I had just dusted the system out when I switched to Linux only 3 months ago. Unfortunately, one thing I had never installed when I switched was a temperature monitor. Normally, my temperature monitor functions as my cue to blow my system out when the CPU temp starts to climb a couple degrees. Since I hadn’t been monitoring it for a while, my CPU basically melted. I don’t have a spare processor, so I can’t test to see if any damage was done to the motherboard.
I took it outside and blew tons of dirt out of the entire thing and let it sit to cool for about 30 minutes, but the damage had been done. Every boot only resulted in my computer speakers blaring “System failed CPU test! System failed CPU test!” in a loop. This just months before I begin saving for my new system (I was currently saving for my camera).
Fortunately, my dad bailed me out by spotting me $1400 for my new system (sans monitors for now), which I will be paying back in small increments. There are several details I haven’t decided on yet, but I do know it will be Athlon 64X2 3800+ based, with 600gbs of SATA storage (possible RAID configuration?) and 2gbs of RAM. I am also throwing a GeForce 7800GT in there for good measure, even though I don’t PC game that much. I will be ordering the parts on Newegg tonight, and I’m sure I will be following up with the system I end up with.
March 7th, 2006 at 4:08 pm
Sometimes I wish I can “accidently” break my own computer so I can get a new one. Just so I have some sort of excuse for getting it. Be sure to post specs/pics once you get your new setup ready to go.
March 7th, 2006 at 5:12 pm
Actually, though I’m stoked I’m getting a new computer, I was REALLY trying to save up for my new camera. Really bad timing…
March 8th, 2006 at 12:19 am
I take it I’m never going to get my camera back now.
March 8th, 2006 at 9:01 am
Nope, never.