The antics abound at the Hubbard household as a new member is inducted into the great circle of computers that dictate the direction and purpose of those who own them.

This document chronicals one eventful evening (of February 7, 2004) as the new computer was being prepared for the purpose it is to fulfill in the days to come.

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This first image portrays a view of the workplace in the wake of the events that transpired earlier in the evening. Even in this static state, the image captures a perspective that is indicative of the earlier chaos that livened the room on this eventful evening.

This view only shows half the room. My half. Chris's half is not visible. You'll see her side later on, but her half is not very important to the story, since all the activity occurred on my side.

There's really not much to the story, actually. It is really more of a visual experience, which is why I thought it would be amusing to put this page together. Just the sudden realization that I was sitting in a room amidst a plethora of computers, and contemplating the history of my life that it represented, compelled me to compile this page and to share a bit of that history with you.

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Here is where I spend much of my time. This is my perch. Whether I am working or playing, this is where I sit. And I have two computers to choose from at this station - either my laptop or my desktop computer.

The monitor has two inputs that can be selected from a switch on the front of the monitor. Therefore, I can use the same monitor for both computers without having to switch cables. I need the monitor for the laptop, since the laptop is ergonomically hostile.

The laptop is what I am using when I am on ICQ. I also have ICQ on my workshop computer (not shown in this series), so you can rest assured that I am either on my laptop or in my shop when I am seen on ICQ. My desktop computer is where all my music is, currently. At least all the music files I have been able to find. The keyboard is cumbersome to use when I have the laptop set up, since the laptop sits where the desktop keyboard normally sits.

The desktop computer is the tail end of the lineage of computers that I have had up to this point. It contains all the files that I have carried over from my past. All my weird thoughts, creations and ideas. If it dies, I'll probably die with it.

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This is what all the hoopla has been about the past few days (and especially this particular evening). It arrived in pieces in two big boxes on Friday, February 6, shortly after Noon. I spent nearly three hours assembling the components into the chassis.

Currently, it contains the following components:
- ABIT IS7 motherboard with a Pentium 4 2.6GHz processor
- 1GB of RAM
- Two 120 GB hard drives for software and data
- ATI Radeon 9600XT graphics card with 128 MB of memory
- CD-ROM player/burner
- DVD-ROM player/burner (can also burn CDs)
- Creative Audigy 2 sound card with face plate (audio connectors in front)

A guy came over to install audio production software on the computer and to show Chris how to use it. This computer will be used for our music and video production activities.
There is a smaller monitor, barely & partially visible in the top right corner of the image that is used on the web server where rcnightflying.com lives. We originally used this monitor on the new computer during the installation of the operating system. But we got to a point where the video would disappear. After two hours of work, we decided Microsoft was at fault and started over! The problem happened again, so we decided to try a different monitor. Video reappeared. After all that, it turned out the monitor we were using was too old and was not supported by the video driver. UGH!

So I went out to my shop and extracted the monitor from that computer and brought it in. That is the monitor in this view. It worked fine and we were able to use it to complete the software installation.

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This is the computer that runs the web server. It is an older machine running Fedora (the latest incarnation of Linux). It has a P5BV3+ motherboard with a 400MHz AMD K6 processor and 512 MB of RAM. That is, if I am reading the numbers correctly. That doesn't make sense, since the motherboard specs indicate that the maximum memory capacity is 384 MB. Hmmm. Well, it is a moot point at this point, anyway, since the server is currently dead. However, at the time this picture was taken, it was alive and well...after dying once already from another cause.

During the setup of the new computer, I discovered that the web server had rebooted at some point. I knew this, because I had inadvertently left the Linux installation disk in the CD-ROM drive and when I plugged the monitor back into the server (after using it on the new box) I noticed the installer was prompting me to continue. Instead, I removed the CD and rebooted and restarted the web server and all was well.

However, after spending hours getting the new computer up and running, we were taking a break and considering calling it a night. All of a sudden, the lights went out on one side of the upper level of our apartment. As did all of the computers. Except for Chris's (hers was plugged into a separate circuit). This happened close to 11:00 p.m.

My laptop escaped the black-out without a hitch because of its battery, but my desktop computer shut down, the new computer shut down, and the web server shut down. There was nothing lost on the computers, but on further inspection, it became suspect that it was perhaps the power supply in the web server that caused the power to go out as it choked and died. At least that seems the most likely cause and effect, although it is possible that the power outage is what killed the power supply.

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And here is the dead power supply. I happened to have yet another old relic of a computer (I think it is another AMD K6 machine, that ran at 233 MHz when it ran). It had a good power supply in it, and it happened to be what the web server needed, so I performed transplant surgery on the two machines, and now the web server has the power supply that used to be in the other machine. Within an hour, I had the web server back up and running. However, the fan was making noise, so I figured I would remove the good fan from the dead power supply and perform fan transplant surgery on the transplanted power supply at some point in the future.

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And here is the trusty donor computer. Not only has it donated its power supply to the web server, but it has also donated its floppy drive to the new computer. It is a perfectly good, functional computer otherwise. I am looking for a replacement power supply for the web server so I can put the power supply back into this computer, and am also going to get another floppy drive so the computer can be whole again. I don't know what I will use this computer for (it is a bit slow), but I might set it up with a clean installation and sell it or give it to someone in need or put it to good use. As it is, it might wind up replacing the web server, as I may have no luck getting a new BIOS for it.

Oh, yeah - I never said what I did that finally killed the web server. Ahem. Well, it went like this. In the process of writing this web page, on the day after the power supply died, I discovered I did not remember what motherboard and processor was in the web server. So, I opened up the computer case to look. I noted the motherboard was a P5BV3+ (revision C1), so then I looked up the motherboard information on the web, and discovered there was a BIOS update for it. One thing led to another, and I decided on a whim to update the BIOS.

Bad move.

The first part of the update performed a backup of the current BIOS. Afterward, during the actual update, the screen went suddenly dark and the computer beeped. One long beep followed by two short beeps. A beep code that is not even listed in the troubleshooting section of the motherboard manual.

What a surprise.

In the process of the BIOS update going awry, it also bit the floppy disk, making it inaccessable. So much for a backup. And even if I had a backup, I have no way to burn it into the chip, since the computer no longer boots.

So now my only hope is to either get a replacement BIOS chip from the motherboard manufacturer (fortunately, they have an office in San Jose), or I have to find someone who can burn a good BIOS back into my chip for me.

Good luck!

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Here is the other side of the room, where Chris sits. Computers are accumulating at her workstation now. This picture was taken when the new computer was still in the process of being brought to life, so the big monitor on the left was not being used at the time. However, as you will see later, it is now being used as the monitor for the new box.
The keyboard and mouse were scavanged from my shop computer. At least for the time being. I guess I won't be using my shop computer for a while...although I have no shortage of mice and keyboards now.

Read on.

When I took this picture, I thought the worst was over. When I began writing this page, I thought the worst was over. Little did I know I would soon find myself in sheer computer hell.

As I mentioned, I attempted to update the BIOS in the web server and wound up killing that computer. Well, to add salt (a lot of salt!) to the wound, I decided I was going to be smart and do a little experiment. I decided to pull the BIOS chip from the donor computer and put it into the web server computer to see if it would work. I figured it wouldn't, but was worth a try, because the worst that could happen would be that it wouldn't work and I'd put the chip back into the donor computer and everything would be fine.

YEAH RIGHT!

That is the last time I will use a part from a good, working computer in order to fix an ailing one. Excuse my French, but fuck that! It's not worth it.
When you can understand just what I have been through with computers for the last 26 years, it comes as absolutely no surprise that I would utter the "F" word when describing this particular weekend. Yes, it started as a bad day and turned into a really bad weekend. It's a wonder I am not far more liberal with that familiar four-letter word. It is indeed time for a change in career.

Anyway, you see, the thing is, after I put the BIOS chip back into the donor computer, I proclaimed the web server computer officially dead. So, I decided to replace it with the donor computer. I did a reverse transplant, pulling the power supply out of the web server and putting it back into the donor computer. Since I knew the donor computer worked, I figured I would simply reassemble it, plug it in, turn it on, copy the web site files to it, and I'd be done.

To my utter dismay, when I turned on the computer, I got nothing. The power supply fan came on, and the disk drives powered up, but there was no video. No beeps. No indication whatsoever that the motherboard was alive. I have either killed the BIOS chip in that stupid experiment, or this power supply was killed, too. Perhaps the web server motherboard was killed when the other power supply died, causing the replacement power supply to fail. But that doesn't make sense, since the motherboard complained about the other BIOS, which it wouldn't have done if it had no power. So, my diagnosis is that I killed the BIOS chip. So I have two dead computers because of no BIOS.

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Witness the silent aftermath. Note the absense of the web server computer. It is gone for good, I'm afraid, unless a miracle happens. And just for the record, there are no miracles in the land of computers. I think computers come from an opposing camp.
At least I have a place to work now. The clutter is gone. The new computer is now sitting on the floor on the other side of the room. At least the lizard sitting on the (now unused) monitor is still intact.

Even it did not escape without incident, however, as it fell behind the desk during one moment of irritation when the monitor tried to do the same. Of course the monitor didn't get very far, but the lizard required an emergency extraction operation that may be seen on America's Greatest Animal Rescues next week.

I am very afraid right now, however. I am afraid, because I have not turned on my desktop computer since the power went out. Two dead computers in one day is too much to handle. I do not want to find out there is a problem with my desktop computer, too. So, it sits quietly on my desk until I muster up enough courage to push the power button.

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Not much to say about this picture, except that you can see the new computer down on the floor to the far left. That's its home for a while.
Oh, and you can also see Godzilla's feet and tail standing atop the white monitor. Its expression as I observe it while I write this copy seems to capture my feelings regarding this whole stupid weekend.



And here are the two computers that lost their lives in the line of duty. Actually, that's too nice. They failed to perform their duty. So now they sit in limbo, awaiting a final determination of their fate. Junk yard or restoration? What shall it be?
Only time will tell as the saga continues... Stay tuned.

Oh, by the way, now that I finished this web page, I HAVE NO WHERE TO PUT IT! My web server is down! Well, I guess I'll have to put it up under my Internet account.


THE END?