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Sooo...
Any progress yet?
Just wondering if you'd managed to break anything else in the meantime :P
BTW, I wouldn't worry (if you were) about Toybox leaving you behind. Since the patch isn't going up until next week, I'm not likely to be playing him until then... 
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Dabs and Overclockers received a couple of orders two nights ago:
Gigabyte GA K8NE Motherboard
Tagan 530W PSU
Floppy Disk Drive 
Mobo is a newer replacement for the old one, and has a single PCI-E slot for use with the other new graphics card I had. Hopefully it's killing two birds with one stone. Either way, eBay's going to have a few more items sooner or later. 
Should be here today, so installation should happen Saturday. Holding of your breath shouldn't start yet though.
Edit: BTW, it took me until yesterday to realise that "no CoX make MBar ... something something ..." could be twisted into something resembling innuendo. Jiaozy, you dirty-minded jerk. 
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Dabs and Overclockers received a couple of orders two nights ago:
Gigabyte GA K8NE Motherboard
Tagan 530W PSU
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Nooooo! Why Tagan?
There have been three or four of thse things go through my house, and every single one of them has failed. My first one was dead on arrival. Second one I had lost control over it's voltage levels, and my brother's had one or two fail on him (forget exactly what his score was). Antec would be my first choice these days, possibly followed by OCZ.
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Floppy Disk Drive
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Ten quid and it can save you a lot of strife, so still worth having as far as I'm concerned. Unless your motherboard can treat a USB pendrive as a floppy.
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Mobo is a newer replacement for the old one, and has a single PCI-E slot for use with the other new graphics card I had. Hopefully it's killing two birds with one stone. Either way, eBay's going to have a few more items sooner or later.
Should be here today, so installation should happen Saturday. Holding of your breath shouldn't start yet though.
Edit: BTW, it took me until yesterday to realise that "no CoX make MBar ... something something ..." could be twisted into something resembling innuendo. Jiaozy, you dirty-minded jerk.
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And that, my dear sir, is why I always tend to abbreviate it to Co? 
:edit: oh, and bear in mind you'llmost likely have to do a complete reinstall of windows, including drivers etc. so that's a good couple of hours even after all the hardware's talking to itself porperly...
Warning:
The above post may contain Cynicism, sarcasm and/or pessimism. If you object to the quantities contained, then tough.
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oh, and bear in mind you'llmost likely have to do a complete reinstall of windows, including drivers etc. so that's a good couple of hours even after all the hardware's talking to itself porperly...
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Yup, and as I've mentioned to Chaplain via email, this part has me worried. My data I don't particularily give a monkey's about, I don't think there's anything vital if it comes to reformatting etc., however my Windows disc is Evesham-supplied.
And we've already learned how dirty and underhanded they are, right kids?
Either it's just a regular Windows disc with a Evesham logo stamped on it for effect, or it'll be of absoultely no use to anything but the factory-supplied system.
So, yes, there may be another delay while a proper copy of XP wings its way to me. But we'll see ...
Edit: Oh, and apparently several boxes have arrived for me at home. w00t! Now I just have to print out several pages relating to motherboard replacement procedures ... at work ...
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Have you confirmed it isn't possible to take them to court and demand refunding/replacement? Warranty or not, you still have your consumer rights.
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Nah, probably validated the warranty with the swapping of graphics cards and stuff, nevermind switching PSU's, breaking motherboards etc etc.
To be honest, I didn't realise it was still under warranty. Their base warranty package must've been longed than I remembered.
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Edit: Oh, and apparently several boxes have arrived for me at home. w00t! Now I just have to print out several pages relating to motherboard replacement procedures ... at work ...
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Motherboard replacement procedure.
1) rip out the old one.
2) shove in the new one
3) connect everything up.
4) power up the box.
Not a lot more to it than that, other than all fiddly technical bits (like grounding yourself regularly on the case to make sure there's no potential buildup, but I'll assume you've got at least some idea of what you're doing...<famous last words>
Warning:
The above post may contain Cynicism, sarcasm and/or pessimism. If you object to the quantities contained, then tough.
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Not a lot more to it than that, other than all fiddly technical bits (like grounding yourself regularly on the case to make sure there's no potential buildup, but I'll assume you've got at least some idea of what you're doing...<famous last words>
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And that, when I built my first ever PC is how I got through 3 Mobo's and 2 Processors... Static fried first Mobo/Processor then put old processor in new board - killed that one too... it's a wonder I ever progressed from crayola's and circles of sugar paper it really is...
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Not a lot more to it than that, other than all fiddly technical bits
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This, you see, is the bit that worries me. Chaplain mentioned something about Thermal Paste, which I may have to go shopping for on Saturday.
Any suggestions on how to "dispose" of evil, banjaxxed, old motherboard?
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And that, when I built my first ever PC is how I got through 3 Mobo's and 2 Processors... Static fried first Mobo/Processor then put old processor in new board - killed that one too... it's a wonder I ever progressed from crayola's and circles of sugar paper it really is...
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You had Crayola's not generaic wax crayons? You rich spoiled so and so
Hmm... I'm beginning to suspect that my level of comfort with fiddling in the guts of my PC is not exactly average.... Maybe not everyone demounts and cleans their Heatsink every couple of months, then remounts it with fresh thermal compound. Maybe not everyone considers changing out a duff PSU to be a purely routine procedure. Maybe I'd better not mention that within 1.5 years of getting my first PC, I'd ripped out the 486SX/25 and replaced it with a whopping 486DX2/66
Hohum, I wouldn't worry too much MBar, Messing with the guts of your PC is an acquired skill, which can occasionally be a tad expensive to acquire, but it's all a learning experience
Warning:
The above post may contain Cynicism, sarcasm and/or pessimism. If you object to the quantities contained, then tough.
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Not a lot more to it than that, other than all fiddly technical bits
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This, you see, is the bit that worries me. Chaplain mentioned something about Thermal Paste, which I may have to go shopping for on Saturday.
Any suggestions on how to "dispose" of evil, banjaxxed, old motherboard?
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Thermal paste. Goop that goes between the CPU and the Heatsink.
Get hold of some Arctic Silver 5, then go to the Website and read the application instructions. SEVERAL TIMES.
Oh, and clean off any existing gunk from both the CPU and Heatsink with some isopropyl alcohol and a lint free cloth before applying fresh.
Disposing of old Motherboards? Technically it should be taken to a specialist recycler to be properly dealt with, given the list of potentially toxic/noxious materials in it. The local Council Tip may have a waste electronics collection area. if you're looking for something alittle more exciting, then your imagination's the limit... You could demount hte CPU socet using a hairdryer/hot air gun, drill a hole in it and use it as a key fob, I suppose...
Warning:
The above post may contain Cynicism, sarcasm and/or pessimism. If you object to the quantities contained, then tough.
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Get hold of some Arctic Silver 5, then go to the Website and read the application instructions. SEVERAL TIMES.
Oh, and clean off any existing gunk from both the CPU and Heatsink with some isopropyl alcohol and a lint free cloth before applying fresh.
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YOU SEE!?!?!!?!?!?!?!? TECHNICAL STUFF WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT TILL LIKE YESTERDAY!!!!!!!111111
Not that I'm actually switching Processors or Heatsinks, it's more a transplant.
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Get hold of some Arctic Silver 5, then go to the Website and read the application instructions. SEVERAL TIMES.
Oh, and clean off any existing gunk from both the CPU and Heatsink with some isopropyl alcohol and a lint free cloth before applying fresh.
[/ QUOTE ]
YOU SEE!?!?!!?!?!?!?!? TECHNICAL STUFF WHAT I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT TILL LIKE YESTERDAY!!!!!!!111111
Not that I'm actually switching Processors or Heatsinks, it's more a transplant.
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We live and learn 
Damn, this thread feels like home.
I miss my PC.
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We live and learn Damn, this thread feels like home.
I miss my PC.
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Hello again, Noir. Didn't realise you were having similar problems ...
Update: New PSU, mainboard and graphics card installed, and apparently able to switch on and boot up without smoke/fire/explosions/swearing.
... unfortunately I left my Windows XP disc at my parent's house when previously fixing one of their PC's, so it'll be tonight before I attempt to repair Windows.
Now I'm off to search the Internet for what my Windows Adminstrator password should be so I can initiate the repair, as I've never had one in the past.
... I think ...
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Now I'm off to search the Internet for what my Windows Adminstrator password should be so I can initiate the repair, as I've never had one in the past.
... I think ...
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From what I recall, the best way to repair is a full ...reinstall from scratch. It avoids any remnants of drivers for the old hardware hanging around and causing problems with the NEW hardware....
And the best way to reinstall from scratch starts with :
Format c: <enter> Y <enter>
If you don't want to do a full and complete rebuild, then reinstalling WinXP over the top of the old install should do the trick, but you'll be rolled back to pre SP1 condition and will need to Get SP2 on there Sharpish before you even think about connecting your PC to the net.
And once you've got it on the net, the first thing you need to do is pay a visit to Windows Update and get all those multifarious Security patches installed.
And THEN you need to get your firewall and Antivirus installed.
THEN you can start reinstalling applications.
Took me about 3 hours or so last time I rebuilt my mothers PC from scratch just to get to a basic functional level.
It's dull, tedious, involves lots of watching progress bars, and more than a few reboots...
Oh, and there should probably be some driver installation in there somewhere too And don't forget DirectX 9.0c...
Warning:
The above post may contain Cynicism, sarcasm and/or pessimism. If you object to the quantities contained, then tough.
Look! It's moving. It's alive. It's alive... It's alive, it's moving, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, IT'S ALIVE!
Crazy, am I? We'll see whether I'm crazy or not.
Tomorrow!
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Look! It's moving. It's alive. It's alive... It's alive, it's moving, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, it's alive, IT'S ALIVE!
Crazy, am I? We'll see whether I'm crazy or not.
Tomorrow!
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You've been working with that loony Dr. Forrester in Grandville again, haven't you?
And surely that should have started with :
"Igor! Throw ze switch!!!"?
Warning:
The above post may contain Cynicism, sarcasm and/or pessimism. If you object to the quantities contained, then tough.
/em is smug because he managed to get all his pigg files on CD before the formatting took place, therefore saving himself considerable amounts of downloading
Just don't mention anything involving the words "Half", "Life", "2", "Steam" or anything of that sort.
I have returned! Everything is up and running and Seethe returns to the charge to 50! Mua ha ha ha!
Thanks to Canine and Chaplain (and anyone else who I've forgot) for advise and handy hints regarding open-heart computer surgery.
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I have returned! Everything is up and running and Seethe returns to the charge to 50! Mua ha ha ha!
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See, told you there was nothing to it
Warning:
The above post may contain Cynicism, sarcasm and/or pessimism. If you object to the quantities contained, then tough.
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I have returned! Everything is up and running and Seethe returns to the charge to 50! Mua ha ha ha!
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See, told you there was nothing to it
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Well, I could tell you it was all sooo easy and that I wasn't worried for a second, but:
A. I'd be lying.
B. I'd get smacked-down Karma-style next time round.
Hey, MBar Glad you came right.
I'm not having problems with my PC, though. I miss it because I had to abandon it in SA when I shipped to the UK.
Good to see you got back up and running, damn PC's. try running cov on 256mb lol hopefully getting memory this month, cant wait to get on the reg teams again. Alternatively, if anyone has anything removed and working going cheap... its worth a shot right (anything better than a s ram slotted mainboard with a xp2400 processor - so everything lol)
Have you confirmed it isn't possible to take them to court and demand refunding/replacement? Warranty or not, you still have your consumer rights.