[TML] Computer problems

[Tom Cusworth]

This might seem an obvious solution (well, at least it does to one in the UK
who has had this problem in the past - 4 weeks without my computer
working... wait for it...)

Have you checked the fuse in the plug?

*ducks*

-Tom


On 26/07/2008, Derek Wildstar <wildstar at io.com> wrote:
>
> Hi, Loren!
>
> On Jul 25, 2008, at 2:27 AM, GDWGAMES at aol.com wrote:
> > OK, my "new" machine broke down in a most annoying manner
>
> Sounds frustrating.  Can you tell us more about the new machine?  Is
> it a PC or a Mac?  If it's a PC, what brand is it (HP, Dell, or a
> "white box" machine built by a friend or local shop)?  Is it actually
> new-out-of-the-box, a used machine or hand-me-down, or a frankenstein
> built from a mixture of scrounged parts and salvage (like a lot of
> PC's starships)?
>
> > I can't shut it off, and the screen is blank.
>
> When you say you can't shut it off, what is running?  Do you hear the
> fans and see lights on the CPU box as well as the monitor?
>
> > The monitor indicates it is in power saver mode, and pulling the
> > plug to the computer shuts it off, but plugging it back in doesn't
> > reboot.
>
> When you plug it back in and turn it on, does anything at all happen?
> You should get a power light, hear a fan start up, and you may be able
> to hear the hard drive spin up as well.  If you don't see the lights
> and fan, they you're not getting power to the system.  Probably a bad
> power supply, but also check - there may be a small on/off switch on
> the back of the power supply to really disconnect power (this
> overrides any push-button power switch on the front panel).
>
> If you get some lights and a fan on the CPU, observe carefully what
> happens when the system tries to boot up.  Do you get any sort of
> indication on the screen (a flash or blink, some text that goes away,
> anything)?  Do you get any sort of beep code or blinking lights on the
> motherboard?
>
> A system with bad RAM can't boot up, but often it uses an unusual beep
> signal (two long beeps) to indicate that it has a problem.
>
> A screen flash or blink, or text that appears and then goes away
> quickly usually indicates that the basic components are working, but
> the system is unable to boot up.
>
> If it's a new-bought system and still under warranty or exchange, at
> this point I'd take it back in for repair.  If it's a frankenstein or
> home-build, then here are some other things to try:
>
> As Leonard suggests, unplug everything except for the power supply and
> the video board.  This means disconnecting the CD-ROM and hard drive
> cables inside, and pulling out all of the other plug-in cards (sound,
> networking, hyperdrive, etc.).  In particular, there was at least one
> generation of motherboards that would exhibit exactly this "power on
> but act dead" behavior ... if the hard drive cable is plugged in the
> wrong way around.  If the system boots as far as the BIOS screen and
> then stops with a "No Boot Device" message, that's your problem.  Plug
> things back in one at a time until either everything is back in, or it
> stops working.  The last thing you plugged in is your culprit.  Check
> the orientation of cables - although most cables are supposed to only
> plug in one way, many cheap cables will also fit (or sort-of fit) the
> wrong way, too.
>
> Hopefully this fixes it.  If it still exhibits the same behavior
> stripped down to the minimum, they you've got a bad component on your
> hands.  The only thing to do is swap them (one by one) for known-good
> parts.  Video card is usually easiest, followed by RAM, followed by
> CPU, followed by motherboard.  The Law of Mechanical Perversity
> ensures that the component that is hardest to replace is the one that
> has failed.
>
> Good luck!
>
>
> ObTrav: The PC's starship, a frankenstein of salvage, recondition
> parts, and "midnight requisitions" is engaged in wilderness refueling,
> and took an unusually hard jolt during the scooping run.  The inertial
> compensators have always been dodgy, and failed to completely correct
> for the problem.  Various small parts are broken all over the ship -
> lighting panels, loose breakables of all sorts are smashed, and worst
> of all the ship's computer is misbehaving.
>
> - Attempting to use any computer program that provides a DM or benefit
> (e.g., such as using Gunner Interact or Evade in combat) requires a 3+
> throw to succeed.  If the trow fails, a successful computer roll must
> be made to bypass the error and start the program.
>
> - Attempting to jump requires a 3+ roll to succeed.  If the roll
> fails, the computer's error-checking circuitry has detected a problem
> with the computations, and the jump is aborted before the sequencing
> starts.  While this saves the jump fuel, the jump computations must be
> run again, and the jump sequence restarted from the beginning, taking
> at least an hour.  THe error can be bypassed with a computer roll,
> however on a critical failure of the computer roll, the ship misjumps.
>
> - Library data and entertainment programs will operate correctly on
> 3+.  If the roll is failed, the crash will be annoying and potentially
> embarrassing, but not actually harmful (e.g., you loose your high
> score on a game, all of the ship's menus and screen displays appear in
> an obscure dialect of Vargr, the "entertainment" holo punched up by
> the hedonist from Regina plays in the stateroom of the uptight
> passenger from Mora or vice-versa, the navigator's personal diary
> becomes the screen saver for all public terminals, or the ship's PA
> system spontaneously breaks into a medley of the greatest arias of
> Aslan Opera, etc.).
>
> Apply a +1 DM to all throws for each jump the ship has completed, or
> each combat the ship has been in since the computer was damaged (e.g.,
> the first jump after the damage requires a 3+, the second jump is DM+1
> so requires a 4+, etc.).
>
> Repairs require a world with a Class A or B starport, OR a TL equal or
> greater than the ship's TL.  If done professionally, the repairs will
> take two days, cost Cr 100,000, and will be completely successful.
> The PCs may attempt repairs on their own.  Each attempt takes a week,
> and has a target of 14+.  The following DMs apply:
> +DM of the highest Computer skill of the crew attempting repairs
> +1 if located in Class A or B starport
> +1 if located on a world with TL equal or greater than the ship
> +1 if located on a world with any starport and any character has
> Scrounging (or Streetwise, if your game doesn't have Scrounging).
> -1 if attempting to make repairs while the ship is underway (in Jump
> or real space).
>
> Also apply ONE of the following DMs based on the availablity of spare
> parts:
> +1 if Cr 1,000 is spent on spare parts for this attempt
> +2 if Cr 5,000 is spent on spare parts for this attempt
> +3 if Cr 10,000 is spent on spare parts for this attempt
> +4 if Cr 50,000 is spent on spare parts for this attempt
> +5 if Cr 100,000 is spent on spare parts for this attempt
> Spare parts are available on any world with a Class A or B starport,
> or any world with TL equal to or greater than the ship's TL.
>
> If the throw succeeds, the computer is repaired (though you might want
> to track down which member of the crew has a fondness for Aslan
> Opera ...).  If the roll fails, increase the malfunction DM just as if
> the ship jumped or was in combat.
>
> If the malfunction DM ever reaches +10 (so that the target number is
> 13+) the computer has completely failed.  The ship cannot jump.  Other
> systems including the power plant and maneuver drive are operable, but
> should be watched over by duty engineer 24/7.  It can navigate in
> normal space; all navigation and piloting tasks become harder and take
> longer.
>
> Once the computer reaches this point, spare parts MUST be obtained in
> order to make a repair roll.
>
> ---Derek
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