• Re: Can you trust your PC

    From Greenlfc@VERT/BEERS20 to Vlk-451 on Thursday, March 03, 2022 05:48:00
    On 01 Mar 2022, Vlk-451 said the following...

    Gotta love shit like that in your "ThinkPad" branded devices.

    IBM selling their PC business to the Chinese was a damn travesty. Lenovo almost immediately destroyed the keyboard, which was the biggest thing that drew serious users to them.

    While I have other machines, a machine with Coreboot, and IME disabled, is a great start. Run Qubes (correctly) and you've got a more trustworthy computer than just about anything else available to the public.

    GreenLFC º e> greenleaderfanclub@protonmail.com
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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Greenlfc on Friday, March 04, 2022 06:47:00
    Greenlfc wrote to Vlk-451 <=-

    IBM selling their PC business to the Chinese was a damn travesty.
    Lenovo almost immediately destroyed the keyboard, which was the biggest thing that drew serious users to them.

    I held on to my T43 for as long as I could. Best Laptop Keyboard Ever.


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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Wednesday, March 09, 2022 19:47:00
    Hello poindexter!

    ** On Friday 04.03.22 - 06:47, you wrote to Greenlfc:

    IBM selling their PC business to the Chinese was a damn travesty.
    Lenovo almost immediately destroyed the keyboard, which was the biggest
    thing that drew serious users to them.

    I held on to my T43 for as long as I could. Best Laptop Keyboard Ever.

    The keyboard quality continued to the T60. Using one right
    now!


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
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  • From boraxman@VERT/PHARCYDE to poindexter FORTRAN on Thursday, March 10, 2022 20:54:00
    poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Greenlfc <=-

    Greenlfc wrote to Vlk-451 <=-

    IBM selling their PC business to the Chinese was a damn travesty.
    Lenovo almost immediately destroyed the keyboard, which was the biggest thing that drew serious users to them.

    I held on to my T43 for as long as I could. Best Laptop Keyboard Ever.

    I'm typing this reply on a T43. Great keyboard, just the hard drive doesn't work properly until its warmed up.

    Thankfully with Debian GNU/Linux, I can keep this 32 bit machine alive and current.

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  • From Greenlfc@VERT/BEERS20 to poindexter FORTRAN on Thursday, March 10, 2022 06:11:00
    On 04 Mar 2022, poindexter FORTRAN said the following...

    I held on to my T43 for as long as I could. Best Laptop Keyboard Ever.

    The T60 was still decent, although you could tell quality was dropping by the time the T400 came out. It used the exact same keyboard as the T60, but a lot of folks swapped their keyboards out of their T60s because they didn't flex nearly as much.

    Then they killed the layout that many of us feel is the most natural, having been there since... shoot, nearly forever in laptop times... and that was the final straw for *me*.

    Now that we've moved to the glued and soldered generation of machines, they're pretty much all the same in the mass market, exceptions like the Purism, System76, Novena, and Framework excluded of course.

    GreenLFC º e> greenleaderfanclub@protonmail.com
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  • From Dream Master@VERT/CAUGHT to poindexter FORTRAN on Thursday, March 10, 2022 08:51:58
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: poindexter FORTRAN to Greenlfc on Fri Mar 04 2022 06:47 am

    IBM selling their PC business to the Chinese was a damn travesty. Lenovo almost immediately destroyed the keyboard, which was the biggest thing that drew serious users to them.

    I held on to my T43 for as long as I could. Best Laptop Keyboard Ever.

    One of my first truly good laptops was from 1999, it was an IBM ThinkPad, and it was amazing. Even though it wasn't "the greatest laptop on the planet", it was rock solid and for me, that's what matters. Although I'm going to get some flack for this, it took 22 years for me to get another rock solid laptop, and it's a MacBook Pro (13" M1). I keep telling myself that I want to move to a 14" MBP, I just can't justify the expense.

    Brian Klauss <-> Dream Master
    Caught in a Dream | caughtinadream.com a Synchronet BBS

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Caught in a Dream - caughtinadream.com
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Thursday, March 10, 2022 06:30:00
    Ogg wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    I held on to my T43 for as long as I could. Best Laptop Keyboard Ever.

    The keyboard quality continued to the T60. Using one right
    now!

    My BBS is running on a T60. The build quality took a step down on the 60s,
    but the keyboard is still pretty good.

    Finally getting a dual core CPU was nice, but they hamstrung the SATA interface by running it through a PATA controller, so you got PATA speeds
    from a SATA drive.

    But, knock wood, a 12+ year old laptop is running 24/7 and has been for at least 4 years.


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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to boraxman on Thursday, March 10, 2022 06:32:00
    boraxman wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    I'm typing this reply on a T43. Great keyboard, just the hard drive doesn't work properly until its warmed up.

    for 30 or 40 bucks, you could find a PATA SSD on eBay. It's a silly upgrade, but it makes a huge difference.

    It's a shame, I e-wasted a bunch of T43 stuff last week. Wish I'd known one was still in use around here...




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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Greenlfc on Friday, March 11, 2022 06:28:00
    Greenlfc wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    Now that we've moved to the glued and soldered generation of machines, they're pretty much all the same in the mass market, exceptions like
    the Purism, System76, Novena, and Framework excluded of course.

    The T series are still upgradeable; I run T480s at work and they're nice.

    My daily driver is still a T410 with the nicer screen and an SSD. I wish it could support more than 8gb of RAM, but it's just fine as-is.

    It, alas, is probably my last laptop with a traditional Thinkpad keyboard.


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  • From paulie420@VERT/BEERS20 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sunday, March 13, 2022 13:18:00
    The T series are still upgradeable; I run T480s at work and they're nice.

    My daily driver is still a T410 with the nicer screen and an SSD. I wish it could support more than 8gb of RAM, but it's just fine as-is.

    I choose T430s's as the most up-to-date, yet really customizable ThinkPad out there... over the past couple years they've gotten a BIT long in the tooth, but are still really usable.

    I've since grabbed a few T460's and they're nice, but less upgradeable...



    |07p|15AULIE|1142|07o
    |08.........
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Sunday, March 13, 2022 17:40:00
    Hello poindexter FORTRAN!

    ** On Thursday 10.03.22 - 06:30, you wrote to me:

    The keyboard quality continued to the T60. Using one right
    now!

    My BBS is running on a T60. The build quality took a step
    down on the 60s, but the keyboard is still pretty good.

    The keyboard operation is simply smooth as butter. I have a
    T540p w/Win7 specifically procured when the T60 fan started
    acting up, but the T540p has chicklet keys and feels very
    cheap.

    Finally getting a dual core CPU was nice, but they
    hamstrung the SATA interface by running it through a PATA
    controller, so you got PATA speeds from a SATA drive.

    That was my first consideration before the fan started activing
    up. But I have since replaced the original fan and re-greased
    the CPU on my own, so I feel that I can get a bit more mileage
    out of it now.

    Meanwhile, the HDD capacity is hanging in the balance:

    C: partition = 35GB, and 5GB free
    H: partition = 200GB, and 49GB free

    An HDD upgrade to SDD upgrade sounds tempting, but it would
    need to be at least 500GB to make it worth while.

    I like the idea of SDD in that it should also help increase
    operating-time on battery when needed.


    But, knock wood, a 12+ year old laptop is running 24/7 and
    has been for at least 4 years.

    That's pretty good. Mind gets daily reboots from hibernation
    mode. I acquired mine already used for 3 years in 2009. So,
    that makes it 12yrs in operation just for me. Apparently it
    belonged to a top Merces-Benz exec in the USA.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
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  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to poindexter FORTRAN on Sunday, March 13, 2022 17:59:00
    poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Greenlfc <=-

    My daily driver is still a T410 with the nicer screen and an SSD.
    I wish it could support more than 8gb of RAM, but it's just fine
    as-is.

    My daily is a T510 which has also been upgraded with an SSD, and has
    8GB of RAM and an i7 CPU. Still very useable and it's 10 years old
    now. No reason to replace it yet.

    It, alas, is probably my last laptop with a traditional Thinkpad
    keyboard.

    Same here, and that's a prime reason it's still being used.



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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to poindexter FORTRAN on Monday, March 14, 2022 13:06:00
    poindexter FORTRAN wrote to boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <622B5BB7.50835.dove.dove-gen@realitycheckbbs.org>
    @REPLY: <6229CBB3.31981.dove-gen@pharcyde.org>
    boraxman wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    I'm typing this reply on a T43. Great keyboard, just the hard drive doesn't work properly until its warmed up.

    for 30 or 40 bucks, you could find a PATA SSD on eBay. It's a silly upgrade, but it makes a huge difference.

    It's a shame, I e-wasted a bunch of T43 stuff last week. Wish I'd known one was still in use around here...

    Might be worth it, I really don't need the processing power that much (I avoid electron apps, and the like). I'll hunt around on e-bail, I can see one for $65 AUD, 128GB, and a 512GB for $134 AUD. There is also a 256GB for $70 AUD. It kind of does feel silly spending that money to keep a 32 bit laptop going, but I can't stand letting it go to waste.

    I think I might get one, thanks for the tip.



    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
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    þ Synchronet þ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Boraxman on Monday, March 14, 2022 10:25:00
    Hello Boraxman!

    avoid electron apps, and the like). I'll hunt around on e-
    bail, I can see one for $65 AUD, 128GB, and a 512GB for
    $134 AUD. There is also a 256GB for $70 AUD. It kind of
    does feel silly spending that money to keep a 32 bit laptop
    going, but I can't stand letting it go to waste.

    I have a T40p that has developed a cpu fan problem. T40p
    refuses to boot up if the fan can't spin up to a certain
    initial speed (even though on a cold boot the fan isn't even
    required until minutes later - or if at all). It too is 32bit
    with XP. The plan is to operate on the fan much like I did with
    my T60, and then relegate it as a server of some sort - such as
    for Spotify connected to my hifi since I don't have 24hr 7d/wk
    internet access at home.

    I think I might get one, thanks for the tip.

    Me too.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to boraxman on Monday, March 14, 2022 11:22:00
    Hello boraxman!

    ** On Thursday 10.03.22 - 20:54, you wrote:

    I held on to my T43 for as long as I could. Best Laptop
    Keyboard Ever.

    I'm typing this reply on a T43. Great keyboard, just the
    hard drive doesn't work properly until its warmed up.

    Thankfully with Debian GNU/Linux, I can keep this 32 bit
    machine alive and current.

    I tried a few linux variants on my T60 and t40p Thinkpads too.
    They worked well, for the most part. Very impressive.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    þ Synchronet þ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Greenlfc@VERT/BEERS20 to poindexter FORTRAN on Monday, March 14, 2022 09:38:00
    On 11 Mar 2022, poindexter FORTRAN said the following...

    The T series are still upgradeable; I run T480s at work and they're nice.

    My daily driver is still a T410 with the nicer screen and an SSD. I wish it could support more than 8gb of RAM, but it's just fine as-is.

    It's worth looking at some of 51nb.com's custom motherboards for modernizing T60/X200 era Thinkpads. They've always been out of budget for me (and I'd greatly prefer one that runs coreboot/libreboot), but they're pretty slick.

    GreenLFC º e> greenleaderfanclub@protonmail.com
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Ogg on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 19:51:00
    Ogg wrote to boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <622F6691.59169.dove-gen@capitolcityonline.net>
    @REPLY: <6229CBB3.31981.dove-gen@pharcyde.org>
    Hello boraxman!

    ** On Thursday 10.03.22 - 20:54, you wrote:

    I held on to my T43 for as long as I could. Best Laptop
    Keyboard Ever.

    I'm typing this reply on a T43. Great keyboard, just the
    hard drive doesn't work properly until its warmed up.

    Thankfully with Debian GNU/Linux, I can keep this 32 bit
    machine alive and current.

    I tried a few linux variants on my T60 and t40p Thinkpads too.
    They worked well, for the most part. Very impressive.

    Linux on a Thinkpad is the best mobile computing experience I've ever had, not that I've had too many of them.

    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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  • From Greenlfc@VERT/BEERS20 to Ogg on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 08:17:00
    On 14 Mar 2022, Ogg said the following...

    I have a T40p that has developed a cpu fan problem. T40p
    refuses to boot up if the fan can't spin up to a certain
    initial speed (even though on a cold boot the fan isn't even
    required until minutes later - or if at all). It too is 32bit

    As a quick workaround when that happens, you can get a can of compressed air and blow it in the vent while you're powering on the machine. That'll fool the system into thinking it's spinning good enough to boot.

    GreenLFC º e> greenleaderfanclub@protonmail.com
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Greenlfc on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 11:56:23
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Greenlfc to Ogg on Tue Mar 15 2022 08:17 am

    On 14 Mar 2022, Ogg said the following...

    I have a T40p that has developed a cpu fan problem. T40p
    refuses to boot up if the fan can't spin up to a certain
    initial speed (even though on a cold boot the fan isn't even
    required until minutes later - or if at all). It too is 32bit

    As a quick workaround when that happens, you can get a can of compressed air and blow it in the vent while you're powering on the machine. That'll fool the system into thinking it's spinning good enough to boot.

    i wouldnt advice spraying compressed air on a computer when it's turned on (or ever). it can damage the components. he should just replace his fan.
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Greenlfc on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 17:59:00
    Hello Greenlfc!

    ** On Tuesday 15.03.22 - 08:17, Greenlfc wrote to Ogg:

    As a quick workaround when that happens, you can get a can
    of compressed air and blow it in the vent while you're
    powering on the machine. That'll fool the system into
    thinking it's spinning good enough to boot.

    But wouldn't using the compressed air blowing INTO the pc cause
    the fan to turn in the wrong direction?

    What I *have* been able to do is blow into the vent to losen up
    the fan a bit, and *then* the fan would loosen up enough on its
    own for the few seconds during the initial power-up. That's
    for the T40p.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
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  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Ogg on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 18:12:16
    Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Ogg to Greenlfc on Tue Mar 15 2022 05:59 pm

    But wouldn't using the compressed air blowing INTO the pc cause
    the fan to turn in the wrong direction?

    What I *have* been able to do is blow into the vent to losen up
    the fan a bit, and *then* the fan would loosen up enough on its
    own for the few seconds during the initial power-up. That's
    for the T40p.


    you can create static or WHATEVER and fuck up your computer.
    also you should only use filtered air. i wouldnt use air at all.
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Arelor@VERT/PALANT to MRO on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 18:57:52
    Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: MRO to Ogg on Tue Mar 15 2022 06:12 pm

    Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Ogg to Greenlfc on Tue Mar 15 2022 05:59 pm

    But wouldn't using the compressed air blowing INTO the pc cause
    the fan to turn in the wrong direction?

    What I *have* been able to do is blow into the vent to losen up
    the fan a bit, and *then* the fan would loosen up enough on its
    own for the few seconds during the initial power-up. That's
    for the T40p.


    you can create static or WHATEVER and fuck up your computer.
    also you should only use filtered air. i wouldnt use air at all.

    Here comes some heresy:

    I have actually cleaned some packs of very old electronics using a hairdryer.

    I never did with equipment I really cared for, though. I treat most of my electronics
    as cheap expendables. It is a miracle I have so many stuff from 2004 to 2012 still
    running :-)

    --
    gopher://gopher.richardfalken.com/1/richardfalken

    ---
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  • From Andre@VERT/RDOMENTR to MRO on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 20:07:06
    Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: MRO to Ogg on Tue Mar 15 2022 06:12 pm

    What I *have* been able to do is blow into the vent to losen up
    the fan a bit, and *then* the fan would loosen up enough on its

    you can create static or WHATEVER and fuck up your computer.

    That's not a thing.

    It's totally fine to do this, almost certainly causes less
    static than most vacuums, and both are better than the heat caused from dust/dirt build up.


    - Andre

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Radio Mentor BBS - bbs.radiomentor.org
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Arelor on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 00:45:13
    Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Arelor to MRO on Tue Mar 15 2022 06:57 pm

    Here comes some heresy:

    I have actually cleaned some packs of very old electronics using a hairdryer.

    I never did with equipment I really cared for, though. I treat most of my electronics as cheap expendables. It is a miracle I have so many stuff from 2004 to 2012 still running :-)


    that's probably better if you run it hot and then run it on cool.

    but really, do not clean off dust unless it's really thick. it's not really worth it because it will be back. you're probably better wiping it off with a tiny brush and then sucking it up with low powered vac.
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Greenlfc on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 06:13:00
    Greenlfc wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    On 11 Mar 2022, poindexter FORTRAN said the following...

    It's worth looking at some of 51nb.com's custom motherboards for modernizing T60/X200 era Thinkpads. They've always been out of budget
    for me (and I'd greatly prefer one that runs coreboot/libreboot), but they're pretty slick.

    Someone at one point made a core 2 duo motherboard for a T4x series laptop - that would have been killer. From an indutrial design standpoint, in my opinion it didn't get better than the T43.


    ... Please consider the environment before reading this e-mail.
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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 06:17:00
    Ogg wrote to Boraxman <=-


    I have a T40p that has developed a cpu fan problem. T40p
    refuses to boot up if the fan can't spin up to a certain
    initial speed (even though on a cold boot the fan isn't even
    required until minutes later - or if at all).

    Sticky fan, sometimes a shot of canned air through the exhaust can free it
    up enough to boot.

    If you're halfway handy with a computer's guts, T4x series fans are cheap on eBay - at least they used to be. IBM has great hardware reference manuals
    with step-by-step instructions and photos.

    You could replace the fan, replace any thermal grease on the CPU, and give
    the inside a good blowing out for around $30 in parts and a couple of small screwdrivers.




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  • From Greenlfc@VERT/BEERS20 to MRO on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 08:52:00
    On 15 Mar 2022, MRO said the following...

    i wouldnt advice spraying compressed air on a computer when it's turned
    on (or ever). it can damage the components. he should just replace his fan. ---

    Obviously he should fix the root cause, but I've never heard of anyone breaking a component short of using the can upside down on a hot chip. Back in my tech support days we routinely had T60s that had that problem and used that workaround all the time.

    GreenLFC º e> greenleaderfanclub@protonmail.com
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  • From Greenlfc@VERT/BEERS20 to Ogg on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 08:54:00
    On 15 Mar 2022, Ogg said the following...

    But wouldn't using the compressed air blowing INTO the pc cause
    the fan to turn in the wrong direction?

    It *might* make it turn the wrong direction, but the sensor isn't smart enough to know the difference and you'll still get the machine to start. Usually in my experience when you stop blowing it straightens itself out.

    GreenLFC º e> greenleaderfanclub@protonmail.com
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  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Greenlfc on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 09:53:47
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Greenlfc to MRO on Wed Mar 16 2022 08:52 am

    i wouldnt advice spraying compressed air on a computer when it's
    turned on (or ever). it can damage the components. he should just
    replace his fan. ---

    Obviously he should fix the root cause, but I've never heard of anyone breaking a component short of using the can upside down on a hot chip. Back in my tech support days we routinely had T60s that had that problem and used that workaround all the time.

    I'd often use compressed air to clean dust out of my PCs. Normally I haven't had a problem, but there was one time yaers ago when I was dusting the inside of my PC with compressed air and when I was done, I turned the PC on but nothing happened and the screen was blank. I was searching online about that afterward, and I read somewhere that it's possible for compressed air cans to cause static electricity which could damage a CPU. I think I had bought a new CPU for that PC and that fixed the problem with it.

    I've seen some compressed air cans that specifically say they're safe for electronics - so I wonder if some actually are safe for electronics and others are not, or if they're all the same. I've also seen electric dust blowers for electronics that you can re-use so you don't have to keep buying compressed air cans.

    Nightfox

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Greenlfc on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 12:14:43
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Greenlfc to MRO on Wed Mar 16 2022 08:52 am

    On 15 Mar 2022, MRO said the following...

    i wouldnt advice spraying compressed air on a computer when it's turned on (or ever). it can damage the components. he should just replace his fan. ---

    Obviously he should fix the root cause, but I've never heard of anyone breaking a component short of using the can upside down on a hot chip. Back in my tech support days we routinely had T60s that had that problem and used that workaround all the time.


    ESD is the big killer of computer components and tech guys are usually the biggest offenders of not being cautious about ESD.
    ---
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  • From Andre@VERT/RDOMENTR to Nightfox on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 12:26:28
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Nightfox to Greenlfc on Wed Mar 16 2022 09:53 am

    PC on but nothing happened and the screen was blank. I was searching online about that afterward, and I read somewhere that it's possible for compressed air cans to cause static electricity which could damage a CPU.

    Highly unlikey. More likely the air snapped a connection somewhere.


    - Andre

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Radio Mentor BBS - bbs.radiomentor.org
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 20:41:00
    Hello poindexterF!

    ** On Tuesday 15.03.22 - 06:17, you wrote to me:

    Sticky fan, sometimes a shot of canned air through the exhaust can free
    it up enough to boot.

    I'm not needing to use the T40p as much anymore. But a simple
    blow into the air vent loosen up the spin enough to boot and
    continue to operate, just fine.


    If you're halfway handy with a computer's guts, T4x series fans are cheap on eBay - at least they used to be. IBM has great hardware reference manuals with step-by-step instructions and photos.

    You could replace the fan, replace any thermal grease on the CPU, and
    give the inside a good blowing out for around $30 in parts and a couple
    of small screwdrivers.

    Yup. That's precisely what I did for my T60. Now that I have
    some confidence, I think I can muster the courage to do the
    same for the T40p.

    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    þ Synchronet þ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Greenlfc on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 20:43:00
    Hello Greenlfc!

    ** On Wednesday 16.03.22 - 08:54, Greenlfc wrote to Ogg:

    On 15 Mar 2022, Ogg said the following...

    But wouldn't using the compressed air blowing INTO the pc cause
    the fan to turn in the wrong direction?

    It *might* make it turn the wrong direction, but the sensor isn't smart enough to know the difference and you'll still get the machine to start. Usually in my experience when you stop blowing it straightens itself out.

    I'll that next time.

    Using a quick short blast of compressed air would certainly be
    more elegant than puckering up to the airvent! :D



    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
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    þ Synchronet þ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From Gary Perkins@VERT/BMTSOFT to Andre on Thursday, March 17, 2022 00:46:00
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Andre to Nightfox on Wed Mar 16 2022 12:26 pm

    PC on but nothing happened and the screen was blank. I was searching online about that afterward, and I read somewhere that it's possible for compressed air cans to cause static electricity which could damage a CPU.

    Highly unlikey. More likely the air snapped a connection somewhere.

    I agree. Either a broken or loose component. If the air in the environment is extremely dry, like less than 40% humidity, then the chance of a buildup of static charge increases dramatically.

    Besides, where would the discharge come from? Static electricity can't travel through air, unless it's a large enough discharge to destroy the computer and anything around it.

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Beaumont Software BBS
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 06:20:00
    Ogg wrote to Greenlfc <=-

    As a quick workaround when that happens, you can get a can
    of compressed air and blow it in the vent while you're
    powering on the machine. That'll fool the system into
    thinking it's spinning good enough to boot.

    But wouldn't using the compressed air blowing INTO the pc cause
    the fan to turn in the wrong direction?

    Yes, you're correct. But you're most likely running into a "stiction" issue where the lubricant stiffens up. Once the fan is moving they'll usually keep going, it's starting from a cold stop that's causing problems.


    ... Balance the consistency principle with the inconsistency principle
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    þ Synchronet þ .: realitycheckbbs.org :: scientia potentia est :.
  • From Dr. What@VERT/DMINE to Ogg on Wednesday, March 16, 2022 08:30:00
    Ogg wrote to Greenlfc <=-

    But wouldn't using the compressed air blowing INTO the pc cause
    the fan to turn in the wrong direction?

    It depends on the fan. The fans are needed for air flow. I know that in my larger systems, I would have one fan sucking air in, but the other blowing air out - to create that air flow.

    But the main problem that I see with blowing compressed air is the dust. Those fan bushings are fairly delicate. Get dust under those and it acts like sand, wearing them away. Once that happens, you'll need to replace the fan.


    ... A stitch in time would have confused Einstein.
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  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to poindexter FORTRAN on Thursday, March 17, 2022 20:46:00
    poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Greenlfc <=-

    @MSGID: <6231E2B8.50885.dove.dove-gen@realitycheckbbs.org>
    @REPLY: <622F7BF9.123723.dove-gen@vert.synchro.net>
    Greenlfc wrote to poindexter FORTRAN <=-

    On 11 Mar 2022, poindexter FORTRAN said the following...

    It's worth looking at some of 51nb.com's custom motherboards for modernizing T60/X200 era Thinkpads. They've always been out of budget
    for me (and I'd greatly prefer one that runs coreboot/libreboot), but they're pretty slick.

    Someone at one point made a core 2 duo motherboard for a T4x series
    laptop - that would have been killer. From an indutrial design
    standpoint, in my opinion it didn't get better than the T43.

    That seals it, I'm getting that PATA SSD and giving my T43 a new lease on life.

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
    þ Synchronet þ MS & RD BBs - bbs.mozysswamp.org
  • From Greenlfc@VERT/BEERS20 to Ogg on Thursday, March 17, 2022 07:26:00
    On 16 Mar 2022, Ogg said the following...

    Using a quick short blast of compressed air would certainly be
    more elegant than puckering up to the airvent! :D

    Those of us from the Nintendo generation are well familiar with that procedure! =)

    GreenLFC º e> greenleaderfanclub@protonmail.com
    Infosec / Ham / Retro º masto> GLFC@mstdn.starnix.network
    Avoids Politics on BBS º gem> gemini.greenleader.xyz
  • From Crushed@VERT/T0KERZ to Dr. What on Thursday, March 17, 2022 12:00:42
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Dr. What to Ogg on Wed Mar 16 2022 08:30 am

    But the main problem that I see with blowing compressed air is the dust.

    Once a year (on a nice sunny spring day) I unplug the 3-4 towers in my place, remove the casing as much as possible and set them on my patio table. I then grab my 26 gallon garage air compressor and have at it! You should see the giant dust cloud that wafts away as I spray away!

    I usually stick a finger in the case fans when I get close to them to prevent them spinning at crazy fast RPMs. Once had a spinning fan hit a IDE power cable and 2 fan blades shattered like glass lol.

    I have one PC case that sits ontop of a 6 foot tall cupboard that I use for an arcade machine - i'm always suprised that it collects next to ZERO dust. The machines that sit right on the floor collect the most... i'm considering mounting all my PCs to the ceiling now :P


    ---
    þ Synchronet þ t0kerZ hUt
  • From Nightfox@VERT/DIGDIST to Greenlfc on Thursday, March 17, 2022 09:21:00
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Greenlfc to Ogg on Thu Mar 17 2022 07:26 am

    Using a quick short blast of compressed air would certainly be
    more elegant than puckering up to the airvent! :D

    Those of us from the Nintendo generation are well familiar with that procedure! =)

    The Nintendo procedure is just blowing on it rather than using compressed air. :)

    Nightfox

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Digital Distortion: digitaldistortionbbs.com
  • From Andre@VERT/RDOMENTR to Nightfox on Thursday, March 17, 2022 12:25:11
    The Nintendo procedure is just blowing on it rather than using compressed air. :)

    You know damned well if we would have had a can of air we would have used it. And then blown it on everything else we could find.


    - Andre

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Radio Mentor BBS - bbs.radiomentor.org
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Boraxman on Thursday, March 17, 2022 13:09:48
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Boraxman to poindexter FORTRAN on Thu Mar 17 2022 08:46 pm

    standpoint, in my opinion it didn't get better than the T43.

    That seals it, I'm getting that PATA SSD and giving my T43 a new lease on life.


    yeah i got a ssd for my laptop and it juiced it up.
    too bad i accidentially ripped the touchpad ribbon off. i just go ta micro mouse and tha tworks better.
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Crushed on Thursday, March 17, 2022 13:11:54
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Crushed to Dr. What on Thu Mar 17 2022 12:00 pm

    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Dr. What to Ogg on Wed Mar 16 2022 08:30 am

    But the main problem that I see with blowing compressed air is the dust.

    Once a year (on a nice sunny spring day) I unplug the 3-4 towers in my place, remove the casing as much as possible and set them on my patio table. I then grab my 26 gallon garage air compressor and have at it! You should see the giant dust cloud that wafts away as I spray away!

    I usually stick a finger in the case fans when I get close to them to prevent them spinning at crazy fast RPMs. Once had a spinning fan hit a IDE power cable and 2 fan blades shattered like glass lol.

    I have one PC case that sits ontop of a 6 foot tall cupboard that I use for an arcade machine - i'm always suprised that it collects next to ZERO dust. The machines that sit right on the floor collect the most... i'm considering mounting all my PCs to the ceiling now :P

    and this is what NOT to do.

    in most cases, that dust isnt hurting anything.
    my uncle was a huge smoker and it had that caked on shit and his computers still ran great.

    go dust something else, i'm sure you have something you could clean instead. ---
    þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From Crushed@VERT/T0KERZ to MRO on Thursday, March 17, 2022 16:39:00
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: MRO to Crushed on Thu Mar 17 2022 01:11 pm

    and this is what NOT to do.
    in most cases, that dust isnt hurting anything.

    Cobwebs of dust restrict airflow, and all my system run cooler after their yearly blowout. I've been doing this for 30 years with no problems (other than that shattered fan) and I'm not about to stop now, but I guess I'd better put the same disclaimer here as I do on some of my youtube videos...
    "don't try this at home".

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ t0kerZ hUt
  • From Andre@VERT/RDOMENTR to Crushed on Thursday, March 17, 2022 18:20:07
    Cobwebs of dust restrict airflow, and all my system run cooler after their yearly blowout. I've been doing this for 30 years with no problems (other than that shattered fan) and I'm not about to stop now, but I guess I'd better put the same disclaimer here as I do on some of my youtube videos...
    "don't try this at home".

    Anyone who's repaired computers professionally knows how often heat from dust (or bad airflow around the case) causes computers to start frequently crashing.

    Andre

    ---
    þ Synchronet þ Radio Mentor BBS - bbs.radiomentor.org
  • From Gamgee@VERT/PALANT to Andre on Thursday, March 17, 2022 20:44:00
    Andre wrote to Crushed <=-

    Cobwebs of dust restrict airflow, and all my system run cooler after their yearly blowout. I've been doing this for 30 years with no problems (other than that shattered fan) and I'm not about to stop now, but I guess I'd better put the same disclaimer here as I do on some of my youtube videos...
    "don't try this at home".

    Anyone who's repaired computers professionally knows how often
    heat from dust (or bad airflow around the case) causes computers
    to start frequently crashing.

    I'd go a step further and say that anyone who's repaired/maintained computers, not necessarily "professionally", would know this.

    Well, everyone except 'MRO', apparently.



    ... Nothing is so smiple that it can't get screwed up.
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to Boraxman on Thursday, March 17, 2022 21:14:00
    Hello Boraxman!

    ** On Thursday 17.03.22 - 20:46, Boraxman wrote to poindexter FORTRAN:

    That seals it, I'm getting that PATA SSD and giving my T43 a new lease on life.

    The only PATA SSDs that I can find consistently are on eBay.

    The "patamax" mentioned here sounded good:

    https://www.mydigitalssd.com/2.5-inch-pata-ssd.php

    ..but is nolonger available.

    Lemme know what source you eventually settle with.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    þ Synchronet þ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to Crushed on Friday, March 18, 2022 04:07:01
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: Crushed to MRO on Thu Mar 17 2022 04:39 pm

    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: MRO to Crushed on Thu Mar 17 2022 01:11 pm

    and this is what NOT to do.
    in most cases, that dust isnt hurting anything.

    Cobwebs of dust restrict airflow, and all my system run cooler after their yearly blowout. I've been doing this for 30 years with no problems (other

    i dont think our computer cases have decent airflow no matter how they are designed. it's nothing noticable. the only fan we need is the ones over our hot components.
    i have the a where they have fans in the front , back and top. it's mostly for show.
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From the doctor@VERT/QBBS to ANDRE on Friday, March 18, 2022 11:27:00
    --- ANDRE wrote ---

    Anyone who's repaired computers professionally knows how often heat from dust
    (or bad airflow around the case) causes computers to start frequently crashing.

    Andre

    At least people have quit smoking in offices...

    ---
    "No matter where you go, there you are..."


    ---
    * TARDIS BBS - Home of QUARKware * telnet bbs.cortex-media.info
  • From Boraxman@VERT/MSRDBBS to Ogg on Friday, March 18, 2022 20:16:00
    Ogg wrote to Boraxman <=-

    @MSGID: <6233DD14.59235.dove-gen@capitolcityonline.net>
    @REPLY: <62330951.55519.dove-gen@bbs.mozysswamp.org>
    Hello Boraxman!

    ** On Thursday 17.03.22 - 20:46, Boraxman wrote to poindexter FORTRAN:

    That seals it, I'm getting that PATA SSD and giving my T43 a new lease on life.

    The only PATA SSDs that I can find consistently are on eBay.

    The "patamax" mentioned here sounded good:

    https://www.mydigitalssd.com/2.5-inch-pata-ssd.php

    ..but is nolonger available.

    Lemme know what source you eventually settle with.

    Will do, I'm in no rush, the drive I have works OK, but it just needs a few to several minutes to "warm up" before it can boot, which can be a bit of a pain!

    ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!
    --- MultiMail/Linux v0.52
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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Nightfox on Thursday, March 17, 2022 07:28:00
    Nightfox wrote to Greenlfc <=-

    I'd often use compressed air to clean dust out of my PCs. Normally I haven't had a problem, but there was one time yaers ago when I was
    dusting the inside of my PC with compressed air and when I was done, I turned the PC on but nothing happened and the screen was blank. I was searching online about that afterward, and I read somewhere that it's possible for compressed air cans to cause static electricity which
    could damage a CPU.

    I'd never heard of that. I was usually too cheap to stock up on cans, so I'd use a paintbrush to dislodge the dust and a canister vacuum cleaner with a crevice and upholstery brush to suck up the dust - otherwise you're blowing the dust around the room.

    I've seen some compressed air cans that specifically say they're safe
    for electronics - so I wonder if some actually are safe for electronics and others are not, or if they're all the same. I've also seen
    electric dust blowers for electronics that you can re-use so you don't have to keep buying compressed air cans.

    I'd bet they're the same - except for the price.

    The big money maker would be Gamer Air, meant for gaming PCs. Put some LED lights on the can, paint the can black and you could charge a couple of
    bucks more -- Just like the "gaming" power strip I saw for $45.









    ... Canned Air is GLUTEN FREE.
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
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  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Thursday, March 17, 2022 07:28:00
    Ogg wrote to Greenlfc <=-

    Using a quick short blast of compressed air would certainly be
    more elegant than puckering up to the airvent! :D

    NEVER INHALE.


    ... SURELY NOT EVERYONE WAS KUNG FU FIGHTING
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    þ Synchronet þ .: realitycheckbbs.org :: scientia potentia est :.
  • From cybergod@VERT/METALLIC to greenlfc on Friday, March 18, 2022 00:58:00
    On 16 Mar 2022, Ogg said the following...

    Og> Using a quick short blast of compressed air would certainly be
    Og> more elegant than puckering up to the airvent! :D

    Those of us from the Nintendo generation are well familiar with that procedure! =)

    GreenLFC ¨ e> greenleaderfanclub@protonmail.com
    Infosec / Ham / Retro ¨ masto> GLFC@mstdn.starnix.network
    Avoids Politics on BBS ¨ gem> gemini.greenleader.xyz

    i have a better solution! use compressed air, however turn the can
    upside down when you spray it and hit it with light puffs of the spray,
    the chemicals actually remove the oxidation and the cold causes it to
    flake off, i do this all the time, it works perfectly, the worst shape cartridge will work after 1 or 2 applications, and if you do it a few
    more time can totally restore the cartridge to working order, i know
    this sounds hard to believe and you may think im trying to trick you
    into breaking a cartridge as a prank, i swear im not, and if you dont
    believe me try it on a cartridge you dont care about or one that is bad
    enough that you cant get it working. i promise this will fix it!

    - cybergod

    ---
    ­ Synchronet ­ Welcome to METALLIC DREAMS!! - bbs.metallic-dreams.com
  • From MRO@VERT/BBSESINF to cybergod on Saturday, March 19, 2022 01:57:23
    Re: Re: Can you trust your PC
    By: cybergod to greenlfc on Fri Mar 18 2022 12:58 am

    this sounds hard to believe and you may think im trying to trick you
    into breaking a cartridge as a prank, i swear im not, and if you dont believe me try it on a cartridge you dont care about or one that is bad enough that you cant get it working. i promise this will fix it!

    use a real small pencil eraser.
    ---
    þ Synchronet þ ::: BBSES.info - free BBS services :::
  • From poindexter FORTRAN@VERT/REALITY to Ogg on Friday, March 18, 2022 14:42:00
    Ogg wrote to Boraxman <=-

    The only PATA SSDs that I can find consistently are on eBay.

    The "patamax" mentioned here sounded good:

    https://www.mydigitalssd.com/2.5-inch-pata-ssd.php

    ..but is nolonger available.

    Lemme know what source you eventually settle with.

    I had a Kingspec 64GB PATA SSD in my T43. I see them on Amazon.



    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    Synchronet CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP

    ... What context would look right?
    --- MultiMail/DOS v0.52
    þ Synchronet þ .: realitycheckbbs.org :: scientia potentia est :.
  • From Ogg@VERT/CAPCITY2 to poindexter FORTRAN on Monday, March 21, 2022 20:07:00
    Hello poindexter FORTRAN!

    ** On Friday 18.03.22 - 14:42, poindexter FORTRAN wrote to Ogg:

    Lemme know what source you eventually settle with.

    I had a Kingspec 64GB PATA SSD in my T43. I see them on Amazon.

    Hmmm.. 64GB may be good enough. I believe that my T40p only
    has a 40GB HDD (maybe 80GB) but I can't remember. Maybe I
    should should consider a minimum 128GB version. One 128GB
    model is $114.

    I have more options for the T60 which can take SATA models.


    --- OpenXP 5.0.51
    * Origin: Ogg's Dovenet Point (723:320/1.9)
    þ Synchronet þ CAPCITY2 * capcity2.synchro.net * Telnet/SSH:2022/Rlogin/HTTP