swestrup: (Default)
swestrup ([personal profile] swestrup) wrote2005-11-01 06:45 pm

Bye Bye Motherboard.

I *suspected* that the problem with Binky was the motherboard but it took the guy at the shop only a minute or two to confirm it. Capictors with the goo leaking out tends to be a major giveaway. So, he'll be phoning me in a day or two with repair options, once he finds out if I fried anything else as well, like the ram, video card, etc.

In any case it looks like I need a new motherboard. I'm actually not as upset about that as I might be. A new motherboard (depending on what I have to buy to support a pre-MX athlon chip) should only cost around $100. It also means that my choice to take it to the shop and pay a hardware guy to look at it was the right move. I can't fix a motherboard, and so my machine may as well be at the shop. Hopefully before the week is out I will have my machine back and I will be able to write in my preferred environment.

In other new, my ISP is shipping me a new modem to try, since they say they've pretty much eliminated all other possibilites. If it does work then Bell will send a line technician to sort things out. Either way I'm also hoping to have high speed back in place before the end of the week.

While we were out dealing with the dead computer, we also went to Reno Depot and pestered the paint guy there about what sorts of paint/primer/thinner/drop cloths/spackling/etc/etc/ we would need for the bathroom, and we hopefully now have everything we need to do the painting part of getting the downstairs bathroom functional.

We also heard from our insurance guys who tell us that diningroom ceiling is most likely covered by our condo's insurance, not our supplemental insurance, but the person [livejournal.com profile] taxlady spoke to said he would be happy to speak to our condo association if they didn't know what the condo insurance did or did not cover.

So, it seems that on a number of fronts we are moving forward, and it is making me feel much more positive about managing to put my life back in order.

[identity profile] cpirate.livejournal.com 2005-11-02 03:14 am (UTC)(link)
Actually, my parents' computer succumbed to the infamous capacitors of doom a few years ago, and the technician at the store was able to replace them for a fairly nominal fee (~$25 or something, all of which was labour - the parts cost for a few caps is pretty negligible). It's been working fine ever since, modulo the power supply dying. This was feasible because only the large main capacitors on the board had trouble, and they're both easy to replace and few in number; if the smaller ones are also bulging, then don't bother.

And as for drop cloths, unless you're planning on doing a fair bit of painting in the upcoming months/years, just go to the dollar store and buy some plastic sheets. You can get a 9'x12' sheet for $1, so $2 or $3 at most will cover your bathroom, and then you don't have to worry about storing them and moving them and trying to find them later.

[identity profile] taxlady.livejournal.com 2005-11-02 04:07 am (UTC)(link)
We thought about the dollar store drop cloths. But, we opted for the "extra heavy duty" plastic stuff from Reno. It was 10'x25' for about $8. You can walk on that stuff without worrying about making holes. And, yes, we are planning on painting the entire house within the next six months. We checked the stuff at the dollar store later and it is only "medium" strength. We did pick up disposable gloves at the dollar store.

[identity profile] cpirate.livejournal.com 2005-11-02 04:42 am (UTC)(link)
Ah, that makes sense.

And yeah, those dollar store gloves are really handy to have around when trying to clean up.
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[identity profile] dcoombs.livejournal.com 2005-11-02 02:42 pm (UTC)(link)
For whatever reason, I really don't like plastic drop cloths. My house in Ottawa was conveniently around the corner from a Salvation Army store, though, so I was able to buy actual queen-sized bed sheets for a couple bucks each, and I was a very happy person.