[Techtalk] hardware issues

[Carla Schroder]

On Monday 07 October 2002 22:29, kansas_kennedy at phreaker.net wrote:
> Well, I have recently had some problem with my motherboard and took it to
> the docs. They told me to replace as 'it is dying.' When I asked them why
> did it happen and how to avoid such things frm happening in the future,
> they simply said 'many reasons' and avoided the question.
>
> Coming back home I googled for sites for better hardware maintenance but
> those are all commecrical sites. It was hard to find any org site/ or any
> site which is very informative that would help people in better maintaining
> their hardware for longivity.
>
> I also have the Peter Norton's Inside the PC book but all it does is
> describing things (largely).
>
> I wanted to know if there are sites (irrespective of OSs) which focuses on
> better hardware practices and maintenance.
>
> Thanks and regards,
> Ken.

I am so glad you asked. :)

Motherboards do not die slowly, such a crap shop you found. Power supplies die 
by inches, and hard drives, and sometimes CPUs, but not motherboards. 
Different components on motherboards die at differing intervals, perhaps that 
was what the uncommunicative ones meant.

At any rate the best PC hardware books are:
 Upgrading and Repairing Your PC, by Scott Mueller, and PC Hardware in a 
Nutshell, by Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson. Each book 
has an accompanying website. The Thompson's site is www.hardwareguys.com, and 
contains a wealth of information. 

Some basic stuff, which you probably already know:

-never move a pc while it is running
-clean power = longer life and better performance, invest in a true 
uninterruptible power supply. These cost more of course- don't mix them up 
with lower-cost standby power supplies. 
-clean environment. Open the case and blow the dust out twice a year
-good cooling 

-- 
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Carla Schroder
Bratgrrl Computing
www.bratgrrl.com
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