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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2018 18:09:36 GMT -7
A couple of members on this forum (ok @coywboy40) have some impressive computer chops. I figured - why not have a thread for sharing Computer info.
I'm no 8-bit guy [ LINK] but I normally do alright hardware wise. I got into PC's at a time when adding a soundblaster was pretty much required if you were going to play a game. My last netbook was an HP mini-110. I had it for 11 years. It had two-keyboards, two chargers, four HD's (one was an SSD), two batter packs (the extended life ueber-packs), maxed the RAM (at a whopping 2gig), and four OS's (Win XP, Ubuntu, Lubuntu, and Chrome). Finally, it just stopped working. I think the MoBo or Processor finally committed sepuku.
So I got my hands on a used Lenovo Thinkpad and loaded LINUX Mint OS (which Is a nice distro) onto it and I was off to the races (unless I want to run the PC version of ST:STCS)
Now for mild geekery.
She-who-must-be-obeyed sent me to the computer store to get printer ink. And... I'm gonna walk around for a minute, 'cause I'm a nerd in a computer store, and I find a sale on 2.5" SATA III SSD's. $35 for 240Gb. So I got one, and put it in my laptop. And off to the races again! The most time consuming part was moving files form the old HD to the SSD. Then there was about a half hour of updates. Oh... and adding in all my fonts and re-initializing the fingerprint reader, which now functions differently... Linux can be weird...
Right now I am running the computer to check battery life. One nice thing about the the SSD is the freaky fast start up times (<10 seconds), and the fan almost never runs anymore. I may have top get another battery. It is a used device, so there is no telling what condition the original batt is in.
Also... have any old-time computer nerds seen this: [ LINK] Looks fun, but it's still vaporware. I would have to go with the CDR version  |
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Post by krebizfan on Nov 19, 2018 13:21:34 GMT -7
Remember to back up the SSD more frequently than a traditional hard drive. SSDs fail much more abruptly and warning tools like SMART don't work on them.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2018 16:40:31 GMT -7
Yup. They are like "maintenance-free" batteries in that they die with no warning. My "Memory Alpha" drive is the 500g drive I pulled from the Laptop (in an enclosure with a dodgy USB plug).
Looks like about 3 3/4 hours of mixed use (internet, youtube, word processing, duolingo, and the like) on the SSD, Up from about 2 hours with the HD.
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Post by cowboy40 on Feb 16, 2019 1:01:09 GMT -7
The problem with SSD, even though they are fast, they do have a write cycle to them: meaning they can be erased and rewrote a certain number of times. I can't give you that number because it appears to be based on the generation of the SSD and the size of it. SSD are nothing more then flash memory...keep that in mind...yes simple way to look at, but it is the truth.
SSD seems to have a life cycle designed into hem. I use them mainly for startup and operations that require me to have a fast access for programs, but I would never use them for general storage of files and even programs. Here the HDD is the perfect tool for that....
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Post by Deleted on Feb 16, 2019 5:23:25 GMT -7
Most of my files are MS/Libre Office stuff. So I back them up to DVD's (My Thinkpad and Desktop each have a DVD drive). You can store a LOT of office files on cheap optical media.
I also back some thing up on my Google Drive. My music is still on an old HDD.
Looking like the Thinkpad needs a new battery.
A friend gave me an old Vaio. As much as I like Sony, I really hate the VAIO. Almost impossible to work on. The Thinkpad is modular and really nice to tinker with.
My other project is a 1983 Texas Instruments TI-99/4A. The keyboard does not work, so I'll be doing some troubleshooting from when I have time. I did build a composite video cable for it so I can connect it to a modern TV. Baby steps...
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Post by cowboy40 on Feb 16, 2019 9:25:09 GMT -7
Most of my files are MS/Libre Office stuff. So I back them up to DVD's (My Thinkpad and Desktop each have a DVD drive). You can store a LOT of office files on cheap optical media. I also back some thing up on my Google Drive. My music is still on an old HDD. Looking like the Thinkpad needs a new battery. A friend gave me an old Vaio. As much as I like Sony, I really hate the VAIO. Almost impossible to work on. The Thinkpad is modular and really nice to tinker with. My other project is a 1983 Texas Instruments TI-99/4A. The keyboard does not work, so I'll be doing some troubleshooting from when I have time. I did build a composite video cable for it so I can connect it to a modern TV. Baby steps... The latest project i have found myself with is a gift from my daughter for my retro PC collection. She brought me home a jewel for the collection...an IBM PS/2 model 50Z....I get to play with the IBM micro channel architecture {MCA} that IBM tried to force on us back in the day...cards for this baby are expensive, but fortunately I already have them in my collection...!!!! |
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Post by cowboy40 on May 22, 2019 11:22:52 GMT -7
I love playing around with my PCs, I will admit it....here are my three work station pc's desktops    All the above are Howard Terpning...all three are on Windows 10 desktops  This is the workstations Linux box, and the painting is by George Catlin |
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Post by trynda1701 on May 22, 2019 14:19:53 GMT -7
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Post by cowboy40 on May 22, 2019 14:51:01 GMT -7
Very nice! Any of those by Howard Terpning? A couple look to be his style Yes all of them are!!!! you win the cigar |
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Post by trynda1701 on May 23, 2019 15:21:42 GMT -7
Very nice! Any of those by Howard Terpning? A couple look to be his style Yes all of them are!!!! you win the cigar I'll take a Saurian brandy instead, I don't smoke!  His work is absolutely amazing. Beautiful art!  |
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Post by cowboy40 on Aug 5, 2019 14:49:40 GMT -7
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Post by Deleted on Aug 10, 2019 13:39:28 GMT -7
The only Computer Geekery I have committed lately is: Getting TI-99/4A and TurboGraFX 16 emulation to work on my Raspberry Pi Zero + Repairing the Keyboard on my 1983 TI-99/4A. Now I need to figure out what I am going to do with it...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 7, 2019 18:09:42 GMT -7
cowboy40 - can you get Flight Sim 2004 ACOF to run on Win 10?
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Post by cowboy40 on Sept 7, 2019 21:03:29 GMT -7
cowboy40 - can you get Flight Sim 2004 ACOF to run on Win 10? Yes, I have it running fine on Win10 pro 64 bit I just installed it and it ran fine |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 8, 2019 6:56:02 GMT -7
cowboy40 - can you get Flight Sim 2004 ACOF to run on Win 10? Yes, I have it running fine on Win10 pro 64 bit I just installed it and it ran fine Hrrrmmmm....
It's not running on my system... also Win 10 Pro 64 bit...
Have you tried FlightGear?
Update: installed two patches, now it works fine (so far).
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Post by cowboy40 on Sept 21, 2019 10:10:10 GMT -7
Yes, I have it running fine on Win10 pro 64 bit I just installed it and it ran fine Hrrrmmmm.... It's not running on my system... also Win 10 Pro 64 bit... Have you tried FlightGear?
Update: installed two patches, now it works fine (so far).
Nope on Flightgear.... and have it working well on my Win10 machines...  one of the best low level strike planes ever designed!!! |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 2, 2019 12:51:48 GMT -7
cowboy40So that computer died... Got a new one on warranty. Now I can't get FS to work again... Gonna get FS 2020?
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Post by cowboy40 on Oct 2, 2019 14:57:14 GMT -7
cowboy40So that computer died... Got a new one on warranty. Now I can't get FS to work again... Gonna get FS 2020? Looking at it.... |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2019 11:19:38 GMT -7
Yeah. The A-7 was a BEAST. They used to buzz my dad and I when we went fishing in Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay. They used the Charity Islands as mock bomb-run targets. Almost silent until they were right on top of you. Gave us a few "Oh [shucks]" moments.
And I got FS9 to work again... YUUUGE thumb-print on CD4... Many scratches... had to clean it up.
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