Microsoft has been attacking its own customers for more money. Imagine you go out and buy a
car. Six months later, the car dealer sends you a notice that they will repossess it if you don't
pay them again for it. This is what Microsoft does. They attack the people who buy their software.
And they wonder why people are buying Macs and installing Linux. Bill Gates must be the richest
retard on the planet. Thank God people are starting to wake up to the Microsoft rip-off scam.
04/22/2007 Love the Forums
Every week I seem to run across forums where all the Windows losers blow their horns. "Oh
there are vulnerabilities in Mac and Linux too blah blah blah...".
What they are really doing is admitting that the number one OS isn't number one because it is
better. More likely, MS got to where it is with it's crappy OS more by IBM bowing out of the market,
being at the right place at the right time and spending millions on litigation aqainst the
competition.
Fact is: Hardly a day goes by that some new Microsoft vulnerability isn't published. The Microsuckers
love to point out that there might be vulnerabilities in other OS's. But there is no evidence that the
company with 95% (and decreasing) percentage of the consumer market ever came out with anything better than
number two or three.
And it is no wonder that when one looks at the server market, there is no MS dominance as the big boys
like Google and Yahoo, run Linux.
02/24/2007 Data Recovery
Put the old Windows drive in the Ultra External HD enclosure. Unlike my Maxtor external drive,
Linux didn't recognize it right away. XP is ntfs and my default was vfat. So I created a directory and
after doing a
mount -t auto /dev/sda1 /home/Ultra1 (auto means try all formats)
the drive apppeared and I was able to recover all of my files. Mission accomplished!
This requires some techie knowledge and proves further that things that
don't work under Windows can be made to work under Linux.
Here is the important point to note. If my data had been on non-Windows system, I would never be able
to recover it on a Windows system. Linux and Unix reads Windows but Windows can't read Linux or Unix.
Just goes to show that Microsoft has never delivered a quality product and has been so obsessed with their
dominance of the market for so long they no longer understand how people use computers.
Users should be able to use computers the way they want, not how some computer manufacturer tells
them to.
02/17/2007 Latest Update
Installed Antec 500W PSU. Lots of wires and stuff.
First powerup: Machine powered up to diags screen indicating there might be a hardware change.
Selected Normal Boot. Machine came up. Logged on. After a few minutes it shutdown.
Second powerup: Machine powered up normally. Logged on. After a few minutes it shutdown.
Third powerup: Machine came up normal. Logged on. Stayed up for a few minutes. Then
the system went down but the power indicator stayed on. Now the power indicator will not
go off unless I either unplug the machine or the motherboard.
Fourth powerup: There was some poppen und spitzen sparken noises and then nothing more.
Power indicator is always on but nothing else happens.
Checked a lot of web forums. Looks like a lot of others have went through the exact same
eMachine scenario only to be left with an eMachine paperweight. Motherboard is most likely
what initiated the problems in the first place.
Next step - Data Recovery: I will get an ATA HD enclosure and put the HD into that to get all my data off via
one of the Linux machines before building out the eMachine with a new MB or anything else.
As far as Windows is concerned. It's dead. Can't replace the MB without spending $200 to $300 to licence
a new copy of XP from Microshaft. Forget Vista. Cost of a MB, memory and the OS isn't even worth it and most
of my software and hardware wouldn't even work.
Back to Where this Started
01/01/2007 Windows machine is dead
Noticed that the router light for that connection wasn't lit. (As long as your
PC is plugged in it is not completely shutdown.) Checked cables and stuff.
Decided to give the Windows machine that rare power-up. (I've used Linux for
everything the last 2 1/2 years.)
NOTHING! No fans. No lights. No disk activity.
01/02/2007 Research shows...
that the power supply (PS) unit used by emachines were junk. And one other
caveat. In many cases with emachines if the PS or motherboard (MB) blows, it takes
out the other.
01/03/2007 Options
Plan A Replace the PS and cross my fingers the motherboard isn't fried also.
If only the PS is bad it may just work again.
If the motherboard (MB) is fried here are the options:
1) Replace the MB with an emachines MB which costs 3X as much as similar MBs.
Why buy the emachines MB?
Windows doesn't boot up all the way after you replace hardware. It detects most hardware changes
and assumes you are trying to pirate the OS.
The Windows OS is registered to Microsoft but is a version that is OEM'd to emachines.
So Microsoft will not give you a new license key. Microsoft tells you to contact whoever
distributed it or go to the store and buy the full version of Windows.
The only way to get a new Windows license key from emachines is if you buy
their motherboard.
I'd be just paying extra for the emachines MB in hopes of a new Windows license from them
just to use my current Windows OS.
2) Replace MB with non-emachines MB for $200 less.
If I want to run Windows again I have to buy the $200 full version from a brick and mortar
store or try to find a better deal online.
Plan B
If any elements of Plan A fail the only option may be remove the HD and make it an external
drive available to another operating system as a USB device.
Next step is to find a power supply and see what happens.
01/26/2007 Ongoing saga
Finding the right PSU can be a dilemma.
If I get the most basic PS that supports the MB it
may not be enough if I have to buy a new MB. In that case I'd have to buy
another power supply. Bigger PSUs usually have all kinds of extra connectors
that I wouldn't need or may not support the current MB if it is good.
01/28/2007 PSUs 101
In the old days, PC power supply units (PSUs) were not very reliable and replacing
them was easy as they were all pretty standard.
Then for many years they improved and we hardly ever worried about them.
Now we are in a new era where PSU's come in hundreds of flavors and many manufacturers
just put in the cheapest piece of barely adequate PSU they can to get the box off
the shelf.
A lot of opinions on the web.
Some sites sell direct replacements (an emachines T4510 in my case).
But why would I want to replace a bad brand (Bestec) with another?
Many forums indicate that if you match up the case and specs and get a decent quality
PSU then by all means it should work. Newer PSUs with higher wattages just
have extra connectors that you won't use. Ignore them. Just make sure it has the ones you need.
So I am going to try the latter. Wish me luck.
Picked up a 350W PSU under the brand A1 Power. Turned out this is not standard ATX size
and there was no way to tell as they do not include any dimensions on the packaging
or on the web. A few searches revealed that many have found that A1 Power has no customer
support. This one is going back.
Next picked up a 300W PSU CompUSA brand. Figured an upgrade from the former 250W wouldn't
be a bad idea. Turned out that most of the Amperages were rated half of what the old PSU
was. This one isn't likely to work either. Should have had my specs list with me. Took it back.
The End of the Winnocense?
