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nearby lightning skrike kills neighbours computers (and mine)

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nudone:
I admit, I don't trust the machine yet. It appears to be working fine but I am almost expecting to turn it on tomorrow to find it bluescreen after 5 minutes.

Or, to be more precise, I'm expecting the problem(s) to reoccur if I attempt to put my other hard drives into the machines - as that could mean I'll move the "special" sata cable by a few nanometres and that will kill the solid state drive.

I guess I've just got to bight the bullet and see. Put all the hardware inside and then stress test it like you say.

westom:
I replaced the sata cable connected to the solid state drive with one of the 'special ones' still wrapped up in the motherboard box. This suddenly allowed windows to install perfectly.
...
If you want something done properly, then you better do it yourself.-nudone (July 02, 2011, 05:22 PM)
--- End quote ---

  Your story is why better manufacturers provide comprehensive hardware diagnostics for free.  That find failures by first identifying them.   And to also locate strange problems later when your working machine suddenly goes funky.

  Windows intentionally works around and tries to avoid failures.  Windows is a poor hardware diagnostic tool.   Is it Windows or hardware?  More confusion when comprehensive diagnostics are not provided.

  Burn-in was never about executing diagnostics overnight.  That myth perverts a well proven diagnostic procedure.   Burn-in is literally just that.  A computer is heated to over 100 degrees F.  Then tested.  Computers that are defective but still work at 70 degrees F will quickly identify an existing and 'what will get worse' defect when tested at a completely ideal room temperature:  100 degrees F.  That is always what burn-in was.  And how to find a defect long before its warranty expires.

mouser:
The machine was built by Overclockers (in the uk), a store that have dealt with high end machines for years - so you'd assume they know what they are doing when it comes to putting a new build together for a customer. Somehow they overlooked using the correct 6gb sata cable.
--- End quote ---

It's inconceivable that the machine didnt work and test at last minimally ok before they sent it out.  While it's possible that the cable was bad, it seems just as likely to me that the cable was perhaps loose or flakey, and so seemed to work when they sent it.

The very first thing to do when hardware in a pc seems not to work, is unplug it, and then reseat it.  This goes for all cables, memory chips, cards, etc.  So it may just be a matter of unplugging the cable and reseating it that fixed it, rather than changing the cable.  Who knows.

nudone:
I don't think the cable was bad; it was simply the wrong cable for the socket it was plugged into. The manual clearly states that the socket is 6gb as does the 'special' cable itself (the one I had to plug in, which clearly looks different to the standard sata cable that they'd used).

The conversations I had on the phone with their support staff indicates that their testing procedure may be nothing more than a quick visual check. Their first response to the problem was: it could be the ram or the ssd.

So, how could it be either if they were tested before shipping.

I think they just made a simple error. They thought a cable is a cable. Maybe it is with a different motherboard and ssd. Maybe the cable isn't the problem; I believe it is as I'd tried connecting the original cable into a second socket several times.

The truth may simply be that the machine was built in England. A common work attitude here tends to be if you make a mistake and can't be bothered to correct it then that's perfectly acceptable. It's far more important to get your fag (cigarette) break in or steal something from the company you work for. So someone used the standard sata cable, wrapped it all up nicely with plastic tie wraps with all the the other cables, stood back and admired the nice neat cabling they'd done all through the case, then realised they'd used the wrong sata cable for the ssd. At this point they had two options: redo all their precious work or go and have a fag-break and pretend they didn't see the mistake.

Or they just weren't paying attention or thought they knew best and didn't need the 'special' cable. Either way, they used the wrong cable and wasted my time. Next time I'll just save a lot of bother and build the machine myself.

Carol Haynes:
It is inconceivable that the computer wasn't switched on to check it worked ... but then it is overclockers and they are ALWAYS right (arrogant bastards) - which is why I don't shop with them any more.

Try getting warranty support from them. I had an ASUS board go bad (with 3 year warranty). ASUS don't deal with the public (which is illegal) - you have to send stuff through the dealer (though what you do when the supplier has gone out of business I don't know).

Anyway OC refused to send the mobo back to ASUS for a replacement (even though ASUS told me they had stocks of the same board for warranty claims) and instead they gave me 30% refund since it was 2 years old. They refused to be budged on this and I couldn't be arsed to take it to court.

Moral of the story - if you want a reliable supplier that actually gives a crap don't use overclockers.co.uk

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