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nearby lightning skrike kills neighbours computers (and mine)
ewemoa:
Please forgive the following quote...some posts in this topic remind me of:
[Vizzini has just cut the rope The Dread Pirate Roberts is climbing up]
Vizzini: HE DIDN'T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
--- End quote ---
:)
Surely troublesome to receive such pricey equipment that doesn't work out-of-the-box, my condolences.
Shades:
Mouser was right. And maybe I was just lucky.
I tried to get windows installed for about the twentieth time this morning (after wasting about five hours of my life yesterday attempting the same). I decided enough was enough and arranged for the machine to be collected monday. The shop I ordered it from could have a go and I'd happily pay them to do so.
But, after finishing the phone call I decided I'd try one last thing...
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.
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.
I could have just ordered the parts myself and then built the machine AND double checked which cables to use as I put it all together. I didn't as I thought it would be good to let the experts do this one and save myself hours of stress and trouble.
Moral of the story: it's an old one but...
If you want something done properly, then you better do it yourself.
-nudone (July 02, 2011, 05:22 PM)
--- End quote ---
Here is a general rule. Whenever a PC is moved, check the cabling inside (especially from those flimsy SATA connectors). Thermal and electrical 'creep' from cabling, together with moving the PC case can have unexpected results. When you move the PC with a car (LAN party or something) you can add vibrations to the list of events that will disconnect your hardware.
Being burned twice myself with this I always (and I mean always!) check.
nudone:
I didn't realise Overclockers were like that, Carol. But then, you never do find these things out until the damage is done. Any recommendations for a similar styled store but with a nicer attitude?
The advice people are providing about checking the cables and anything else that might have come a little loose when equipment gets moved around is sound good advice. But, I hope I've made myself clear about the problem I had, if not, here goes again: it was not a loose cable it was a wrong cable. I disconnected and reconnected this "wrong" cable several times during my install procedures (I disconnected it whilst installing to an old hard drive I had - which allowed a perfect install first time, and I also tried putting the cable into a 2nd socket).
Okay, I haven't ruled out that the orignal "wrong" cable may just be damaged, maybe there isn't even any difference between a normal sata cable and a 6gb - I suspect there is as they are clearly labelled with 6Gb/s on the connectors. To me, it now seems quite obvious that a 6Gb/s solid state drive connected to a 6Gb/s socket (clearly marked on the motherboard and in the manaul) require a 6Gb/s sata cable, not just a standard cable.
I'm boring everyone by repeating all this as it's not my job to check every component in the machine to see if it's correct - not when I paid the extra for the "professionals" to build the machine for me and make all the cabling look neat and tidy inside the case. I assumed they knew what they were doing. Seems they aren't much better than any other typical computer shop - and as Carol has pointed out, they are probably a lot worse.
p.s.
Just thought I'd quickly comment about Carol's (and mousers) comments about they should have checked the machine before shipping it. I'm sure they did check it. But what does that entail? They could only check it so far - maybe they do an electronic test but not a visual inspection - so they never noticed that they'd overlooked using the correct type sata cable. Their test simply showed that the hardware was fine and working correctly - which it was, until you try putting windows 7 64 bit onto it.
(I guess I'm banging on about all this as I am trying to convince myself that the problem is solved. I've not turned the machine on today. Maybe I'll be looking for a pickaxe to put through it later on today.)
mouser:
Their test simply showed that the hardware was fine and working correctly - which it was, until you try putting windows 7 64 bit onto it.
--- End quote ---
Absolutely.. As you said in your initial posts, the drive was found but only gave trouble when you tried to do a full OS install. Very possible their testing did not check for real hard drive use. So they turned it on, everything was detected, they turned it off.
So many of us have had problems with loose cables or unplugging and replugging components that it's just a natural thing to suspect.
A quick look around the web about 6gb sata cables is not definitive but it seems quite plausible that the problem was indeed that the non-6gb cable they attached as either not good enough or was defective.
Given how clear the change in behavior was when you swapped the cables, i STRONGLY suspect you have indeed fixed the problem. :up:
cranioscopical:
I am trying to convince myself that the problem is solved. I've not turned the machine on today.
-nudone (July 03, 2011, 07:00 AM)
--- End quote ---
Remember the occasion when your old machine was flaky and you turned it off for a while? When you went to turn it on again you tripped over the cat, spilt a can of pop all over the carpet, fell and banged your head on the case whereupon the cat turned around and scratched you? Remember how, then, the old machine worked okay after you turned it on?
Have you tried that this time? :huh:
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