by "zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot)
Published 02/14/2017 at 08:10
by "zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot)
Published 02/14/2017 at 08:10
Tags: Computers
STARS: 1
Someone gave me this computer, they found it on the side of the road . The first one he gave me is an old library pc, which is now my favorite and is built like a tank. This is the 2nd he gave me, and when I opened it up I was really surprised. It was covered with a layer of black dust, not normal dust; it made me instantly think of the soot of a fire.
You can usually tell how old a computer is by the hard drive, this had a 40 gig. Haven’t seen one of those in a while. :p
I ended up putting it in the bathtub and hosing it down with a can of air to clean it. I’m 150% confident someone here has dealt with a dirtier computer, so let’s hear it oppo. What’s your dirty computer story?
And just because I love it, the black computer below is the first one he gave to me. The Viper one I picked up myself, it needs a new video card and is running pretty poorly.
I really like how everything can just easily be plugged in on the black one. I collect/gather old computer parts for fun, much to the dismay of my wife, but it’s fun playing with them. I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have much experience with building or fixing computers, so doing this gives me a lot of hands on experience. Right now this black one is running Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 64 bit. I actually need more ram since it runs a bit slow.
"Chinny Raccoon" (chinnyraccoon)
02/14/2017 at 08:17, STARS: 0
I’ve had some from a local Hydraulic equipment manufacturer that were used on the production side. They were filled with black detritus.
Worst are the heavy smokers.
"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot)
02/14/2017 at 08:32, STARS: 0
It’s funny because I think the fan caught the black stuff, then proceeded to spew it across the insides, lol.
"X37.9XXS" (x379xxs)
02/14/2017 at 08:41, STARS: 2
When I worked at P&W, I got a call on a dead mouse, from one of those sorcerer’s caves that every aerospace firm has.
I went down there and found a MUCH-modified 3270 chassis, but it did not have a mouse plugged into it
So, I, like an idiot, fell into the trap
“Where’s the dead mouse?”
My customer whipped off the cover, like Shandu the Magician
And
There it was
"You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much" (youcantellafinn)
02/14/2017 at 08:59, STARS: 0
Oh man, smokers computers are so bad. We had a smoker at work and after she left it took almost 2 years of use before her computer quit smelling like smoke.
"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot)
02/14/2017 at 09:03, STARS: 0
Ha, i wonder how it got in there.
"X37.9XXS" (x379xxs)
02/14/2017 at 09:08, STARS: 0
I figure it crawled in through one of the open card slots
"facw" (facw)
02/14/2017 at 09:13, STARS: 0
Not a exactly a computer, but in college I worked at the university library and we switching out 10Mb hubs for new 48 port 100Mb switches (with two gigabit interfaces each). Cisco required that we provide proof that the hubs had been rendered non-functional to get our upgrade pricing, so we opening them up and prying off a few key ICs (which was fun). Still, the about of dirt and dust that had gotten sucked into these guys in years they had been used 24/7 was astounding. Most of them were like totally full, can’t have been good for heat dissipation. Libraries are dusty places.
"jasmits" (jasmits)
02/14/2017 at 09:19, STARS: 1
Not as dirty as yours but still a funny story. When I was younger(maybe late elementary school or early middle school) I had an old hand-me-down desktop courtesy of my dad who’s a software engineer(running Windows 98, I was using it around 2006ish I guess). Eventually, the old thing became very, very slow and started crashing constantly. We tried everything possible from the software side, nothing worked. Eventually, my dad got frustrated and decided to crack it open. Inside, the computer wasn’t especially dirty or dusty, aside from a single, incredibly tightly woven spiderweb across the main fan. Once cleared, it ran as well as it ever had so that spiderweb must have somehow been constricting airflow enough to render the system basically useless.
"jimz" (jimz)
02/14/2017 at 09:51, STARS: 1
back when I wrenched (at a combo garage/gas station,) the pumps and register were managed by this generic tower PC, which I believe was a 486. Was on basically 24/7 for years. one day it started acting up, and I opened the case to find it packed with dust. I mean, this thing was full. and it wasn’t helped by the fact that the owner, both senior mechanics, and most of the attendants smoked.
"Sweet Trav" (thespunbearing)
02/14/2017 at 10:47, STARS: 1
When i worked at staples i had a computer that i had to take out side to vaccum blow out. I wore a dusk mask and the smell still made me vomit. smoker, cat lover, and apparently just a filthy individual.
"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot)
02/14/2017 at 12:40, STARS: 0
All those skin cells don’t help, :).
"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot)
02/14/2017 at 12:42, STARS: 0
Mental note, clean computer periodically.
"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot)
02/14/2017 at 12:49, STARS: 0
So thankful I didn’t have a computer like that.
"Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing." (granfury)
02/14/2017 at 13:46, STARS: 1
You win. It doesn’t get much worse than organic matter inside computers.
I have a low tolerance for foul odours. One day whilst picking up some old uniforms for my CAP squadron I came across a box that had a dead squirrel in it. The reaction was almost instantaneous and I ran to the window to heave, somewhat forgetting that I was four flights up. Thankfully it was a Saturday and nobody was in the splash zone...
"Meatcoma" (mastapoof)
02/14/2017 at 15:07, STARS: 0
What kind of ram? I’ve got pc100, pc133, all kinds. it’s just in storage boxes. My wife is all over me about going through it and getting rid of it all. I have old processors, video cards etc.
AGP vid card I assume? Or is that PCI?
"zeontestpilot" (zeontestpilot)
02/14/2017 at 18:08, STARS: 0
I’d have to check, since I’m not sure myself, lol.
"Meatcoma" (mastapoof)
02/15/2017 at 08:11, STARS: 0
If you can get a good pic of the slots on the motherboard, or the motherboard model, I’m sure we can find the specs online.