Computer Woes
This past weekend, I ran into some unexpected computer problems with my beloved workstation.
It wouldn’t boot.
I managed to recover the HDD using Knoppix, a convenient Linux Distro that uses a LiveCD to install (you boot it from a CD-ROM and it runs in memory). What is especially impressive about this system is that it has an awesome hardware detection routine—found all my hardware.
I used Knoppix to access my hard drive and then copied my data onto a 2 GB USB key. After I extracted the data from my hard drive, I formatted it and re-installed Windows.
Fun stuff.
Given that my home workstation runs off a 7-year old, 9 GB, SCSI-160 hard drive, it could be several things that may be going wrong:
- My Adaptec 19160N SCSI controller
- 9GB Seagate SCSI160 Barracuda HD
- 68-pin SCSI LVD cable
I’m considering removing my SCSI components in light of some cheap IDE ATA-100/133 drives. I think I can scrounge something up from some old systems.
Man, I loved SCSI—still do, actually. At the time (circa 2000), it was so much more superior than IDE. Now things have moved to SATA. No reason to pay the price premium.
After the re-install, I still get boot-up problems. For some reason, My computer never completely finishes the first-time boot-up. I always have to recycle the power once to get it to boot. I think it may be a power supply issue—but with a 430-watt PSU, I can’t believe that there isn’t enough power to make it past post.
Cheers,
Tai