Don't try this at home kids

Incompatible hardware

[caine]

In this modern day - the idea of forcing hardware via irq, mac and whatever other 2nd and 3rd level strategies - is a distant dream.

Not today. Tried putting a ASRock K7VM2 motherboard with a Western Digital HDD. (all the other components were sound eventually).

3 hours later, after going through 2 * ASRock, 2 * WD HDD, three 512mb Ram sticks, and one last ditch attempt off thinking maybe it wasn't the Motherboard.

So i took my trusky Mitsumi (redhat installed) out of my linux box, and tried it - bingo first time, so grabbed another HDD out of my W2K box -wait for it - an IBM deskstar (last off eight which we went through [7 faulty and in the bin] - this one a backup. Bingo again, off it went loading up W2K on the motherboard.

Cracked it eventually. The new HDD's from Western Digital are guff, 2 off them brand new out of the packet, and very problematic - potentially crap.

Anyway - whoaa - building this pc for a kid from the neighbourhood who's gone to Uni - he started Monday, said i would have it done tonight, have to be tommorrow now.

Component matching still important - unless the goods don't work. My oh so helpful supplier will be getting an earful tomorrow - though i may just tell him that his site does'nt resolve in opera, and hit him up for some SEO - F(@&xx, you know that special type - take the money - no contract - job done.

[Macro]

Component matching still important - unless the goods don't work. My oh so helpful supplier will be getting an earful tomorrow

Can't see how it's his fault. Leave PC building to professionals who do it for a living ...or learn to put up with what is normal life in the hardware industry.

[midwestguy]

Based on my experience, it helps not to use cheap VIA chipset motherboards and Windows 2000. Especially when you might be getting some long distance support calls asking for help when W2K for some reason will only blue screen upon startup instead of boot after working just fine for awhile...

<part rant, part amusement and warning for you the reader>

I hope for the kid's sake it's not when he needs something on the hard drive he hasn't backed up to CD or disk. But hey, what's the harm in risking a few notches lower GPA for the kid considering how much of a favor you did him by building him such a "good" box for cheap and the few dollars you make off the deal to boot?

I learned my lesson on this one and it's this -- only build computers for yourself and those you don't mind offering (usually free) tech support to for a long time after you build the box. Now I just hold my nose and advise folks to order a pre-built one that comes with a warrany and support **provided by someone else**.

This goes double for working on PCs as favors to friends and associates. No matter what, something goes wrong after you touch their machine, guess whose fault it is....and who needs to spend time fixing the problem (unrelated to what you did on their box, of course). Oh, and by the way, while you're there -- and since you know so much about computers (wow -- your cool!) -- could you just spend a ** rat hole amount of time ** answering a few basic computer use questions and showing them how to use a program or two on their computer? After all, being a computer expert means you must know everything about how to use each piece of software on their computer, right?

Naw, maybe I just have bad memories from many years ago...when I last worked on anyone else's computer.
'Nutin personal (towards you caine), you undersand...just bad memories -- and lessons learned.

</part rant, part amusement and warning for you the reader>

;-)

Midwestguy

[caine]

I've been building PC's for over 10 years now, and probably built at least a 75 of them for various environments. Problem is i am not a professional in the sense you probably mean, but do i understand what i am doing probably more than you could ever know. However that comment is going to be re-=inforced as my supplier should have told me that there were concerns, were not exactly a small client, and it ain't the first time that a member of the computer building community @ our company has had problems, but this time around its bloody stupid. To eager to sell - damn the consequences - hence to eager to moan - what are you going to do about it!

'VIA chipset motherboards' you got me - i've fallen for it before, not again. Went through something not to unsimilar now i think about it a couple of years ago. Had a good reasonably priced motherboard that was doing the job, think we must have got at least ten of them, but they had stopped stocking them, so took the advice, and went for the ASRock, last time.

With PC's - without a budget - i will do the homework, and know exactly what is going to be built, but budgeted PC's too easy too fall down the cheap and cheerful trap to save on dosh.

[ogletree]

I just let Dell do it. As far as low end computers that you just want to use word and the Internet that is the way to go. My time is worth too much to be putting together computers. If you got real requirements like for Games I can see building to get exactly what you want.

[caine]

Very true.

But, when you've got the nature to build then, and want to understand how they tick then, its cheaper, and dell could never get a computer of mine before its annoyed me and i have fixed it somehow. Certainly hopefully in time, maybe well be in a position to have a SLA that demans immediate resolution (or near on, but not yet).

[Macro]

I've been building PC's for over 10 years now, and probably built at least a 75 of them for various environments

So, about 7.5 a year? You don't have a chance in hell of getting familiar enough with even one motherboard to know all it's quirks and idosyncracies. You have no idea of exactly which AGP or PCI cards give problems in that motherboard... leave alone which versions of the drivers and BIOS they give problems with.

No matter what, something goes wrong after you touch their machine, guess whose fault it is....and who needs to spend time fixing the problem

I couldn't agree more

only build computers for yourself and those you don't mind offering (usually free) tech support to for a long time after you build the box

Again, I agree.

May I add:

Also, NEVER sell components. Even more solid rule - NEVER sell components to people who build the odd PC as they are the ones who are most likely to blame you if the set of components you provide doesn't all work together straight outta da box. It will be YOUR fault if the motherboard manufacturer screwed up on quality control, it will be your fault if the video card manufacturer didn't check compatibility with ALL the motherboards in the world, including cheapo rubbish makes. It'll be your fault if the hard disk took some shock damage in all it's travels on it's way to you. It'll be YOUR fault if WMD are not found in Iraq.

I just let Dell do it

My time is worth too much to be putting together computers

That's a brilliant point. If you know that much about computers your time is better - and more profitably spent - doing something else other than assembling parts. Leave that to people like Dell who do so many million PCs that they are aware of issues with individual parts... and for whom it is worthwhile developing solutions/workarounds.

[Brett_Tabke]

That's a bummer Caine. I've never quite run into that particular situation.

I think it is always best to stay about 2-3 years behind the times. Right now, the fastest box I got is a laptop at 2.2. Everything else is 1.3 and even a 550mhz laptop.

[ogletree]

I just get a new Toshiba laptop every 3 years or so. Never had any problems. Eveerybody else I know have laptop problems all the time. Of course it sits on my desk 90% of the time. I am sure if I carried it around I might have more problems. The dells are for the office. As far as I'm concerened Dell's are a disposble computer. I gave up on support a long time ago. They are good for obvious problems like the hard drive is dead. If you have a problem with something you bought and then modified put it back the way you got it and never mention that you did anything. I have machines that have XP pro but they came with XP home. Dell does not support them with XP pro at all. If I have a problem I will just reinstall the what came on it before I call. Of course it helps that I can do my own troubleshooting. By the time I call I know exactly what the problem is. That is very frustrating because they are robots that have to go through their system. They don't chat at all they just read what is on the screen nothing more. If you don't answer A, B, or C they ask the question again until you anser A, B, or C.

[Macro]

If you don't answer A, B, or C they ask the question again until you anser A, B, or C

I like that :-)
It's very true.

But hey if you want cheap you get cheap.

If you don't like Dell there are a million other companies who'll build and sell you a complete system and if you buy a complete system, you'll have one butt to kick if things go wrong.

If you like playing with computer parts then bear in mind that they like playing with you. Plug and play is often called plug and pray. Nothing is guaranteed to work smoothly with anything else. But hey, if that's how you get your kicks...;-)

If you want a specialist high end/gaming system it's even more important to do your research and then talk to specialists in the field - the Alienware, Falcon NorthWest, VoodooPCs etc of this world. As the newer the technology the more the unexpected pitfalls you are likely to face.

when you've got the nature to build then, and want to understand how they tick then, its cheaper

It's not. Big system builders can put together and sell systems for 10-20% less than you are paying for individual parts. And is your time worth $0 an hour?

Staying a little behind the times also has it's advantages, more history/testing behind the product and no vanity premium on the price.

[caine]

> Staying a little behind the times also has it's advantages, more history/testing behind the product and no vanity premium on the price.

Excellant comment - and i agree whole heartedly - and usually do this. But i took a chance and got trapped in it a little.

Anyway all's well the computer is up and running - Its cool.

[Macro]

I'm glad it's now all resolved. Pour yourself a stiff one. You earned it :-)

[g1smd]

If you do get stuck then there are plenty of hardware forums around where you can get advice.

I stay a few years behind the times too. Most of the work I do is on a 450MHz laptop running Win98SE. Stable as a rock for over three years, one RAM upgrade from 64MB to 192MB a while back, and finally (for the first time) had to reload windows (on top of the old version) a few weeks back.