You learn something new each day...

I've heard and read about them yet never had the chance to actually see or access one: Toshiba laptops' easy access to hard drives. Had to recover files from my sister and brother-in-law's Toshiba TE2100. I thought I was in for a long tear-down... But, no... All I had to do was remove a screw, pop a small dedicated drive panel, pull, and viola! Out comes the old 30GB 2.5 in. HD.

You learn something new each day...

In the wild: Sighting an Asus Eee

The Asus Eee PC. Saw one in Asianic Computer Shop SM Sucat. They had stocks available but no word yet on pricing. It's so small! Smaller than my Vaio. It's official, I want one! Asus EEE!ASUS EEE
 

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LIS262 Hardware Exercise

PC hardware exercise.
LIS262, 2nd Sem, AY2007-08

Shuttle XPC cleaning

This is a three-year-old Shuttle XPC used for web and print publishing by one of our graphics staff in Ortigas. It hasn't been opened and cleaned since it was bought. It overheated this November so I had to open it up. All fans weren't working and you could fry an egg because of the heat. You know why? Cobwebs, dust and dirt have built up in many places, hampering optimum functionality (wow, big words :D). Jeez, don't let this happen to your rig. Took me half an afternoon to clean it up.

Of Laptop Repair and Knives

I had to repair the old Sony Vaio PCG-505SX. I removed a leaking internal (bios) battery just to get it to work again. See that green thing near the laptop hinge? That's the part I had to remove. The Vaio's so thin. :D


An officemate got me this knife pair when she went to Dagupan. It's now part of my weapons collection. :D

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UPSLIS Computer Lab Regular Maintenance

You'll be surprised how much dirt and grime can stick to computers in the course of a semester. Check out the before and after mouse ball pics. :D

PC Repair, Upgrade, Cleaning and Maintenance
1st Sem, AY 2007-08
UP SLIS, Diliman, QC

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New Computer and redecorating for breathing space

I recently bought a new computer.
 
The old PC was too slow for me, especially for graphics work at the home office (which doubles as my room, or is it the other way around, O_o;;).
 
So I bought some parts and put together this: Core2duo PC (Intel Core2 CPU, 4400 @2.00Ghz, 2Gb RAM, Nvidia GeForce 7300 SE/7200 GS, 512Mb, LG 18x DVD-RW). I also bought a KVM switch, 160GB hard disk, CD / DVD spindles, blank CDRs and DVDs, and cpu side fan for the new casing.
 
 

Here is my old PC (Celeron, 2.13Ghz, 512Mb RAM, VIA S3G Unichrome IGP 32 Mb onboard, HP 12x CDRW, Samsung DVD-combo, Wacom Graphire 4 graphics tablet) at the old home office where I usually do graphics stuff. Disorganized, huh? Reminds me of bullpens I used to inhabit.
 
 
 
Here's my room / home office while I was redecorating and setting up the new pc and home network. I decided to take out the bed for more breathing and walking space. The computer table had to go too since it eats up a lot of space, I used a good ole trusty wooden bench instead.
 
 
 
After transferring my old external 40Gb and 80Gb hard disks and new 160Gb hard disk to the old pc, I installed the old dual monitors, a 80Gb hard disk and the graphic tablet on the new pc. The Nvidia GeForce 7300 SE/7200 GS, 512Mb has support for dual / multiple monitors so I made use of it (others use it for gaming, but I use it for work).
 
I set up an Aten KVM switch so I could use 1 set of keyboard-mouse-speakers for the two pcs (no need for individual keyboard-mouse-speakers). I set it up so the primary monitor is the one that can switch between the old and new pc. I knew about KVM switches but never did try nor had any use for them before. The only time I saw one up close was Qiqo's setup for Ate Shelly's 2 PCs at the UPSLIS. It's cool, I can now surf on the old pc, tap scroll lock twice to switch, and be transported to my work on the new PC. I also set up a home network to so I could transfer files between hard disks on different PCs. The old PC now serves as a file dump.
 
Core2duo 4400  @2.00Ghz on 2Gb RAM very fast... Me like... Here's the new cozy home office. Gorilla too tired? I just lie down and snooze.
 
 

Mwehehehehe

Happy birthday to me...
Happy birthday to me...

I was on my way to Kris and Moira's wedding when I saw Puti aka Muning aka Whitey in front of the Main Library. Waiting for a mouse? O_o;;
So anyway, my birthdays are probably getting weirder by the year. I got some useful stuff from my mom, sister and nephews. I also got stuff for myself. Something for the martial artist in me, something for the inner geek in me, and something for the skill freak in me.


I got myself a pair of ball-bearing nunchucks. I bought these the day I bought the stationary bike at Toby's for the house. They had a pile of nunchucks in their martial arts section and I think I surprised the cashier and the manager when I said I'd like to add the two nunchucks. I think I scared them when I said I'd like to test them before they punch it in (hey, I have to be sure the balance is okay and that the swing / rotation is sweet). I think I awed them a bit when I did flips and rotations. I assume they usually see guys only do swings and transfers. Anyway, I love these guys to death.

I also bought an 80Gb hard disk and an enclosure for the increasing number of files I generate. And lastly...

Yup. It's a unicycle. A new skill / circus toy for me to learn. And I know it's gonna hurt really bad trying to learn this one-wheeled wonder. O_o;; I already fell about a dozen times last weekend just trying to balance myself.

Crossposted: http://gokitomo.com, http://gorilla.multiply.com and http://gorilla.vox.com.

Of Hardware, Linux and Sleepy Pigs

Before I start, here's a pink sleepy pig with an outie belly button I got at Tom's World SM South Mall Las Pinas.

Anyway,
I wanted to set up my second hard disk with different Linux
distributions. SO I did the usual formating, partitioning and adding an
OS loader. In this case it was GRUB. Things were going great, I had WinXP, Nimblex, Ubuntu, Damn Small Linux and Geexbox
up and running then WHAM! Blue Screen of Death... WinXP or Linux. Seems
my PC was overheating, the processor temperature was reaching the
auto-shutdown point set at 60 degrees celsius. I suspected that the
culprit was the lack of cooling air reaching the processor or lack of
contact between the processor and the heatsink. I was right. I replaced
the power supply a couple of months ago and had to remove the processor
fan to get at it. Back then the grease was already drying up. The PC is
a year old so I was half-expecting it to dry up already.

I
took the fan and heatsink apart and I was right. Damn things were dirty
and air wasn't reaching the processor. Plus the thermal grease was
already dry. I didn't have any thermal grease around. The stores in SM
Southmall didn't have any in stock as well. So I had to make my own.
The grease is important since it allows contact between the heatsink
and processor so heat is conducted from the processor and makes for
easier cooling by the fan and heatsink. So I googled for alternatives.
I found Homemade Thermal Grease! at overclockers.com and Thermal Transfer Compound Comparison at dansdata.com
very helpful. Hmmm... Seems toothpaste plus grease could do the trick,
so could Brylcreem, but I couldn't find that particular page again
since the PC hung before I could bookmark

I cleaned the dirt off the fan and heatsink with alcohol so they
would dry fast (couldn't use water, WATER BAD!) Ditto for getting the
dried thermal gunk off the processor. There were different recipes for
homemade thermal grease, one suggestion was 75% toothpaste and 25%
grease. I experimented and came up with a 50%-50% mixture using
toothpaste and joint grease. The green gunk I lathered on the processor
and slapped on the fan and heatsink. Well... So far so good. It's been
a week now and no trouble yet. The processor temperature is down to 48
to 51 degrees. it's been a week and it's still going strong.With the PC
in fighting form, I was able to finish the updates on FlipSpin.org (the Summer Swimming Party) and TeatroSanJose.org (Salubong)





Crossposted: gokitomo.com, gorilla.multiply.com, gorilla.vox.com.

Guess What...

Yup, you heard me... Guess what... Last night another minivan
blocked our driveway! Jeez, what is it with our driveway and minivans
that they like blocking it. It's a different minivan, a silver
single-cab, pick-up type Suzuki Carry-all, similar to Meowok's
old ride. But this time I heard them park and I immediately went out of
the house. I was cleaning my room, heck seems half of my room is junk
so I moved them out to make room for incoming new junk, so I was
half-naked (shirtless, of course... I don't think the world is prepared
for a Gorilla Au Naturelle) when I burst out of the house. Nothing scares the hell out of people than a shirtless Gorilla (ask Cherry).
I asked them politely to move their van as it was in the way and I
wouldn't be able to go out in case of an emergency. They were
apologetic and moved their vehicle.

Problem was that there was a real chance of an emergency last night.

My pamangkinaanak (nephew and godson) has had high fever
for the past week and had tests done. I was actually on my way to the
Saturday funeral of Lee's brother when my sister texted me that Enzo
was to be brought to the hospital. I had to turn back, the decision
wasn't hard because the traffic was bad going to Montalban anyway. When
the tests came back his white cell count was a bit high indicating
infection. A battery of tests, days of no appetite and vomiting up
medicine was cause for alarm and his pediatrician asked that he be
confined at the nearest hospital which is LPDH (Las Pinas Doctor's Hospital).

Being an uncle isn't all that bad. In fact it's great. But being an uncle (and a godfather, I'm referred to as tito-ninong)
has responsibilities attached to it. In times like these I'm the supply
line between home and hospital as well as house guard-dog. (Woof!) With
my sister stuck at home to due to her delicate next pregnancy, I'm also
an ambulance driver just in case. :D I don't think my own uncle-ninong
Oben for putting him through hell when I was born. I never get tired of
hearing how he had to wade through Espana and UST hospital flood waters
to bring supplies to dad, mom and me. (Thanks ninong. :D)

Enzo's one tough patient, they had a hard time putting in the
dextrose needle since he's such an active baby. He also bawls a lot
when he's in pain. If all goes well and when he responds to the
medicines, he's homeward-bound by Tuesday.

I had some time to spare so I passed by the Asianic computer store to get these babies: ASUS V9400-X 128Mb DDR AGP graphics card and LifeView
FlyTV Prime full PCI TV card (FM radio, TV, camcorder). Now I can make
TV vidcaps and transfer the videos we have on tape. Plus, I can now
strike out some stuff from my wishlist.
I got the graphics card upgrade idea from Olan and Meowok who I visited
last Friday on a graphics business and personal call (burp, thanks for
the chocolate cake and soda). :D After some nightmarish installation
procedures, I was able to make it work with my two monitors. Seems my
onboard 64Mb won't work when there's an AGP card installed. Next stop,
a better PCI graphics card for the second monitor (it currently runs on
an ancient S3 Virge 4Mb).