i hate linux

[rmd]

actually, i think this has just escalated to "i hate computers".

so, i built this linux box a while ago to hold my cd collection as flac-encoded files, and it was running fine and i was happily ripping things.

then it kept wedging and stalling out. and it started complaining about a hard drive that wasn't actually mounted and i'm not sure existed.

so i pulled out the two oldest hard drives (which were both about 6 years old), just on principle. and started re-installing. and it crapped out in the middle of the reinstall. and so i tried it again, and the same thing happened.

and now it won't get past the POST screen -- in fact, i get the bios splash screen and it doesn't recognize me hitting the tab key and yelling "hey, stupid computer! show me the fucking post screen, damn you!"

so i disconnected all the various IDE devices and the floppy disk and i'm in the same situation.

harrumf.

Comments

[smeehrrr.livejournal.com]

I had a mobo go bad on one of my DVD servers and corrupt 5 drives. 1.25TB. Whee.

[rmd.livejournal.com]

oh suck.

that's why project #2 is "build someplace to back up all the data. (project #1 is "get this stupid machine working)

[johnromkey.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, it's not really Linux' fault if your motherboard isn't working.

I'm really paranoid about our MP3 archive and very worried about making sure it's backed up (of course, being worried about it is different from making sure it's done, but we do have backups).

It's really tough backing up a big archive.

I try to make sure that my archive filesystems are journaled (ext3 now; I used to use Reiserfs, had a bad block [on a hardware RAID setup that wasn't supposed to be able to do that], and lost the whole thing, so I don't use Reiserfs anymore), on a RAID array, but presumably a bad motherboard could still defeat me.

I would recommend popping out the CMOS battery - you may need to replace it. Look for a jumper on the motherboard that resets the CMOS. Usually you just need to short the jumper while the machine is plugged in, then set it back to its normal position. My guess is (short of some impossible to correct hardware failure) is that your CMOS has gotten messed up.

(I know, you weren't looking for advice... I just help that hopes... if not, one nice thing with Linux is that usually you can swap an existing drive array onto a new motherboard with little heartache)

[rmd.livejournal.com]

cool. i'll try the battery.

i'm troubleshooting and trying to narrow it down. it's not the video card, and i don't think it's the memory. i had a loose power connector, but that was probably done while i was mucking around in it the other day.

i think i may have a failing drive, since the IDE controller is listing it with the wrong size. or, you know, maybe it's the IDE controller. :-|

happily, i've only got about 20G worth of music ripped, and it's all sitting on another machine for now, so even if i have a catastrophic data failure on the other machine, i'm not too hosed.

one nice thing with Linux is that usually you can swap an existing drive array onto a new motherboard with little heartache
can you? that's great. it's one of the things i was wondering about -- i wasn't sure if any of the array state lived somewhere besides on the array disks.

thanks!

[madbodger.livejournal.com]

Most PCs have a design life ranging from 90 days (no-name Taiwanese machines) to
about 4 years (Dell, however they're incompetent, so 2 years is more realistic). To get
decent quality components in an X86 box, be prepared to spend some bucks. The
good folks at Alienware can help you out.