Re: [tlug] Hardware Issue

["Lyle (Hiroshi) Saxon" <ronfaxon@example.com>]

Stephen J. Turnbull wrote:

>    Lyle> If there were some kind of motherboard damage or
>    Lyle> model-specific problem with OptiPlex GX-110's, there could
>    Lyle> be a tie-in there.
>
>Check BIOS versions.  Also, check if you can flash an upgraded BIOS.
>
>  
>
When I got the computer, I upgraded the BIOS (which I needed to do to 
get a large hard drive in), and it now has "BIOS Revision A09" according 
to the initial screen.  I'll check for a newer version.

>Reseat _all_ connections (even the power lines, for good luck).  Yes,
>I mean all the add-in cards, too.  Everything that can be wiggled.
>
>  
>
I haven't gotten inside it yet (doing so requires moving equipment 
stacked on top of it), but I checked that all accessible connections are 
firmly plugged in, paying particular attention to the KVM switch.

>This sounds like a timing issue to me.  In the machine that fails
>often, try plugging the keyboard in directly.  It seems unlikely that
>the switch would introduce enough delay to matter, but it's easy
>enough to try.
>
>  
>
I just tried plugging in a keyboard directly - and learned something 
interesting about the KVM switch - it doesn't recognize the machine at 
all with the keyboard cable unplugged!  I've plugged in different mice 
before and that doesn't faze it, but the keyboard cable has to be 
plugged in.  Next step is to try a different main keyboard (plugged into 
the other side of the KVM switch), but as the keyboard isn't producing 
errors on the other machines (with the rare exception of one other 
OptiPlex also from the same time frame as the trouble-maker), I don't 
think... well... I'll have to give it a try!

>    Lyle> I think the keyboard being at fault can be ruled out due to
>    Lyle> the fact that there has been no keyboard-related error in
>    Lyle> any shape or form on any of the four computers once they
>    Lyle> were up and running, and no error message in any shape or
>    Lyle> form at any time with two of them using that same keyboard.
>
>That's not obvious.  Modern keyboards may have internal error-checking
>circuitry or whatever that only gets exercised on bootup.  If your
>keyboard takes longer than typical ones to run through its routine,
>that could be longer than the BIOS is programmed to expect.
>
>  
>
It's quite an old model I think.  I've only been using it for a couple 
of years now, but it was old stock at a small shop in Akihabara that was 
about to move and it seems as though they found it sleeping in a back 
room or something.  It's a great keyboard - the bottom row has:

Large Ctrl    Large Alt   V---e---r---y L---a---r---g---e Space   Large 
Alt   Large Ctrl

No idiotic extra MicroMuck buttons and no extra J-buttons for what can 
be done with the F-keys already.  Just changing to this keyboard 
drastically cut down typos, and I can type in the bitch black, something 
that is difficult to do with too many keys in that bottom row.

>All that not withstanding, it sounds like the machine in question is a
>lemon.
>

I'm afraid you may be right there.  Hopefully I'll be able to blame the 
KVM for it, but my suspicions are with the computer.