From: bliss-sf4ever@dslextreme.com   
      
   On 03/17/2016 09:14 AM, Aragorn wrote:   
   > On Thursday 17 Mar 2016 16:40, Bobbie Sellers conveyed the following to   
   > alt.os.linux.mandriva...   
   >   
   >> On 03/17/2016 08:21 AM, Aragorn wrote:   
   >>   
   >>> On Thursday 17 Mar 2016 15:59, Bobbie Sellers conveyed the following   
   >>> to alt.os.linux.mandriva...   
   >>>   
   >>>> But Aragorn I invite you to try it yourself. PCLOS does not take   
   >>>> much space on your hard drive.   
   >>>   
   >>> This I know, because I've used PCLinuxOS for several years (on a   
   >>> 32-bit machine) before eventually switching to Mageia (64-bit) on   
   >>> this machine here.   
   >>   
   >> I used PCLOS on my old Compaq notebook in the 64 bit version.   
   >> When I had to buy a new machine I ended up with a UEFI Windows 8.1   
   >> Pavilion and had a lot of trouble with the UEFI and Windows 8.1.   
   >   
   > Ah yes, UEFI: the solution nobody wanted to a problem that didn't exist.   
   > ;)   
   >   
   >> Right now Windows is just taking up space on the hard drive but of   
   >> course will not boot even with Secure Boot turned on.  But that year   
   >> PCLOS did not have a UEFI solution so I started using Mageia but   
   >> remain attached to drak tools and the MCC idea.  Why those losers   
   >> at Canonical haven't borrowed it I do not know.   
   >   
   > Well, Canonical decided to strictly stick to Debian for its upstream,   
   > and Debian doesn't have the drak* tools, of course.   
   >   
   > Personally I must say that the drak* tools are among the best system   
   > administration tools I've ever seen in any distribution.   
   > RedHat/CentOS/Fedora is a joke in that regard.   
   >   
   >>> However, unfortunately I cannot currently test this, because there's   
   >>> something wrong with the hardware in this machine ─ I suspect a   
   >>> faulty SATA connector ─ and it doesn't even recognize my optical   
   >>> drive anymore, and has very long delays on boot-up, both during the   
   >>> kernel boot and during the machine's POST.   
   >>   
   >> Sorry to hear of that.  I guess you have tried shutting down   
   >> and pulling and replacing SATA and power connectors?   
   >   
   > Actually, no the problem arose _after_ I had shut down the machine and   
   > cleaned out the fans with a can of compressed air.  I'm a smoker, and   
   > this machine sits in a corner, right next to a wall, with the   
   > ventilation holes in the case ─ and if it were lying on its side, above   
   > the CPU heat sink and fan ─ pointed to the wall.  There's about 8 cm   
   > between the computer case and the wall.   
   >   
   > The machine was beginning to shut down all by itself randomly ─ complete   
   > power-off.  It's an AMD machine.  So I started monitoring the   
   > temperature, and it appeared to go up to 98°C.  So I disconnected all   
   > the cables and opened up the machine, and sure enough, the whole thing   
   > was filled with dust.   
   >   
   > I used a can of compressed air to clean out the dust from the   
   > electronics, and I cleaned out the ventilation holes in the housing's   
   > sidewall with a brush, and gave the outer casing a good wash while I was   
   > at it.  I then put everything back together and reattached all the   
   > cables, and that's when I started noticing the problem on boot-up.   
      
   	When I used to get into towers I would use a conductivity   
   solution on the connectors to make sure I had a good connection,   
   Started using the stuff in the 1970s on my high fidelity setup.   
   Used to apply it with a plastic needled syringe to keep from using   
   too much.   
      
   >   
   > The thing is that all of the above is not so easy for me to do.  First   
   > of all, this "desk" is actually a two-plane CAD/CAM table, so I have to   
   > reach very far over to be able to attach the cables.  Secondly and in   
   > combination with the above, I am currently afflicted with a very painful   
   > bilateral inguinal hernia again ─ I've already had surgery for that back   
   > in 1998, and the doctors told me that I could never get it again.  Well,   
   > duh, oopsie, I just did.   
      
   	You might need to rethink your workstation layout so that cables   
   et al are more easily accessible.  Problems with getting into my Amiga   
   2000b-060 are neglected on account of my physical disabilities.  I   
   switched to x86 laptops about 12 years ago and finding XP I got very   
   interested in Linux and was told Mandriva was the way for an Amigan   
   to go by a since deceased friend.  Another Team Amiga pal finally   
   shipped me a DVD filled with the iso files for the 6 CDs I would   
   learn to make on XP.   
   >   
   > Furthermore, I think I may also be developing cataracts.  Well, it's   
   > either that, or my blood pressure is simply messing with my eyes.  But   
   > let's just say that my vision these days isn't anymore what it used to   
   > be.   
      
   	If you live long enough and do go outside that will happen. 12 years   
   back I was told in another 20 years I would need cataract surgery   
   and I believe them.   
   >   
   > And as if all of that is not enough, this room was pitch dark at the   
   > time, because the ceiling light's ballast has burned out ─ it's a dual   
   > halogen light fixture with the ballast mounted inside the metal housing.   
   > I already had it repaired before (for the same reason), but it burned   
   > out again within two weeks or so.  Seems that this type of fixture   
   > doesn't like the wall-mounted dimmer too much.  So connecting all the   
   > cables et al was a matter of really stretching my muscles, with nothing   
   > to lean on ─ I've also got three, possibly four hernias in my lower back   
   > ─ while holding a flashlight in one hand and using my other hand to   
   > manipulate the cables into their sockets and fasten the screws where   
   > needed, e.g. for the DVI cable.   
      
   	Well that is something I would put off and my physical condition is   
   only slightly better than yours.  Did you do the post-operative   
   exercises after your hernia surgeries?  You really   
   have to try to strengthen the abdominal musculature.not for a pretty   
   6 pack but to keep your guts where they belong but even body builders   
   get hernias from time to time.   
      
   	Well it does not work too well but I use headlamps with LEDs run   
   from batteries to illuminate my work or search space.  I have a light   
   here on articulated arm to deal with my desktop.   
      
   >   
   >> Looked at your Power Supply lately?   
   >   
   > No, but I suspect that the PSU is still in good working order.  It's a   
   > fairly adequate one, and the problem only started occurring after I had   
   > cleaned out the dust.  The POST takes a long time, during the phase   
   > where the BIOS is trying to enumerate the attached storage devices, and   
   > during boot-up, the kernel mentions something about "ata4 is slow to   
   > respond, please be patient".  It does eventually boot okay, though, and   
   > once booted, everything works smoothly.   
   >   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
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