Escadrille Ecosse Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Had my PC since 1999. Came in a big box decorated like a fresian cow from Gateway Computers. Since then it's been upgraded a few times, drives, motherboards, processors, cases have all been changed. The only remaining original components were the desktop speakers. Which finally gave up the ghost a couple of weeks ago. The last incarnation from about 2018 was getting a bit creaky. But changing everything over is always a bit of a pain so been putting things off. However I finally bit the bullet and bought the new hardware. Including one of the (relatively) new NVMe solid state drives. All built up And powered up for the first time and booted off a USB. I've got a retail copy of windows 10 with the activation linked to a Microsoft account so transfering the licence is straightforward. OS installed on the new NVMe drive no problem. Wouldn't recognise the LAN connection at first but just needed to enable that throught the settings after which activation went fine. Then just the labour of re-installing all the various applications and moving over the files from the old SSD. As I had kept this it was relatively simple to reconnect it to the new system and simply cut and paste from the old files system to the new before wiping the drive. Noticeably faster file management with the new storage at least. Need to try some video editing as I have installed the free version of the DaVinci software. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 Gateway computers….. there’s a blast from the past! SSDs are great. Upgraded my rather elderly Toshiba laptop a few years back with a straight clone of the original clockwork drive onto an SSD. The improvement (speed) was astonishing…. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerguzzi Posted May 20 Share Posted May 20 1 hour ago, Nick Jones said: SSDs are great. Upgraded my rather elderly Toshiba laptop a few years back with a straight clone of the original clockwork drive onto an SSD. The improvement (speed) was astonishing…. Hello All I have done all ours but now I am tapping my fingers after 30Seconds???????? Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escadrille Ecosse Posted May 20 Author Share Posted May 20 2 hours ago, Nick Jones said: SSDs are great. Upgraded my rather elderly Toshiba laptop a few years back with a straight clone of the original clockwork drive onto an SSD. The improvement (speed) was astonishing…. Yes. And going from SSD to M.2 NVMe is almost the same level of improvement in speed.... And so small they plug directly into the motherboard without needing the power and SATA cabling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebrookster Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 9 hours ago, Nick Jones said: Gateway computers….. there’s a blast from the past! Crikey, it is that! Our first "PC" (as opposed to a box with command line only) was purchased by my father in 1998(?). However he went for Evesham Vale at the time, we recently turned up the receipt for it. Quite the suprise, he paid over £3000 for it at the time! Ohh, and Colin? Please do some cable management in there! I've seen neater bowls of spaghetti!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 (edited) Washington's Axe? Surely, "Trigger's Broom"?? Or, in more classical thought (the Greeks were the first to think about everything!) The Ship of Theseus: Ship of Theseus - Wikipedia I'm happy - well, not so happy, it's frustrating to be so ignorant! - to leave the bonnet of my PC unlifted. The one time I did was when I tried to fit my first lap-top with extra memory, and found that the socket for the memory chip did not work! Then I realised why HP had sold off that batch of laptops so cheaply! But programming... is different. One time, I wrote a complete Anaesthesia Record system in BASIC and Assembly code. John Edited May 21 by JohnD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire6 Posted May 21 Share Posted May 21 Hi, I've been building computers for over 40 years. First, intel one was a DX3-100 with VL-Bus in 94. SATA SSD Disks are dead, I will undoubtedly be buying no more. Dead like PATA. M.2 NVMe for the system. I always go RAID 0 with no problems. Sons System disk is +16GB/S. PCIe GEN4 are super fast. SATA HDD is as fast as external now. The cheaper green HDD are a waste of money IMHO. The latest build is a cheap I7-7700K. The old CPU is flat out with cheap water cooling. Would never build with air now. Liquid cooling is quiet at full loads. Cheaper/Watt. GPU is old but a good GTX. Son has RTX3070 & will be upgraded XMas. I had always used SB ISA/PCI/PCIe but have for the last five years run external for better S/N. I don't use a case now to keep things quiet. Cheers, Iain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 Thank you, Iain, your acronym-filled post confirms my ignorance! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escadrille Ecosse Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 @JohnD you are right. Triggers broom it is (there would never be enough compatible bits to make a ship of Theseus) 19 hours ago, spitfire6 said: Hi, I've been building computers for over 40 years. First, intel one was a DX3-100 with VL-Bus in 94. SATA SSD Disks are dead, I will undoubtedly be buying no more. Dead like PATA. M.2 NVMe for the system. I always go RAID 0 with no problems. Sons System disk is +16GB/S. PCIe GEN4 are super fast. SATA HDD is as fast as external now. The cheaper green HDD are a waste of money IMHO. The latest build is a cheap I7-7700K. The old CPU is flat out with cheap water cooling. Would never build with air now. Liquid cooling is quiet at full loads. Cheaper/Watt. GPU is old but a good GTX. Son has RTX3070 & will be upgraded XMas. I had always used SB ISA/PCI/PCIe but have for the last five years run external for better S/N. I don't use a case now to keep things quiet. Cheers, Iain. Shhhh. Don't tell my computer. It seems to be working fine with an SDD in there for short term filing. And the old HDD for long term backup as my 'data centre'. If assembling a kit counts then it must have been 1981 or 82 when I put together a Sinclair Spectrum kit, ZX80 or 81 it must have been. I wasn't really that interested in computers per se, still not to tell the truth, but my Dad like playing around with all this sort of stuff and I was better with the tools. Just do this periodically for a bit of fun and to keep the cost down. Hence all the not top of the range stuff. Not sure any of my machines have ever been that stressed. I don't play games (CFS and Tombraider were probably my last forays) and a bit of basic video editing is about the most intense thing it needs to do so although clever and efficient water cooling is just an unnecessary faff for me. And I couldn't be doing without a case. A bit like driving around in a Spitfire without the bonnet On 5/21/2023 at 3:54 AM, thebrookster said: Ohh, and Colin? Please do some cable management in there! I've seen neater bowls of spaghetti!! Phil. I hadn't quite finished but looking at the photo I felt the pain. Cable management has now been achieved. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 Arising from my above - this isn't computers, but electronics, I think. I have added useful kit to my TRansit - A satnav and a tyre pressure monitor. It also came with an electric cool box, that is useful on long trips, even if I only dare run it while the engine's going. There is only one 12V accessory socket in the van, and the cool box runs off that. So I got an adaptor that provides two such sockets, but I need at least three MORE sockets for satnav, pressure and to keep my phone charged. So I got one of these: More USB sockets than you can shake a stick at! Great, I can keep all the extra kit running/charged ! When the five way adaptor is plugged directly into the van socket, it lights up with a pleasing blue colour, and provides energy as required. But my cool box has a DIN type 12V plug on the end, this sort of thing: so I need the two socket adaptor, one for the cool box and one for the multiway USB plug. When inserted into the two way adaptor, the multiway USB doesn't light up or provide energy! Both the two-way sockets work for other kit, so what's wrong? I can't send it back, as it does work! Just not as I intended! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escadrille Ecosse Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 John I suspect there is too big a volts drop across the setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 Thank you Colin! But in my ignorance, I don't understand what that means! I'm talking about just plugging in the multiway, with nothing drawing current, except the ?LED that provides the blue light. Surely there should be the same volts at the out port as at the input? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteStupps Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 Is the 2-way adaptor swapping the polarity, perhaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escadrille Ecosse Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 The LED, voltage stabiliser and 'transformer' to drop the voltage down to the USB output voltage. All that consumes power even if there is no output load. And depending on the input range the USB will accept it could be insufficient to switch the system on. Remember that is digital not analogue. None of which is helped by our 'old' vehicles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escadrille Ecosse Posted May 22 Author Share Posted May 22 Had something similar with a cheap USB charger in the Scimitar. In that case it would be enough to make the LED glow but not charge the phone. The expensive high end USB charger I got does work properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeTRacted Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 Sounds to me as though the USB plug doesn't make proper contact in the dual adaptor. Perhaps the wider part of the body doesn't allow it to enter far enough for the centre contact to make ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted May 22 Share Posted May 22 I would be tempted to go for something more like https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charge-Charger-Socket-Outlet-Motorcycle/dp/B08118Z7NJ/ref=asc_df_B08118Z7NJ/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=427931137165&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=547235833253809093&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9073581&hvtargid=pla-863386027105&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=99265830203&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=427931137165&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=547235833253809093&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9073581&hvtargid=pla-863386027105 Appropriately wired and fused of course. I'd also find a source other than Amazon as Bezos is rich enough.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerguzzi Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 10 hours ago, Nick Jones said: I would be tempted to go for something more like https://www.amazon.co.uk/Charge-Charger-Socket-Outlet-Motorcycle/dp/B08118Z7NJ/ref=asc_df_B08118Z7NJ/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=427931137165&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=547235833253809093&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9073581&hvtargid=pla-863386027105&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=99265830203&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=427931137165&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=547235833253809093&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9073581&hvtargid=pla-863386027105 Appropriately wired and fused of course. I'd also find a source other than Amazon as Bezos is rich enough.... Hello All I fitted that type to Spitty so I could run the satnav cable behind the dash and out through the ashtray and have a spare outlet for phone etc charging I found it on fleabay and chaper than that but it was a few years ago! Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD Posted May 23 Share Posted May 23 (edited) DeTRacted nailed it! My Vernier gauge quickly showed that the bulbous head of the multiway prevented the contact on the tip of the plug from reaching far enough in! The actual contcat is the machine screw that holds the outer earth casing, through an insulating washer: <<<< Insulating washer ^^^ securing screw Substituting the screw with a larger headed, pan-head screw that stuck further up from the washer and BINGO! The multiway lights up! I just love an engineering, rather than an electronic solution! But thank you to all who provided electronic answers, and double-plus thanks to DeTRacted! John Edited May 23 by JohnD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escadrille Ecosse Posted May 23 Author Share Posted May 23 4 minutes ago, JohnD said: DeTRacted nailed it! My Vernier gauge quickly showed that the bulbous head of the multiway prevented the contact on the tip of the plug from reaching far enough in! The actual contcat is the machine screw that holds the outer earth casing, through an insulating washer: <<<< Insulating washer ^^^ securing screw Substituting the screw with a larger headed, pan-head screw that stuck further up from the washer and BINGO! The multiway lights up! I just love an engineering, rather than an electronic solution! But thank you to all who provided electronic answers, and double-plus thanks to DeTRacted! John Bingo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Escadrille Ecosse Posted May 25 Author Share Posted May 25 @spitfire6 Iain as this sort of stuff is your bag I thought you might enjoy this for the old Steampunk tech if nothing else. Magnetic core RAM I had heard about. But if that isn't weird enough how about delay line memory which is new to me. Acoustic pulses in a glass rod 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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