Golden Sun Hacking Community

The Community => Open Discussion => Topic started by: Atrius on 24, June, 2010, 02:49:58 AM

Title: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Atrius on 24, June, 2010, 02:49:58 AM
On top of having a dry socket from my wisdom teeth being removed last week I've also been having quite a bit of computer trouble, here's the situation as it stands now:

Main Computer: Unable to boot, immediate BSOD even in safe mode, switched to back-up secondary operating system installed on machine, same results.  All troubleshooting so far has produced no results.  Next step would be to format the hard drive, and attempt to reinstall one of the operating systems.  It's highly unlikely they would both fail due to software reasons so hopes that this will actually help in any way are low, however there's a snag before I feel I can even attempt this...
Back ups: Corrupted, cause unknown.

Since the computer is a laptop and the hard drives are incompatible with this older desktop (32-bit processor to give you an idea how old) I managed to get my hands on, the only option I can think of to verify the status of the data on the laptop, and attempt to copy it somewhere else is to create a disk that can be booted from, unfortunately archaic desktop lacks a CD drive capable of burning (Yes, that old)  To be clear, yes the source code for the editor is among the data that would be lost if the information on the hard drive cannot be recovered.  Although all signs point to a hardware failure, and the laptop may need to be replaced I do not believe the hard drive is what failed.  Unfortunately this also means that it may not be able to successfully boot from a CD either, making data recovery efforts all the more difficult.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Hoopa on 24, June, 2010, 07:42:21 AM
Wow...that sucks. Does the bsod say what type of error you have though?
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Menaus on 24, June, 2010, 02:43:11 PM
That is too bad, way too bad. Maybe in the future you should upload the latest version of the editor, even if its one your working on, to a website so that if this happens, and you cant get any data out of the HDD, you still can download the editor.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: NecrokaRTGreece on 24, June, 2010, 02:56:55 PM
o.o; holy crap... ugh, i wish i had a way of contacting my buddy, he might know what to do...
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: leaf on 24, June, 2010, 05:05:53 PM
Wow, that sucks atrius. Good luck getting your computer working again.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Salanewt on 24, June, 2010, 05:10:44 PM
Oh wow. Good luck fixing your computer, and good luck on recovering your lost files.

You have absolutely no clue how it happened, or do you know why this happened?

Have a nice day.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Tetsuya the Azure Blade on 24, June, 2010, 05:16:09 PM
Ouch, what a bummer XD

You're gonna have to reset your PC back to factory defaults, aren't you? That sucks @#$. I can't believe how many times I've had to do that.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Rolina on 25, June, 2010, 01:05:09 PM
Ah... crap... so if that goes, the editor is going to have some serious downtime...

If all else fails, do you think you can take it somewhere for data recovery?
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Atrius on 25, June, 2010, 04:35:47 PM
Managed to access the hard drive, the data is all just fine, copied it somewhere safe.  Archaic desktop unfortunately doesn't meet the hardware specs needed to continue work on the editor.  Laptop is still dead, 99% certain it's a hardware issue, haven't been able to isolate which part of the hardware exactly yet though.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Hoopa on 25, June, 2010, 04:37:56 PM
Well, at least you could save your data. Hopefully the issue isn't too hard to fix... Well, good luck with that.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: NecrokaRTGreece on 25, June, 2010, 04:48:57 PM
yeah, as long as the data is safe, you'll be able to work on it again sometime. there are some more up to date laptops you can get for like 500 bucks that have good ventilation to prevent overheatingand ruining parts. they should work perfectly well for you. their screens aren't too terribly big though
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas on 25, June, 2010, 05:41:30 PM
Quote from: Atrius on 25, June, 2010, 04:35:47 PM
Managed to access the hard drive, the data is all just fine, copied it somewhere safe.  Archaic desktop unfortunately doesn't meet the hardware specs needed to continue work on the editor.  Laptop is still dead, 99% certain it's a hardware issue, haven't been able to isolate which part of the hardware exactly yet though.

That is good to hear (about the data being safe). (If it's like a floppy disk.... (probably not limited to a floppy.. but...) I'd keep it away from magnets...) Magnets don't do very well sometimes. I heard once that one of my previous teachers had stored her paper on a floppy disk and it got accidentally erased by a magnet....
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Atrius on 25, June, 2010, 10:04:29 PM
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v698/AtriusV/Random%20Screens/laptop.jpg)
Yes, I did check to make sure my warranty had already expired before I did this.

Final verdict: Component integrated to motherboard failed, and cannot be replaced without replacing entire motherboard.  Motherboard has been discontinued, replacements do not exist.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: NecrokaRTGreece on 25, June, 2010, 10:08:27 PM
wellll... at least you have a pretty rug. ^^; you're deffinately gonna need a new computer...
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: leaf on 25, June, 2010, 10:34:51 PM
Well that sucks. At least your data's safe...
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas on 25, June, 2010, 10:43:55 PM
Quote from: KuramaKarasuLEMON on 25, June, 2010, 10:08:27 PM
wellll... at least you have a pretty rug. ^^; you're deffinately gonna need a new computer...
Yup.

Ofcourse, you could probably keep the good parts for spares (basically creating a safety net for any future problems that may come down the road.) ... or perhaps sell them if that is even possible.

Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Atrius on 26, June, 2010, 12:44:13 AM
Quote from: KuramaKarasuLEMON on 25, June, 2010, 10:08:27 PM
wellll... at least you have a pretty rug. ^^; you're deffinately gonna need a new computer...

That's actually my blanket.

For the record, after putting it back together the laptop works just as well as it didn't before disassembly.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: NecrokaRTGreece on 26, June, 2010, 12:48:24 AM
a blanket that looks like a rug? o.o
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Rolina on 26, June, 2010, 12:48:47 AM
Heh, nice to see your sense of humor isn't broken.

How good are you gonna want your computer?  I know I want mine to have a lot of power behind it, so I'm saving for a $1K one... but if you don't need it for gaming, then there's no reason to have that much power...  It's not gonna knock you back too badly, is it?
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Atrius on 26, June, 2010, 01:25:48 AM
I do a lot of traveling for my job so a desktop replacement style laptop is what I'd go for.  I'm looking around the $1K-1.5K price range for the amount of power I'd like, some stuff I do requires quite a bit.


FYI, that blanket was hand knit by my grandmother.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: NecrokaRTGreece on 26, June, 2010, 01:30:14 AM
ah, ok, its knitted. that makes A LOT more sence ^^;
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Rolina on 26, June, 2010, 01:30:58 AM
Ouch, that sounds painful.

How many months is this gonna knock you back?
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Atrius on 26, June, 2010, 02:42:03 AM
Meh, I didn't like eating, or having things like soap and toilet paper around the house anyway.

Nah, it's not that bad.  I've got enough saved up to foot the bill already, it is gonna be quite a bit larger of a dent than I'd hoped to make in my savings any time soon though.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Menaus on 26, June, 2010, 02:52:15 AM
No toilet paper? How do you survive?
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Atrius on 26, June, 2010, 02:54:10 AM
I'll keep a bucket of pine cones in the bathroom, I hear they're nature's toilet paper.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: NecrokaRTGreece on 26, June, 2010, 03:04:17 AM
reminds me of my kind of camping.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Menaus on 26, June, 2010, 03:18:48 AM
Reminds me of torture
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Atrius on 26, June, 2010, 03:20:22 AM
Reminds me of arctic survival school, except it would be warmer than -30 degrees.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: NecrokaRTGreece on 26, June, 2010, 03:21:47 AM
survival school? i forgot you were a little extreme ^^;
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Atrius on 26, June, 2010, 03:43:22 AM
Just part of my job.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: NecrokaRTGreece on 26, June, 2010, 03:47:03 AM
yeah, i know, i remembered after you said the training ^^;
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Atrius on 26, June, 2010, 03:57:23 AM
Yeah... When we're riding with the Pararescue guys in their chopper, it's pretty much understood that if they get an emergency call we're gonna get dropped off in the middle of nowhere until it's taken care of.  Not to mention that the majority of our sites are out in the middle of nowhere, so if our ATV's or Snow Machines break down it could be quite a ways to anything resembling civilization, and when the winters up here can get below -40 easy you need to be prepared.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: NecrokaRTGreece on 26, June, 2010, 03:59:40 AM
im not surprised at all. seriously.
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: Menaus on 26, June, 2010, 04:45:44 AM
You do any boy scouts when you were a kid? It can really prepare you for that kind of stuff
Title: Re: I'm having a heck of a bad week
Post by: NecrokaRTGreece on 26, June, 2010, 10:27:10 AM
i dont think boy scouts metters to him anymore anyways. he would have re-learned all the useful crap whether he took it or not