Subj : What to do with a gia To : Ky Moffet From : Barry Martin Date : Tue Feb 22 2022 09:25:00 Hi Ky! KM> I don't recall offhand if yours was mispartitioned (which KM> happened sometimes with old tools) or what. But obviously got KM> past it. I'm not recalling the details either, and seems like at least two different errors. Main problem was it just didn't show up as a thumbdrive anymore, though was detected as being plugged in to the USB hub: right now this virtual Windows XP detects it as (USB dropdown) Unknown Device FFFF:1201. ...OK, same for lsusb: ffff:1201 without any identifier following. At the time did try various options to recover, Some worked temporarily: seen as the proper device, may have been able to work with the data then failed again shortly, others just never worked again. This post does have some details on someone else's results and recovery suggestions. There is mention of 'cheap junk'. https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/546904/corrupted-usb-media Oh, the reason I have it plugged in? The cover is metal and makes a decent site to discharge any static electricity build-up. > KM> However, if the OS touches it, and it's bad, it will make > KM> trouble. Drive that's failing but nothing visible (no bad > KM> sectors) can cause system freezes. > Hmm: thinking about that one Raspberry Pi I'm having problems with: > randomly locks up/stops. Sometimes a reboot works, sometimes have to > power boot to get going again. Plenty of room on the SD card, plenty of > free memory. KM> Dunno if SD cards need the TRIM function like SSDs do to clean up KM> after used/unused sectors and do wear-leveling... linux has not KM> been good about that, generally, nor Windows before Win7, but KM> newer SSDs TRIM themselves. SDs? no idea. Offhand don't know the details on the card in there other than 32 GB but it is probably around two years old so may not have the built-in TRIM. (BTW, yesterday it behaved itself, day before it have to be told who's boss twice.) KM> KM> Okay. If it's been in service a while as an OS host, chances are KM> it's worn out: KM> https://www.reddit.com/r/raspberry_pi/comments/ex7dvo/quick_remind KM> er_that_sd_ca KM> ds_with_wearleveling/ OK, that was helpful in verifying the currently installed SD card is probably the culprit. Poor guy just wore itself out! One thing I don't know and wil be finding out is if the card copying utility of the Raspberry Pi will 'work properly': copy just the data and not the "this section is bad" on to the new card. KM> BUT! an inexpensive card is now available that does the job! new KM> info from WD says: KM> === KM> Our WD Purple MicroSD's do both static and dynamic wear-leveling. KM> Meaning all blocks across whole address space are considered for KM> wear leveling regardless of if and how the blocks are used. This KM> keeps the number of program erase cycles consistent on all KM> blocks. === KM> https://www.westerndigital.com/products/memory-cards/wd-purple-mic KM> rosd#WDD032G10C KM> Oh, be aware that as an old fogey, once a year you can claim a KM> substantial Old Fogey discount on orders from WD. Last I looked KM> it was 15%. Well, I was going to write up there for the cost of the card (I tend to buy in multiples to get a slight discount) I would just throw into electronic recycling but a future of 15% discounts might make an initial higher cost worthwhile. > > the History -- darn!) I probably have a greater chance of a hacker > > attempting to snag my WiFi. (Why has that car been sitting on the > > street for the last hour?) > KM> Anyone trying to enjoy my wifi would be very disappointed in the > KM> speed... > Still, could be better than nothing! KM> Tin cans and string level better than nothing! Here it's raining out: your string to the guy in the car is getting wet and so not conducting well! > KM> Yeah, the Asustor has its own little CPU and OS, and it can do > KM> enough stuff that you could almost use it as a desktop. Would I > KM> ever use those functions? I doubt it. > On one hand there are our types which could make a system from scratch > -- well, select and grab a bunch of software anyway! There are others > who could not. My guess is the units put in all that software for the > latter group. Same unit is sold to mour group, we just don't have to > use what's included. KM> It's designed for small business backup and fileserver type work, KM> where there are liability concerns. Commercial NAS lost data? you KM> were following best practices, no liability in that. Homebrew NAS KM> lost data? See you in court. Which is probably why one constantly sees in the licensing text the disclaimer. KM> My sister's work (she's a partner in a big international KM> architecture firm) discards anything that's out of warranty, KM> including vehicles, because the liability is too great. Building KM> fell down? You were using fully supported everything and all to KM> industry standard, so no liability for any defect that derives KM> from said hardware or software. Using unsupported or outdated KM> software OR hardware? See you in court. (We're talking billions KM> of dollars, not small claims court.) Yup. If someone using stuff outside of what the manufacturer claims it will work it's on them. Remember seeing in a toaster's paperwork (may have been a blender or some other small appliance) the warranty for consumer use was one year but for use in a business 90 days (maybe less, I've forgotten). Only reason I was looking at the warranty stuff was to help deciding between two: figure a longer warranty period means the manufacturer built better. Back to the business stuff, what's sort of funny is the bean-counters and make-a-profit guys will be saying to use the old stuff: it's paid for, works, or cheaper to repair than buy new. They probably change their mind when that court date gets set! > > So when are you going to price SATA-to-IDE adapters?! > KM> LOL... I've used those. The one that actually works and doesn't > KM> burn a hole in your PC is awkwardly sized and a naked board so > KM> you have to be careful what it touches; the one that's got a case > KM> around the board and isn't so big and gawky runs at FRY. Either > KM> way, not a good solution. > I've worked with bare/open circuit boards; mostly the electrical side of > things like voltage regulators and chargers. The pre-made aspect is > nice: keeps things compact and the price down -- I'd probably pay the > same for a toroid as I did for the entire unit. Holding the board in > place in the box can sometimes be a bit of a challenge! KM> Yeah, finding a way to dangle the one that worked where nothing KM> would contact metal was more challenge than it was worth. Plus it KM> doesn't fit inside any sort of drive bay. Easier to install an KM> IDE or SATA adapter card (tho the latter need drivers, which can KM> be an Issue. The IDE cards don't.) Yess, sometimes cheaper in the long run to let someone else figure out the mounting details so I can just slide it into the slot. Even with a plastic (so non-conductive) case things can get interesting. I had built a battery supply using the case of a failed UPS (no, not the one from earlier this year -- this puppy was probably from the 80's). RBC-17 type battery, charger circuit, a 12v regulator board and a 5 volt regulator board for the outputs. So looks like plenty of room for mounting the parts but with the support ribs, etc., it got a little challenging. > KM> Yeah, I like to sort things out that way when I can. > It makes troubleshooting easier! KM> What if we run out of ammo??! Throw the guns! Then throw rocks! Then throw a fit! > KM> Each one needs its own channel, as I understand it. So the > KM> adapter has to know how to direct traffic. But you still only > KM> have X-bandwidth, until you get into the more expensive adapters > KM> that are designed to give each HD its full bandwidth. > I was thinking needing their own data channel also, which was the joke > behind my comment, though was a bit hidden. (There's another one!) > The power portion can be soldered together; the data not. KM> Oh yes, saw the joke, but it was actually reality Which is why Mother Nature sais "Ha-ha! The joke's on you!" > > Spotted cows! ...I sort of have the theory lower-classed Pentiums, > > etc., were ones that failed to meet the upper-level standards: it works, > > just not at the top level. Waste not, want not! > KM> That's exactly right. Because chip production is so variable, > KM> some work better than others, and whatever the batch tests at is > KM> how they'll be labeled. Lesser chips may "overclock" because some > KM> will actually be up to it. > Yea! I was right! As for overclocking, I don't do mainly because of the > overall concept of it's designed for only so much, very possible to do > more for a short period of time but after that it fails. KM> My way of thinking: If overclocking makes something uncomfortably KM> or inconveniently hot, it should not be done. If it still runs KM> within normal parameters, then not a problem. Makes sense too. KM> Lately learned that I should be able to "overclock" Fireball's KM> RAM, because it actually runs at the higher speed, given a KM> choice. CPU supports it, board supposedly does... if Lenovo KM> didn't disable it. Haven't looked yet. Would be a significant KM> performance boost (to where Fireball could claim "fastest PC in KM> the house"). Broadcast that news over your tin-can-and-string network! > KM> And there will be occasional freak chips that can "overclock" to > KM> something ridiculous, like over 5GHz. > Remember when we were ecstatic at the 8088's 16 MHz?! KM> I think the first PC I ever used was like 4MHz... so slow you had KM> to wait for it to wait for itself! However, it did the job... I KM> still have the 5" floppies for it here somewhere, for DOS5 and KM> WordPerfect 5.0. IIRC my DEC Rainbow 100 trotted along at 4 MHz but had dual processors: Z80 and 8088, so by splitting up duties was faster. It ran MS-DOS 2.11. And yes, used 5¬" floppies but RX50 format (400 KB vs 360 KB) -- not directly compatible. > KM> And it makes gamers very happy when they can buy a cheaper CPU > KM> and "overclock" it to something silly like that. > Well yeah: I like a bargain too! KM> Yeah, tho their case is rather a false economy... gambling, in KM> fact. "Whoa duuude! That flame design on the case looks soooo real! ...Oh sh--: those are REAL flames!!!" ....For the high-brow we could make a reference to Dali's _The Persistence of Memory_: "Oh my Priscilla, look how the computer is melting." KM> Anyway, I only look at rated speed, and don't consider KM> overclocking when I shop. If it can gracefully do so, great! If KM> not, I still got what I paid for and am not gambling on being KM> able to make it happen. Right: LIS somewhere I more or less figure the company manufacturing has tested and figured out the maximums, Not always, like your P90 and P75 comments. For that I might be tempted to try, first checking what to be looking for (cue Wicked Witch: "I'm mellltttinnng!". OTOH doesn't always work out: my original motherboard and CPU combination was based on recommendations from the motherboard manufacturer. They looked at charts - "should work". Didn't: too fast. I ended up getting a motherboard to match the processor, got a slower processor for the original motherboard (this CPU recommended and tested in threads started by others with the same problem I had). Both systems work. > KM> But there is really no such thing as overclocking; there is only > KM> running a chip up to its maximum ability. > Agree. I'm thinking the manufacturers want to be able to sell a (say) 6 > GHz chip, and maybe actually have it, but the problem is becomes > unstable/overheats/requires a lot of power/whatever. Cut it down to 4 > GHz, problems go away. ...Let the tinkers deal with those issues, we said KM> Yep. Vaguely recall some CPU managed 7GHz, but keeping it running KM> without melting a hole in the board... that's why they do oil KM> immersion, to cool the whole thing. And possibly cool the oil via a car radiator! > it's only good to this level. And Clyde the Corporate Lawyer reminded > to include the 'overclocking may void warranty' clause. KM> That too. No corporation with attorneys on staff would ever allow KM> overclocked anything to come anywhere NEAR their work (see KM> above). Yup: have seen tis kind of warning. Even Firefox has a warning pop up if start to go into a certain configuration area. > KM> Back in the olden days, for a while the P75 was the market sweet > KM> spot. Intel was already producing P90 CPUs, but they were widely > KM> viewed as too expensive. But P90 was what was coming out of the > KM> production line, and they cost the same to make regardless, so > KM> they rebadged a bunch of those P90s and sold them as P75s. In > KM> fact I've only seen one P75 that was really only 75MHz and would > KM> not "overclock" to 90MHz, because of this. > Makes sense to me. KM> What did not make sense was the two identical boards... both KM> Micro-Star (MSI in their early days; they used to suck, but have KM> improved greatly). Two early Pentium CPUs, one labeled 66MHz, the KM> other labeled 60MHz. "Identical" isn't. Differences somewhere. Thinking how a hard drive maks a sector bad -- the same sector on an 'identical' drive will be fine. Take two timing circuits with 'identical' components: microscopic differences and the two won't resonant exactly the same. > KM> And there are a bunch of different SD card specs. Explaining > KM> Computers channel had a good go-over of the various types a while > KM> back. I printed out his conclusions chart and put it in my > KM> wallet. :) > (Ky has a George Costanza wallet; very little money, but stuffed full of > notes, coupons, phone number strips for guitar lessons....) KM> How did you know??! Your listing. Oops, wrong word: you're listing! KM> And I've had the same wallet since 1973... Mine's not nearly that old. Yours is either super-sturdy (nylon?), possibly duct-taped together, or you don't use it that often. > Actually something I should do but electronically; store in the phone > as I usually carry when I go out. Guess I'll have to learn how to use > it for something beside talking, pictures, and a schedule calendar! KM> I don't normally carry the phone, or if I do, it's the Retard KM> Phone. For some unknown reason the iPhone666s (as I renamed it) KM> will only do Wifi and can't reliably see the cell tower. I don't KM> much care, since it has such a crap battery (3 hours talk, about KM> 6 hours idle, and that's how crap they are brand new!) that I KM> just leave it plugged in at home. Well, it was free... Here have pretty decent signal; several years ago not quite as good: my phone worked best when on the East side of the house, not so good on the West. (Computer Room is on the East side, so that worked out!) Some friends'phones connected best on the West side of the house, with mediocre reception on the East. All depended on the carrier and their tower location. KM> Did I tell the tale of that piece of *#$#%?? There is no getting KM> its bluetooth to speak to anything but another apple device, KM> unless it's a dumb device like headphones or keyboard. It can see KM> the linux box over wifi (for some reason PCLOS will let the KM> iPhone, and ONLY the iPhone, see its precious files) and I can KM> copy over my .vcf file, but it will not import that. So how the KM> heck do I import contacts? Had to email it to myself, set it up KM> to see GMail (it can only see GMail or Apple Mail) ...let it KM> fetch mail (geezus, not all 120,000 messages in that account, KM> stop!!!!) and THEN it will import contacts. I think I had similar issues importing my contacts; half-recall I finally just typed in by hand. KM> And then Ting issued me a phone number from up in Ronan. Which is KM> on the Flathead Indian reservation. Apparently from all the KM> beating my head against the durn iPhone, I became an honorary KM> tribal member... maybe I should try smoke signals.... Computers (or rather their programmers) aren't all that smart some times! Ages ago Dad bought a subscription to TV Guide; we lived in southern New Hampshire, 45 miles north of Boston. What did TV Guide do? Send us the version for Providence, RI!! The signal would have to go through Massachusetts! > KM> Only buy Sandisk now regardless, but still there are different > KM> types, and not all work well for everything. > Right, like some hard drives are recommended for lots of writes and few > reads (surveillance ==> constant recording, occasional playback) some > memory cards are designed for lots of writes and fewer reads, some the > other way. KM> Yeah, and more important vibration tolerance, because there's a KM> lot more of it if you have a bunch of drives in close proximity. Never really thought of vibration though have felt the drive directly to make sure was spinning. And when finding a home for a computer I do make sure is sturdy: combination of weight and not bounce, etc., so some vibration consideration. > > Brand 1. ...Essentially depends on Reads, Writes. Also seems if a lot > > of writes then better off with a larger capacity card even though means > > a lot of unused space: each (segment) has only so many writes > > available, so if writing a lot then if to a small capacity card one uses > > the same (segment) over and over again, so exhausts/dies effectively > KM> Yeah, true of all flash devices, including SSDs. > I'm thinking with my RPi problem somewhere above going from the the > current 32 GB card, which shows as having lots of room, to a 64 GB card. > Data should be rattling around loose! KM> See above. It's not a space issue, it's a tired card issue. OK, yup. Not all that difficult to create a new card, just more a few details didn't make sense. Those details are here, not the article nor what you've said. > KM> Yeah... could chuck it into one of the other boxen but... well, > KM> it was both cheap and works, what's not to like?? > It's lime green! KM> brown??!> How'd that brown one get in there? " U+1F4A9 "!! > KM> Yeah, they're not really enticing me with the more-recent > KM> shenanigans. Win11 has some nice features, but for every nice > KM> feature there's an equal and negating WTF. > I'm thinking most people stick with Windows because they don't know of > something different or are afraid to make the change. Admittedly KM> Or have liability concerns, which is the real reason business KM> doesn't. I was thinking more the individual end-user but business, yes too. OTOH some have been forced to stick with old versions because their hardware or some required software won't work with the new OS. Read about businesses with old payroll software; manufacturing equipment that runs on 8-bit, etc. (For the latter the particular piece of equipment isn't made any more but is integral to what the company sells.) > switching from Windows-think to Linux-think is a slight challenge. And I > guess Linux is more for 'fiddlers' -- maybe not as easy for those users KM> Too true. Tho more make an effort to be normal-user friendly KM> these days. Hit 'start' to stop! > used to clicking. I still like the command line - sometimes easier. > ..Sometimes. KM> Hahaha. Come see my Neon setup and say that a bit louder. It's hard of hearing?! > KM> I once suggested to a MSFT rep that it would be really nice to > KM> have modular desktops, so we could use whichever style of Windows > KM> we prefer while having the benefits of updated underpinnings. He > KM> said they were actually considering that, but obviously nothing > KM> came of it. > Or at least yet. Or could have been said to placate you: yes, we're > working on that, in the meantime you still have to use the old junk but > with the hopes of something good. KM> We had a substantial discussion about it. They really were KM> looking at it. But there'd have to be a support disconnect KM> between "supported" and "your old crap" desktops, and that likely KM> made it infeasible. Most people want the New! Improved! plus it has to look different to verify is is new and improved. ¯ BarryMartin3@ ® ¯ @MyMetronet.NET ® .... Install once Update forever. --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .