Subj : Re: USB lock up - poo! To : Barry Martin From : Ky Moffet Date : Sat Jan 02 2021 20:30:00 BARRY MARTIN wrote: > Hi Ky! > > KM> In the early stages, only USB. But later on... Double Vision > KM> (AMD/Asus of ?2006 vintage) seems to have had basically the same > KM> flaw... USB was crappy for a long time (would only do USB1 during > KM> boot), but given a few more years for those caps to dry out, > KM> guess what, it stopped being able to write to the HD. As I > KM> discovered when I tried to install a new OS on the durn thing. It > KM> is now retired to the cannibal pot. > > Mmmmmm - using the motherboard with the USB lockup issue as a NAS might > not be such a good idea in the long term. Maybe just keep it for when a > MythTV Frontend needs upgrading. ...Trying to think of some project I > could use for experimenting..... Yeah, that's the kind of job where you don't need anything but the ability to display a picture. So long as it can do that, and only needs to READ from the OS disk, no one cares if nothing else works. Or why Tarnish works perfectly well as a secondary streamer, tho has become incompetent for anything else. OS arrives already installed on a removable HD so no one cares if Tarnish can't write files correctly. Probably makes logfile errors but doesn't matter. It still groks internet and plays video to the screen, and that's all I require of it. If the OS goes wonky, I just make another copy and life goes on as before. > KM> Once the USB problem starts, I don't think I would trust it for > KM> mission-critical anything. Definitely not for storage you rely > KM> on. > > Had thought that originally (so not as a NAS) but then figured ask: if > just a problem with the USB section would have been no big deal. Yeah, those pesky multifunction chips... > KM> Seems to be the case even with apps that don't really use more > KM> than one core, or not very well. It is REALLY noticeable with > KM> SeaMonkey. > > Yes: I have 'suspected' several apps have no clue how to run on multiple > cores - just too slow (to start/load, do a process, etc.). Oh well, > Since I haven't a clue how to even start writing something beyond script > I'll be happy with waiting a second or two. SM knows how to use multiple cores, but apparently there's a Point of Inefficiency with fewer cores vs memory usage. Not only does CPU usage shoot up to 100% far more often, it also completely clogs up RAM whenever this happens.... FAR less often on the slower quadcore than on the faster core2duo. On otherwise identical hardware. I suppose I could swap CPUs between Cash and Tarnish and solve the problem, but this sounds like work. > > > KM> Oh, speaking therewhich, found a USB driver for DOS that works > > KM> Ugh, will have to remind me another day. > > Is today the day? I do have one or two PS/2 to USB adapters -- not the > KM> No, this has nothing to do with that. Only for USB storage > KM> devices, like flash drives. > > Plugging in a thumbdrive into the PS/2 adaptor wouldn't work: data and > power lines up, but the data doens't go to the right place inside the > computer. Right-o!! Tho I suppose someone has attempted the translation... imagine how many keystrokes you could fit on a 128GB flash drive!! > KM> Strange facts and useless information: if possible, use PS/2 with > KM> your DOS machine. Seems MODE CON RATE=32 DELAY=1 to speed up the > KM> keyboard does not work with USB keyboards!! > > My guess is the command link to convert the PS/2 instructions to what is > used by the USB keyboard is missing, or maybe there is no equivalent > instruction in a USB keyboard (already at 'fast'?). Actually, because the CON thingee only controls CONSOLE ports. Tho apparently if I wish to invest in an expensive gaming keyboard, I could get one with the USB polling rate being settable in hardware. https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/11/540742485413557856/ > > KM> And wireless USB keyboard does not work during boot if used via > KM> KVM. > > Is the KVM Switch wired or electronic? If the old wired type I'm > thinking should work but if electronic can see why it wouldn't work: the > switch isn't sending the indentification data through/in time to the > computer. Old wired type don't speak USB at all. Works fine once Windows boots up, but not until then. > KM> Also, BIOS updates commonly upgrade CPU support quite > KM> dramatically. > > This particular one (mine) I had read where there CPU and motherboard > were later found out to be not 100% compatible yet the specs were not > corrected. I don't recall the details but something like the first > revision had problems and the second revision did not. Yes, "can't > believe everything on the Internet" but in this instance what was said > (listing of various issues) matched with my problems and downgrading the > CPU to this board was the fix. And yes, I had done a BIOS upgrade > before replacing the CPU. Yeah, there are a lot of variations in what's supported or not. Chipset is part of the limitation. In the olden daze I found myself with an identical pair of motherboards, with consecutive serial numbers, where one only worked with a P60 CPU overclocked to 66MHz, and the other only worked with a P66 CPU underclocked to 60MHz. This made no sense, but they insisted! (or, what buggy steaming piles those earliest Pentium boards were...) > I would prefer having a decent heatsink/fan combination suitable for > normal usage. Off hand I don't recall if I purchased as a CPU/cooler > combination; if so that implies proper normal performance. Oh well. > ..And with the new Intel-based system when I get it I will be using a > heavy-duty heatsink/fan. The last one I bought is a stock HP cooler, and didn't look like much but had good user reviews -- it's a small heatpipe thing with one fan, and you wouldn't think it would be adequate for an i7 or xeon, but CPU idle temp hovers around 30C !!! Big factor seems to be solid copper foot, and as much copper elsewhere as possible. Nickel foot looks nice but works like crap (nickel is not good at transmitting heat). > Whatever is profitable! ...Did see a refurbished MSI motherboard > advertised last night. Interesting - until I read the reviews: some not > cleaned very well -- thermal compound residue (I could accept that) and > dust -- I could accept the dust too but sort of implying these boards > were found in a corner some place. Also bent pins and other things > making me a little scared of this particular offering. Yeah, when you start seeing bent pins, that's scrapyard salvage. Also, the good dealers generally do free shipping, or at worst at cost. The scoundrels make their money on the shipping fee and don't care if it's dead and returned. > > KM> I'd grab the board first, as there's usually some flexibility in > KM> Unless you're into high-end gaming or crunching databases or the > KM> like, whatever CPU comes along will be perfectly good. The $20 > KM> CPU -- yeah, it's kind of a sweet spot, because it's plentiful > KM> and not in demand by gamers, yet pretty much peak performance for > KM> that price range. > > Right. My high-end gaming is Solitaire, though lately getting into > Mahjongg. Database stuff is more like having the system find the file I > need. My 'higher-end' need is more because I don't build a system all > that often and know the system will slowly slow down. As the world becomes heavier and harder to carry... so basically whatever board has the right feature set and whatever compatible CPU is at a good price point. There is such a thing as agonizing over the decision until it's so outdated that you have to start over. > > KM> https://www.cpubenchmark.net/ > OK, thanks - have heard of and visited sites with Passmark data; > probably have been on CPUBenchmark.net, And LIS select the motherboard > and then the CPU to go with it, which is easier than the other way > around -- I had sort of been collecting information on the Newegg CPU > offerings to get a starting point on what I wasn't overly familiar with: > locked and unlocked, cores, threads. Then have clock speed and core > number and threading options and ...... Locked and unlocked is only of interest to overclockers, which is to say gamers. Most i7 CPUs can be overclocked if the motherboard allows it. Four cores covers any sort of everyday use; more might be useful if you're doing video editing or running some game that can use 'em (many still don't); same with threading options. This all kinda falls under who cares because whatever falls on your head will be overkill anyway. Higher clock speed is generally better than lower, but will be limited by the motherboard's CPU support range anyway. I'd say the only real decision is how much money you want to invest. More money will get a newer faster board and CPU. The price break point really is i7 vs i9. i9 would be nice for long term but not for an extra thousand bucks. > KM> For quicker compare, they also have an Everything At Once chart > KM> for various categories of CPU, more or less organized by socket > KM> and age. > KM> http://twilightasylum.com/pc/cpus.htm > > Between the two sites I should be able to figure out something decent. This one is mine, from when I was shopping for CPU upgrades on eBay. What does it support vs what is available and how do the benchmarks compare? Westworld's CPU support covers such a ridiculous range that it makes a good example -- from painfully slow to somewhat fa$$ter than I cared to invest in for an old box. I could also upgrade Bullet per my chart, but requires either a fairly pricey and rare CPU, or a modified Xeon, and either way would max out power consumption for not much benefit. Since its job is mostly file server and occasional backup desktop, and it already runs hot, not worth the cost. > KM> I've had so many vidcard fans either go rattly or die that > KM> fanless has become a requirement if I'm paying money for it. Fact > KM> is those little fans are crap. And by the time you get up to a > KM> card with big fans, it's way more $$$ than it's worth to me. > > I have mostly gone by spec and price for the video cards around here. > AFAIK all of the TVs except the most recent one only do 1080 so no need > to have a 4K-capable video card. Plus the TV stations only put out 1080 > max anyway. Next time I buy one it'll probably have to do 4k if only because I'd like to have a better monitor, but hardly priority. > TV's HDMI input was recognized at the higher definition the video card > adjusted tself to the higher resolution (probably 3840x2160): man was > the Ubuntu Desktop display tiny!! Oh yeah, that is a problem.. Adobe CS2 suite is really stupid about menu scaling, and Illustrator's menus almost require a magnifying glass to even FIND them. At a mere 1920x1080. Hate to think what they'd look like on a 4k screen! (I hear this problem never did get fixed in the version you can buy on a CD, and now they're subscription only. I won CS2 at a trade show.) > KM> By the time you have more USB3.x ports, the whole thing is > KM> expensive enough that there's no point in cutting corners. > > Probbaly true -- not disputing, just not enough personal experience. I > do use the number of USB ports, daughtercard slots, etc., as a > guideline. Yep... once you've bought the mansion, you don't skip on the car. > KM> Yeah, when the OS doesn't know how to scale icons and text... > Not sure that it couldn't, was easier to force the lower resolution. Depends on your distro and desktop. KDE is good about letting you set font sizes (anything you want), but rather stupid about icon sizes (small, medium, large). I use a rather XP-like theme which makes the window controls big enough to find... some of the 'modern look' themes wind up with controls so small you need one-pixel accuracy to use at all. This is old, but you get the idea... http://doomgold.com/images/linux/KDE_Screenshot_20171021_011530_filemanagers.jpg > > I'm not even sure if more than one station. > KM> Or the fact that I've done long stretches with no TV! > You don't know what you're missing! (Or should that be I don't know > what I'm missing?!) Peace and quiet? :D > KM> Now that I can positively say I've never seen. For one thing, we > KM> didn't have Prince brand spaghetti out west of the Mississippi. > KM> Creamettes for us! > Yes, I'm on the western side of the Mississippi also -- just barely: > (city) blocks, not even a mile. (Good news: live on a bluff so if > Mississippi water starts lapping at my doorstep we're all in a heap of Don't jump! > doo-doo!) AFAIK the Prince brand is New England. I think Creamette is > a national brand -- think I remember seeing seeing ads when I lived out > there but as was living with my parents didn't need to buy food. Pretty > sure have seen the dark green box out here -- usually the Hy-Vee > (grocery store chain) is cheaper so buy that. Hy-Vee, none of that out here! Do you still have Red Owl and Piggly Wiggly? > > KM> Side note: I desperately need a different form of Courier. Dark > > KM> Courier doesn't grow nicely and gets all weird, like someone > > KM> colored in all the 'windows' in the letters. Regular Courier > > KM> isn't dark enough. SeaMonkey doesn't believe Bold exists. *sigh* > > I've been using Thunderbird for e-mail and the default "Variable Width" > > font. Hmm, maybe enlarge the default size to medium or a notch larger? > > (With Thunderbird on the same configuration page as selection of the > > font in Preferences.) > KM> Nope, doesn't work. I can enlarge it, but it doesn't play nice. > KM> Gets all blotchy. > > Still using that .41mm CRT huh? Font smoothing, maybe?? LOL, nope, that ain't it. The problem seems to be Seamonkey's scaling. So I actually need a different font that I don't have to scale up. > I tried Googling "Courier font enlarge gets blotchy" and nothign really > looked worthwhile to check further. > > OK, took out the 'Courier' in the request and closer; maybe this has a > hint? https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000557.htm Nope, smoothing works everywhere else. > KM> You're using the HTML editor, which I never do. Plaintext editor > KM> uses your fixed-width font. I prefer Courier for that, but can't > KM> seem to find one that's dark enough. > > Quit adding water to your inkjet cartridge! OK, that just reminded me > of something: there is a way to add holes to the character to stretch > the ink. Too many/too large a hole would make the font light because > not enough ink being used. I don't know if the modification made for > the printer would affect the looks on the screen. Yeah, some printer drivers let you use "economy mode" and print every other dot instead of all the dots. I'm not sure monitors have any such function. þ RNET 2.10U: ILink: Techware BBS þ Hollywood, Ca þ www.techware2k.com --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .