Subj : Re: USB lock up - poo! To : Barry Martin From : Ky Moffet Date : Tue Feb 08 2022 15:37:00 BARRY MARTIN wrote: ....last year... > KM> Or why Tarnish works perfectly well as a secondary > KM> streamer, tho has become incompetent for anything else. > > Hmm: I could have an 8-core MythTV Frontend! Ha... and Tarnish's almost-twin Cash now has the USB disease. Only one front port works at a time, and intermittent stalls of USB keyboard and mouse. Probably the same two capacitors. It now has about the same amount of hours in service, so.... I think I'll get one of those micro-solder irons from Pine64 and try to fix it. Figure if the solder tool is pointy enough, I can hit the tiny spot. Speaking therewhich, I just bought a used Pinephone with the real keyboard thingee, should be here by Friday... it runs Manjaro linux with KDE desktop, which (since I like KDE) can't be more annoying than iOS or Android. How good it actually is remains to be determined. Meanwhile, I have learned to hate Fedora's stupid update procedure, which is indistinguishable from that for Windows 10, and equally rude about monopolizing the connection. (Not that I do much more with it than let it update and swear at it. I did the manual upgrade from 32 to 34, but it didn't even ask when it hopped from 34 to 35.) It's supposed to be more reliable, but from what I see it invites thinking it's hung and killing it in mid-grope. With PCLinuxOS, we just do updates on the fly WHENEVER I WANT, not when the OS wants. > KM> OS arrives already installed on a removable HD so no one cares if > KM> Tarnish can't write files correctly. Probably makes logfile > KM> errors but doesn't matter. It still groks internet and plays > KM> video to the screen, and that's all I require of it. If the OS > KM> goes wonky, I just make another copy and life goes on as before. > > Yup -- and Tarnish might just last another ten years and be fine as a > streaming device. Yeah, doesn't seem to have any other caps going bad. Just had it apart all over the floor, so I checked. > KM> SM knows how to use multiple cores, but apparently there's a > KM> Point of Inefficiency with fewer cores vs memory usage. Not only > KM> does CPU usage shoot up to 100% far more often, it also > KM> completely clogs up RAM whenever this happens.... FAR less often And figured out what the problem is: it's something really inefficient in the way SeaMonkey writes files for my ~400 RSS subscriptions; guessing it re-indexes each one TOO, cuz WAY worse than just Windows writing files by itself So it stalls the system as long as it takes to rewrite ~400 files. They're mostly around 30mb which isn't THAT damn large... On the New! Improved!! box, Mail is on an NVMe, which should help a lot given it's 20x faster than spinning rust, and the whole system is quite a lot faster too. Now if only I'd finish moving in... > KM> on the slower quadcore than on the faster core2duo. On otherwise > KM> identical hardware. I suppose I could swap CPUs between Cash and > KM> Tarnish and solve the problem, but this sounds like work. > > It's not too much work to swap CPUs. it's the associated work that pops > up! Open the case, see dust bunny families so clean those; while you're > inside may as well do an upgrade.... Noticed this problem, didja.... > > > 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'?). > KM> Actually, because the CON thingee only controls CONSOLE ports. > Oh! The obvious! Too obvious! > Reminded me of when I was working at the store and one of the portable > devices lost it's programming. We were sent a floppy (it was a l-o-n-g > time ago) and cable -- plug the cable into COM1 of the computer and the > other end into the device, run programme, done. That's fine, except all > of the computers we could potentially use had a different serial port; > COM2 was the right type. (I got involved because I 'knew' computers and > was trusted not to screw things up.) Ah yes, I remember the confusion when something wanted an odd COM port. > KM> Tho apparently if I wish to invest in an expensive gaming > KM> keyboard, I could get one with the USB polling rate being > KM> settable in hardware. > KM> https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/forum/11/540742485413557856 > KM> / > > Wow! Think how fast I could flip through those Solitaire cards when the > battery on the mouse dies! ...As you know I'm not into gaming but can > appreciate for those who do. Know there's all sorts of 'tricks' like > the sponginess/firmness of the key, travel distance, suppose even > spacing. LOL... I need to get a better keyboard. Need wireless cuz otherwise way too much tripping hazard, but I'm about done with Logitech wireless, they don't hold up well at all. And I don't like the "chiclet" keys so many have. > KM> The last one I bought is a stock HP cooler, and didn't look like > KM> much but had good user reviews -- it's a small heatpipe thing > KM> with one fan, and you wouldn't think it would be adequate for an > KM> i7 or xeon, but CPU idle temp hovers around 30C !!! > > That's a nice cool idle! Taking the time to scan through reviews is > usually worthwhile: benefit from the trials and errors of others! Yeah. Went with it cuz it had a number of astonished reviews from real IT types, and presented minimal fuss and bother. Was so impressed I bought another for the other PC. > KM> Big factor seems to be solid copper foot, and as much copper > KM> elsewhere as possible. > KM> Nickel foot looks nice but works like crap (nickel is not good at > KM> transmitting heat). > > So it seems when the desired result is to move heat then a good heat > conductor works better! Who knew!! > I'm not into the looks of a computer so much as the action. My cases > are about as plain as possible on the outside, inside functional and > roomy, though I still lean towards the mindset of more bays is better - > I don't need to install four 250 GB HDDs any longer to get a TB of > storage! Yeah. Been watching Gamer's Nexus reviews of modern cases, and boy am I glad I kept my hoarded old-style cases. Even if I don't need to install a bunch of internal HDs anymore ... they have bays to put my hotswap bays in (how I do boot drives nowadays) and enough room to work, and decent ventilation, and no stupid "features" that are a waste of plastic. In fact I think I should go by the electronics recycler and see if they have any languishing in the back. Once they all go to scrap, there'll be no more. Any with that stack of ten drive bays with six you can access from the front, GIMME. > As for the RGB fans, etc., if they'd turn red when getting too hot and > blue when cool that would be OK, but otherwise. THAT! That would actually be USEFUL! But nooo, they're just distracting blinkentrash. > > 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. > KM> Yeah, when you start seeing bent pins, that's scrapyard salvage. > KM> Also, the good dealers generally do free shipping, or at worst at > KM> cost. The scoundrels make their money on the shipping fee and > KM> don't care if it's dead and returned. And it turns out Newegg is actually damaging returned motherboards on purpose so they can claim "bent pin" and not have to give you a refund. (Either that, or claiming it's so, and it's going right back on the sale listing as "open box".) When this happens even tho the box was sent back unopened, you KNOW it's an internal problem. Gamer's Nexus posted their Bad Experience last week. Shouldna ripped off someone with a big platform; big oops. > A single report of a bent pin wouldn't have been bad but there were > several -- red warning LEDs going off! To me reasonable postage is > fine: I'm paying for it either in the price of the merchandise or > separately -- reminds me of the cartoon where "$14.95 and $1 postage" > and the shopper's mad; $15.95 + free shipping" and the shopper's all > happy. (OTOH I did pay a dollar extra for a product but saved something > like $5 for shipping -- and it was the same vendor!) Yeah. Charging at-cost is understandable. Using it as a profit center, not so much. > > KM> As the world becomes heavier and harder to carry... so basically > KM> whatever board has the right feature set and whatever compatible > KM> CPU is at a good price point. There is such a thing as agonizing > KM> over the decision until it's so outdated that you have to start > KM> over. > > BTDT!! At this point I'm not ready to do the switch: had put off a > bunch of stuff just because I "couldn't see" ==> wasn't wearing one So what did you buy? or did you agonize too long and now they're out of stock! > And yes, faster just means I wait less. I probably won't notice any > difference between say 2.8 GHz and 3.2 GHz. And as you said, some of > what it can do is limited by the motherboard and then the programme. Even with a quad core, you notice 2.x vs 3.x with stuff like browsers. Otherwise, not so much. But once you get up into the i5/i7 range, the difference pretty much disappears, unless you're doing video rendering or modern gaming. My primary criteria are lots of SATA ports and lots of PCIe slots (I don't care about NVMe slots because the PCIe-16x cards work just as good, and you can stuff in more of 'em.) After that we'll discuss other features, which CPU, etc. (Well, not AMD. Will take one for free, won't pay for 'em.) > Oh, here's a question: I'm running Oracle VM Virtualbox and there was > seomthing in the VM configuration about number of cores. Is this a > 'virtual core' or is it using a real core? So my question is sort of if > I allocate two cores via VM/to VM are any being taken away from the > actual machine and so should be compensated for? ...Something like if I > have a six core CPU and allocate VM for two do I only have four left? Uh.... I have no idea. I don't think it monopolizes yours? https://www.howtogeek.com/124796/THE-HTG-GUIDE-TO-SPEEDING-UP-YOUR-VIRTUAL-MACHINES/ More is faster, but doesn't really tell me what's LEFT. How about this? https://www.altaro.com/hyper-v/hyper-v-virtual-cpus-explained/ === But Can’t I Assign More Total vCPUs to all VMs than Physical Cores? Yes, the total number of vCPUs across all virtual machines can exceed the number of physical cores in the host. It’s no different than the fact that I’ve got 40+ processes “running” on my dual-core laptop right now. I can only run two threads at a time, but I will always far more than two threads scheduled. Windows has been doing this for a very long time now, and Windows is so good at it (usually) that most people never see a need to think through what’s going on. Your VMs (supervisors) will bubble up threads to run and and Hyper-V (hypervisor) will schedule them the way (mostly) that Windows has been scheduling them ever since it outgrew cooperative scheduling in Windows 3.x. === So apparently a "CPU" to a VM is just a process. So no relation to actual cores, other than you can't set it to more than the hardware actually has (cuz obviously it wouldn't know how to do that). I'm still wondering how the heck Fireball is seeing wifi (like from passing cars) when it's not supposed to have a wifi chip. Windows doesn't think it has one. Linux doesn't see one. WTF. I've never seen that unless the device runs entirely on wifi, but it's on the wired network. > As for the thousand dollars - uh, no. I'm not even wanting to spend a > thousand dollars on the entire system. Lucky you, now just the vidcard costs that much! > > 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. > KM> Next time I buy one it'll probably have to do 4k if only because > KM> I'd like to have a better monitor, but hardly priority. > > Right. Sort of like my 'rule' of when looking to buy something try to > plan ahead. I might now only need a video card doing 1080 but > eventually 4K will be the norm. I was also thinking of dual monitors > here at the computer desk. The desk prohibits because of the hutch > cubbyholes and I like/need the storage. Old monitor is mounted to the > wall and can swivel over the hutch - sometimes handy, sometimes not (as > covers up other things). Yeah. Been looking for a better vidcard for Silver, because the old one just can't keep up with the new hardware, and stalls videos. How good do I want to go? Er, well, fifty bucks worth. And not NVidia if I can help it, cuz stupid driver tricks. Also stupid chip tricks; turns out the GT730 doesn't exist, it's a GT400 with new markings, so about half as fast as it's supposed to be. > > 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!! > KM> Oh yeah, that is a problem.. Adobe CS2 suite is really stupid > KM> about menu scaling, and Illustrator's menus almost require a > KM> magnifying glass to even FIND them. At a mere 1920x1080. Hate to > KM> think what they'd look like on a 4k screen! (I hear this problem > KM> never did get fixed in the version you can buy on a CD, and now > KM> they're subscription only. I won CS2 at a trade show.) > > If teeny-tiny at 1080 they'd almost disappear at 4K! Did a fly speck on my screen?? > One other problem I had with that computer/TV combination was MythTV was > 'getting confused'. Forgot what the problem was but configuring the > main screen to 1080 (from probably 4K) corrected. (MythTV is > technically an overlaid window -- can shrink and see the Desktop > underneath. I'm guessing one window at "1K" and the main one at 4K > confused something.) There's also a mess between DVI-D and DVI-I... latter maxes at 1600x1200 if it's converted to analog, or something like that. I may have 'em backwards. I'm so confused. > KM> Yep... once you've bought the mansion, you don't skip on the car. > > One of the technicians at the store where I work said he had > been to some of the million dollar houses here and there were empty > rooms: couldn't afford to furnish! Freecycle, me lads, Freecycle!! > KM> 'modern look' themes wind up with controls so small you need > KM> one-pixel accuracy to use at all. > > Oh Good Grief! Off hand I don't know what the specifics are but the > icons in the Favourites Bar (to the left in Ubuntu) are about 3/8" > squares. The hide/min-max/close are about an eighth inch and about as > small as I like conveniently. Could go a little smaller if I had to. Or why I use Plastik as my window decorations. Big honkin' XP-style controls. I don't care if it looks cloddy, it's FUNCTIONAL. What my current KDE desktop looks like... http://doomgold.com/images/linux/KDE_Screenshot_20220106_170651%20-%20LibreOffice.png and with my WinXP VM... http://doomgold.com/images/linux/KDE_Screenshot_20211229_152949%20-%20XP%20on%20VBox.png > > > 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?!) > KM> Peace and quiet? :D > > :) I'll admit to 'needing' some background noise: part of my 'job' > growing up was monitoring Dad's office and if the radio station went off > the air or did a sports or talk radio thing to change the station - was > supposed to be relaxing music. So I'm used to music/something in the > background, but do admit lately it is nice to hear quiet every so often. Heh... for background "fill up the cracks in my brain" I use industrial (harsh electronic music) ... can't understand a word they say but it works great. I think this goes to the station I'm currently using... my preferred ones all died. http://78.47.146.188:8000/mp3 > > 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 > KM> Don't jump! > > Would have to get a really good push-off as while the hill is steep it's > not that steep: "cannonballllll! " Barry! why are you down there in the mud?? > This hit seemed it might be interesting but was down for maintenance: > > https://soylentnews.org/article.pl?sid=19/10/26/0332247 You may know someone in the comments. > Well, "Dark Mode Craze did More Harm Than Good" was the thing that got > my interest: with Ubuntu 14.04 and probably still is there were display > mode options for something like default, high contrast, etc. High > Contrast was "holy !" to my eyes: very difficult to read because > almost burning due to too much contrast. Wondering if it's not the > scaling but something else like a contrast-type setting. "High Contrast" is usually awful. Glare white on black is not better than black on glare white. Just let me set my own damn colors and we wouldn't be having this discussion!! > .. Senior texting: ROFL,CGU Rolling on the floor laughing, can't get up. I've fallen and I can't.... fancy meeting you here!! 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