Subj : Re: USB lock up - poo! To : Barry Martin From : Ky Moffet Date : Wed Mar 02 2022 12:58:00 BARRY MARTIN wrote: > Hi Ky! > > > And if was legal probably could get around by giving the item for free > > but charging a huge shipping fee. > KM> Ah, but that's a well-known tactic for selling known-dead junk > KM> (and for money laundering). > > There are times when just a part is needed, so dead isn't always bad. There are a few vendors of parts-for-parts who are legit. (One in particular sells logic boards for hard drives, and repairs 'em too. They've got a whole bunch of info up on when their parts will NOT work, and link to it on every item listed. Hint: most HDs past about the 40GB era cannot be easily repaired, because the ROM is unique to each unit.) Otherwise, the evidence is overwhelmingly that they're scammers. Regular vendors rarely charge shipping, or very little. Any "shipping" beyond the bare minimum to cover postage is a flaming redflag that it's a scam. The usual way is to hope that the buyer doesn't notice it's "for parts only" (or just an empty box!) or to just call it "used" without describing it further, and allow returns at buyer's expense... then charge a whole lot more than actual cost for shipping. The buyer gets defective or wrong merchandise, and returns it for a refund... but the seller doesn't care, because they made their profit on the shipping charge. > The money laundering aspect I think you sugested a while back when I > couldn't figure out why someone would sell a common $17.99 item for > $1000. And what's sort of funny is places like eBay have various > options to sort including high-to-low. Why would someone want to pay > the highest possible price? Can see the option when wanting to more > quickly get to multiple quantity purchasing: the sold individually are > going to be on the lowest price end and the I want two dozen options > towards the upper price end. Oh yeah, I first noticed this about 18 years ago. Since I was getting the occasional inquiry about my Tyan S1830S mainboards... I checked prices and found the average was about $250, if you could find one (they were a server board and uncommon in the consumer market). Except for one vendor who ALWAYS had one for sale, for $5000. And it would occasionally be marked "Sold" but then would immediately be listed again. This went on for about ten years before they moved on to some other item. And then I looked around for other abnormally high-priced stuff on eBay and Amazon, and found quite a lot of $500 USB cables and the like, and it was always the same vendors, over and over. And quite clearly NOT just a mistake due to English as a third language, or not understanding American currency. Made it pretty obvious they were laundering or moving dark money. I'd guess a lot are payments to three-letter-agency informants, probably handled as "refunds". > Now nor that heatsink.... Spray paint and make a paperweight? If the > fins are long enough could hold up notes! I was thinking use 'em as caltrops, but that works too. :) > KM> I buy used RAM at about half new price, and it all works fine. > I have in the past and also have had no issues. I do buy from a site > with customer protection as a back-up; LIS a while back I was going to > buy something from Amazon which had their direct option plus some > sellers. First seller was cheaper by about $15 and also free shipping. > Works for me! ...Check reviews -- horrible! Nope, not worthin saving > $15 for the potential aggrivation of damaged merchandise! Yeah, I like to see 99% positive feedback on hardware vendors. Anything less starts to become suspect. Always check the NEGATIVE feedback. Pay a little more and avoid pain. I have a list of saved sellers that I use if I have a choice. > KM> Remarkable balance... then again, I used to haul 50 pound feed > KM> bags on a bicycle, so... > > That's not a proper way to refer to your elementary school date! LOL well I don't think that bike woulda hauled that much... > > How do those people find out what you have?? (OK to respond privately.) > KM> http://twilightasylum.com/pc/the_borg.htm > Ah! I forgot about that list. Plus have seen (various versions of) > signatures in forums listing their equipment. Here would be confusion: Yeah, in some forums it's expected or even required, so people know what you're complaining about. > OK, the computer I'm using to post this has the specifications listed in > the sig but the computer I'm inquiring about is a different one.... That happens too. > KM> Rather outdated, but you get the idea. I need to separate out the > KM> laptops, having collected enough of 'em to be a visual nuisance. > > Actually could be rather fun to see the progression. Could possibly add > a column for sorting -- laptops, desktops, mainframes -- though may as > well allow for sorting in some other columns too: I'm thinking mainly > date and processor progression. Yeah, I have a simple script for sorting columns and use that, if I feel the need. (I do that with my fiction character sheets, cuz there are a lot. If anyone asks me for a character reference....) This one, in fact: https://www.kryogenix.org/code/browser/sorttable/ > KM> Started as a way to keep track of hardware... got out of hand > > Yeah: I never got to a master chart for the computers though do have a > mostly-accurate listing for the IP addresses. I've attempted to have > individual notes on what's in each computer. We'll just say "it's the > thought that counts". What's that tool for showing all the IP addresses on the local network? > > KM> Note the status column; some are reduced to parts or no longer > KM> with us. > > RIP - stands for RIPped apart! LOL, that. I also especially like the tagline, stolen from a Techhole video (linked): "I'm not a production environment, I'm a basement." > KM> Campfire clones will you boot up tonight... > > I'll admit to getting a bit nervous when I smell smoke and I don't know > the source. Neighbour heats his house with a wood fireplace and if the > wind is coming from the right direction I'll smell it. Also the first > time in the season the furnace is turned on here: dust burns off. Yeah, lot of wood-burning around here so you better know which neighbor is burning what. Wait, I don't know this one, maybe it's MY house! > KM> Probably. Thermal shutdown on a P3 was somewhere around 180F. The > KM> fan didn't get the message. Damn wonder it didn't start a fire. > Why a good thing to blow out the dust every so often: less to be fuel. Well, old cig smoke isn't real flammable, but plastic... > KM> Nope, BIOS would have spit up a message. I've seen this before, > KM> tho -- abused hardware sometimes takes a few tries to get going, > KM> or needs some time off. I wonder if proper electrical conditions > KM> does something to realign gates, or something. I remember when > KM> CDROM drives that had apparently failed could sometimes be > KM> resurrected simply by sitting without power overnight. > > OK - I've had a few instances of bad boots and no message but sort of > assumed the video system (computer's or monitor's) didn't act fast enoug > to get display. Also the sometimes takes two or three boots to get out > from a problem. Yeah, seen that too. > The overnight without power could be the time it takes to discharge a > power capacitor, along the lines of a power boot (keep off for 60 > seconds) vs. a reboot. I think that's probably what it was. > KM> Thermal design limit on current Intel CPUs is 200F, just saw > KM> somewhere. They're actually pretty tough. > Still say they could make a nice little coffee or tea warmer option! You can get a USB mug warmer... tho I gather it doesn't get hot enough. > KM> Was looking for the design limit on P3 to refresh memory, didn't > KM> find that but did find a couple other interesting things: > KM> NASA testing of P3 and K6 CPUs: > > KM> https://nepp.nasa.gov/DocUploads/8A499785-90F7-4A77-B90913144A0402 > KM> D1/MAPLD02_Ho > KM> ard_P3.pdf > > Character must be missing as I got a 404 -- did indicate was able to go > to the downloads section. Must have broke funny on your end. Happens with long links and these old-fashioned ways of writing on rocks. > Hmmm: "AMD K7 ... details of technology not available". If NASA can't > get the info.... K7 was the original Athlon/Sempron family, then still in the pipeline. At the time way too buggy anyway. > KM> design considerations for heat pipes: > KM> https://celsiainc.com/heat-sink-blog/heat-pipe-design-guide/ > > Haha! A nice bit of humour with the cartoon of the strongman bending the > pipe. Just don't wrap it around yourself. 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) .