Most of the week my luck has been wearing very thin indeed… I ordered lots of parts from DABS to build 2 new computers for Jess’s family, as well as add 1TB of disk space to a rebuilt computer of mine, and everything seemed to go wrong all at once! Oh well, at least Jess’s chickenpox is slowly going now!

First of all, I ordered a Serial ATA controller card so that I could use 2 of my 4 new hard drives (the motherboard has 2 SATA ports). I started off by ordering the cheapest thing available (they all use the same chips…), but when I received it it just kept locking up. After several days’ worth of debugging on the Linux Kernel mailing list, we came to the conclusion I actually had a faulty controller card.

Next, I set off to build the 2 computers. Everything looked fine until I came to start installing Windows (I know) on the first one. I quickly realised the floppy drives didn’t work for some reason, and the power supply covered up the heat-sink fan causing overeating. I knew the drives weren’t at fault since I used them on my other computer without any trouble.

Third, I started off fixing Jess’s PS2 after my previous failed attempt involving a blown fuse. I got the replacement fuse, replaced the failed part, and proceeded to install a “subzero fix” which is meant to prevent the laser burning out. In doing this, I managed to take off a tiny resistor (only about 1mm × 2mm × 0.5mm) and after trying to replace it, lost it. So now I need to order a replacement resistor for Jess’s PS2 once I find out exactly what it is.

I organised a return of the faulty controller card and the two badly-designed cases, and ordered a new controller (brand-name this time) and 2 new cases very much like Jess’s old one (now mine). The new controller works a treat. As for the two new cases, everything fits great and the floppy drives work: must have been faulty power supplies in the old cases. Two new computers working like a charm.

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