I feel so important (for once)
Posted 08-23-2008 at 08:48 PM by stressfreesoul
What a day. It now seems as though my local community centre (for which I am the IT administrator) has been hit by lightning at some point before I started there. I was overhauling the machines today, after reports that none of them worked properly, to find that 3 out of 8 of them had fried graphics cards and 4 out of 8 had at least one bad stick of RAM. I then found that their servers motherboard had died too.
So anyway, I managed to cobble together 5 in the end, only to find the previous admin (who was less use than a chocolate fireguard) had locked out all the machines and forgotten the password, along with setting up what should have been a basic modem/switch/permanent terminal setup into a mass of RJ45s and unfinished jobs. GODDAMNED COWBOYS!!! I dont see why people do it if they cant be bothered to do it properly. It took a total of 9 hours to get it to the point its at now (5 terminals set up and working, with XP pro SP2 and all the necessary apps. Hardware tested, all 100%). So I have just ordered a pair of old Voodoo AGP cards to replace the fried ones and an outer of 400Mhz crucial 128Mb (ie a whole box of 'em). I already have a pile of motherboards in the parts bin, so the server will probably end up as an all singing and dancing item (compared to the sack 'o slime they were using).
What a sense of satisfaction it has given me to see the place running again. Its just a shame it got so bad for so long.
So anyway, I managed to cobble together 5 in the end, only to find the previous admin (who was less use than a chocolate fireguard) had locked out all the machines and forgotten the password, along with setting up what should have been a basic modem/switch/permanent terminal setup into a mass of RJ45s and unfinished jobs. GODDAMNED COWBOYS!!! I dont see why people do it if they cant be bothered to do it properly. It took a total of 9 hours to get it to the point its at now (5 terminals set up and working, with XP pro SP2 and all the necessary apps. Hardware tested, all 100%). So I have just ordered a pair of old Voodoo AGP cards to replace the fried ones and an outer of 400Mhz crucial 128Mb (ie a whole box of 'em). I already have a pile of motherboards in the parts bin, so the server will probably end up as an all singing and dancing item (compared to the sack 'o slime they were using).
What a sense of satisfaction it has given me to see the place running again. Its just a shame it got so bad for so long.
Total Comments 9
Comments
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I want a fun job like that...Posted 08-24-2008 at 10:01 PM by ebackhus
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Well, I salvaged a AGP card from one of my machines that didnt need it, soon got another running. That brings the total to 6. Also gave the place a clean, as it looked as though the coal man had been storing his goods there...
I brought home their server to check it over, only to find I dont have any RAM to fit in it (Im so forgetful sometimes), so that will have to wait till tomorrow. I feel even more important now though, as they just promoted me to a full Commitee member in order to oversee the running of the community centre as a whole. WOOOHHOOOOO!!
Not that it matters, I dont get paid for any of it anyway...Posted 08-25-2008 at 05:29 PM by stressfreesoul
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No RAM? Must be one of those new ones that doesn't require RAM. Apparently they don't need power either.Posted 08-27-2008 at 06:28 PM by ebackhus
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No, its an old ABIT mobo, using older RAM, which I have none of (at least not at home).
I've got a sneaky suspicion its dead. Everything is set up correctly, it just refuses to turn on. Ive tried a few PSUs with it too, no joy.
It doesn't really matter though, as it just serves to show the head of the commitee that trusting the company he did to provide hardware was a bad move. Im gonna get another machine running today, after these came...
It might not go as planned though, as the one in question possibly has something wrong with the IDE controller as well as the graphics card....
Same as everything else in my life, if its not one thing its something else.Posted 08-28-2008 at 05:00 AM by stressfreesoul
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It worked!! ('course it did, Im a genius
)
Ended up taking one of my many spare machines to run as server. 2x1Tb RAID 1, Lanparty LT X48-T3RS, E6600, 4Gb Crucial, Ubuntu Server edition. On loan though, until funds come through.
Bonus points though, the Commitee are putting me forwards for council membership. 1 day a month we all get together and moan, hmmm, not quite my cup of tea.Posted 08-28-2008 at 03:01 PM by stressfreesoul
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Next step, Im gonna run Folding@Home by the commitee, see if I cant install it on all the workstations. It could be an extra talking point for the old biddies.Posted 08-29-2008 at 05:27 AM by stressfreesoul
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Done. They agreed. "Free Reign" was their permission. 8 more machines towards the team. As it is their first time running it, I left them on overnight, should rack up some extra pointage for 85015Posted 08-30-2008 at 03:46 PM by stressfreesoul
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Woot for F@H!Posted 09-01-2008 at 07:40 PM by Mcninjaguy
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help, I need to get the admin password for a panasonic laptop its locked down.Posted 10-31-2008 at 03:10 PM by fmolina42
