Computerus

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Thad
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Re: Computerus

Postby Thad » Wed May 04, 2022 5:03 pm

Fuck.

I flashed the firmware and installed Manjaro and it worked until the battery died, and then when I tried to start it up again I got the same problem as this guy:

I’ve successfully completed my Manjaro installation with audio working on my Samsung chromebook while ago. But then yesterday, something weird happened. When I opened the computer, it was saying, “Verify it contains a 64 bit uefi os”. Then I realized my computer doesn’t recognize my hard drive. Then I put my manjaro installation usb to check if something wrong with installation, tried to fix grub, also checked lsblk to see if I have any attached drives, but there was nothing.


No replies, so who the fuck knows what the fix is. I'd just gotten everything set up so I don't relish the idea of having to do a clean install again, but...I can't even do that, because it doesn't see a drive there at all. Like, I'd pop the thing open and see if it had come loose if I hadn't found another guy experiencing the same issue.

Reinstalling the firmware didn't fix it. Guess I'll see if reverting to the original firmware does.

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Re: Computerus

Postby Thad » Wed May 04, 2022 7:00 pm

Thad wrote:Like, I'd pop the thing open and see if it had come loose if I hadn't found another guy experiencing the same issue.

I popped the thing open to see if it had come loose.

It hadn't, but it does seem to be a totally mundane, run-of-the-mill dead SSD. Almost certainly a coincidence completely unrelated to my recent changes to the firmware and installation of a new distro, though if the drive was already dying I doubt all those read-writes did it any favors.

Neither Coreboot nor the factory firmware did me any favors here. How the fuck hard is it to say "Device not found"? Attempting to reinstall ChromeOS gave me "An unexpected error occurred." WTAF, Google? That's some amateur-hour-ass shit.

So, y'know, one of those things where troubleshooting took me hours instead of minutes because motherfuckers can't write a decent error message. I know firmware space is at a premium, but Jesus, give me a fucking error code to look up or something.

As it happens, I kept the SSD that came with the Chromebook and knew where I put it, so I should at least have a working laptop while I wait for the new SSD to come. I mean, if I want to use an old, no-longer-supported version of ChromeOS.

(ETA It's actually probably the SSD that came with the Chromebox I've got set up in my exercise room. It kept saying "Chromebox" during the setup process, not "Chromebook". Point is, it's only 16GB and I could put Puppy or some other Linux designed for limited storage on it but it really wouldn't be worth it for something I'm just going to be using until I can pop a bigger drive in.)

...lordy, are there any two-notch 42mm M.2 drives that aren't manufactured by some brand I've never heard of like KingSpec or TimeTec or Kingdata or Genser or KingShark or Leven or Gamerking or Pusokei or KingDian?

I admit I kinda like the sound of KingShark.

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(Seriously though, don't buy KingShark. The reviews say it ships with malware on it.)

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Re: Computerus

Postby Thad » Wed May 04, 2022 7:48 pm

...oh, I get it. They all have "King" in the name because they're hoping people will mistake them for Kingston.

I was going to make a joke about why would anyone want to be mistaken for Kingston, but on second thought that seems like a pretty good way to set expectations upfront.

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Re: Computerus

Postby Thad » Fri May 06, 2022 1:20 pm

Thad wrote:
Thad wrote:
Thad wrote:Anyway yadda yadda it turns out HP's file listing compatible printers listed it as "hp_laserjet_professional_p_1102w" and the ID string the printer uses is actually "hp_laserjet_professional_p1102w".

And fucking hell, it overwrites the file when I run an update.

I've changed the perms to 666 (ETA and then realized I meant 444 and changed them to that) to see if that prevents my change from being overwritten again, but note to self in case it is, the file is /usr/share/hplip/data/models/models.dat

Didn't work; I still have to reinstall the goddamn printer after every update.

Should probably file a bug report. HP clearly isn't gonna fix it because they've got an open bug report from 2013, but I see Arch has fixed a similar bug so maybe I'll get it fixed if I report it to them.

Meantime, I've symlinked /usr/share/hplip/data/firmware/hp_laserjet_professional_p_1102w.fw.gz to point to hp_laserjet_professional_p1102w.fw.gz. Since there's no version number or anything in that filename, that seems like it should still work after an update. We'll see, I guess, next hplip update.


That didn't work either. The ID string must be something that's used by the printer itself.

I tried adding

Code: Select all

NoUpgrade = usr/share/hplip/data/models/models.dat
to /etc/pacman.conf, which should hopefully prevent the file from being overwritten again. Should still file that bug report, though.

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Re: Computerus

Postby Thad » Mon Jun 06, 2022 7:02 pm

...Christ. TFW you realize you accidentally just repartitioned the wrong drive.

(Everything is okay. First of all, it turned out that there was nothing important on it, just games -- no saves, just the games themselves; would have been a PITA to redownload and reinstall, but entirely doable. And secondly, I didn't even have to do that, because I was able to recover the partition table using testdisk. But Jesus, I was having a bad day for a second there.)

Never has there been a computer program with a more appropriate name than fdisk.

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Re: Computerus

Postby IGNORE ME » Mon Jun 06, 2022 9:45 pm

I reinstalled Windows for the first time since 2017 last weekend, guess why.

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Re: Computerus

Postby Mongrel » Mon Jun 06, 2022 9:47 pm

HD died?
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Re: Computerus

Postby Yoji » Wed Jul 20, 2022 2:00 pm

So, how would one go about retrieving files from an older IDE hard drive?

I'm looking for some old cosplay photos, and I can't find them in any of my current backups. They might be on some old desktop hard drives I've had sitting in a box for years, but I don't have a desktop to run them on anymore. I've tried an external enclosure before, but that didn't quite work and the thing is long gone anyway.
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Re: Computerus

Postby Thad » Wed Jul 20, 2022 2:30 pm

A USB adapter is probably your best bet (doesn't necessarily have to be an enclosure, but something that's got connectors for power and data).

If that doesn't work, troubleshooting steps will depend on how it doesn't work.

If the disk appears in Partition Manager* but doesn't show a drive letter in Explorer, that suggests partition or filesystem corruption. You'll want to look into data recovery software. I'm not really up on what your best choice is in Windows, but I recently had some good luck with the Linux version of TestDisk so I'd start by trying the Windows version of that. Ideally, if you've got the space and can make it work, you want to clone the entire disk, make a copy of the image file, and do recovery on the copy, so if you manage to mess it up worse you can delete that image and try again without doing any permanent damage to your only copy of the disk.

If the disk doesn't even appear in Partition Manager, then if possible you'll want to try with another IDE disk and see if that works. If the second disk works, then there's likely a hardware problem with the first one; that's beyond my skill level to help with and you may need to take it to a professional data recovery shop. If neither disk works, well, there's a chance they've both got hardware failures, but it's likelier that the problem isn't the disk, it's somewhere else in the chain (adapter, driver, etc.).

* Don't make any changes to the partition map from Partition Manager, I'm just saying you can use it to see if the disk is detected but won't mount. If there's a problem with the partition map, you may need to edit it later, but you'll be doing it from TestDisk or some other recovery program. That's not what Windows' built-in partition software is for; it's just for setting up new disks, not recovering old ones.

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Re: Computerus

Postby MarbinDrakon » Wed Jul 20, 2022 2:33 pm

Yoji wrote:So, how would one go about retrieving files from an older IDE hard drive?

I'm looking for some old cosplay photos, and I can't find them in any of my current backups. They might be on some old desktop hard drives I've had sitting in a box for years, but I don't have a desktop to run them on anymore. I've tried an external enclosure before, but that didn't quite work and the thing is long gone anyway.


I've had mixed success with adapters like the one linked below. Otherwise, the best bet is to have or find an old motherboard with an IDE controller or an IDE controller card.
https://www.amazon.com/Inateck-External ... B08BNPXSJ9

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Re: Computerus

Postby Thad » Thu Aug 11, 2022 2:59 pm

Intel tests show its Arc A750 GPU beating an RTX 3060, if only you could buy one

Intel's strongest argument for its new GPUs might be its three-tier pricing strategy. The company categorizes games using one of three performance tiers: Tier 1 is newer games using modern APIs that have been specifically optimized for Arc GPUs, Tier 2 is games that use modern DirectX12 and Vulkan APIs but don't have any Arc-specific optimizations, and Tier 3 is older DirectX and OpenGL titles. All of the games in today's comparison are Tier 1 or Tier 2 titles, but Intel says Arc's pricing will be determined by its competitiveness in Tier 3 games.

Because Arc struggles so much with games in this third tier, it could mean that the A750 will come in substantially below the RTX 3060's official MSRP of $329 (its current street price based on a cursory non-scientific check of Amazon and Newegg is closer to $400). Early benchmarks have shown the DirectX11 version of Shadow of the Tomb Raider running at half the speed of the DirectX12 version. A card that performs like an RTX 3060 in newer games while being priced more like an RTX 3050 or 1650 could be attractive for some bargain hunters, regardless of the other teething issues Arc is having.


Seems like it could be a viable option for a certain segment of the market. Especially as time goes on and performance on OGL/DX11 games becomes less of a going concern.

Plus Intel's always had the best open-source drivers for Linux, so I'm hoping this means there'll be two decent choices for Linux graphics in the near future. I'm planning on sticking with AMD for now, but competition is a good thing.

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Re: Computerus

Postby KingRoyal » Fri Aug 26, 2022 1:34 pm

Walmart lists a 30TB portable SSD for $39. It is, naturally, a scam

I legit laughed when I read how these drives work
The drive is even more clever when it comes to tricking people into thinking it's working. It preserves the directory structure of whatever you're copying, but when it's "copying" your data, it just keeps writing and rewriting over the tiny microSD cards. Everything will look fine until you go to access a file, only to find that the data isn't there.
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Re: Computerus

Postby beatbandito » Tue Sep 20, 2022 10:45 am

I'm looking to replace my nearly a decade old Linksys E6250 router with something more powerful. This already nearly gets the job done to cover a ~700sqft house plus basement, and gets good range nearly a quarter-acre out into open yard.

I would like to, for as little money possible, get something that would have as strong a connection and slightly better range. If anyone has recommendations I would appreciate it.
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Re: Computerus

Postby Thad » Mon Sep 26, 2022 1:21 pm

I think the last wifi router I bought was an Asus but I can't find the info offhand. It was for my grandparents; I'll try to remember to take a look at it next time I visit them.

I'm not up on consumer routers because I don't use one myself; I've got a firewall (HP T730 running OPNsense) that handles my routing and it's hooked up to a switch and a Unifi Access Point AC Long-Range for wifi access. I'm mostly happy with OPNsense but it's overkill for most people's purposes (mine probably included). Unifi works, has decent range, and offers minimal hassle once it's set up, but setup requires using a proprietary app and managing it through an account on the Unifi website, which makes it really hard for me to recommend.

That probably doesn't help much, but I'll see if I can get the model number off that Asus router next time I'm at my grandparents'.

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Re: Computerus

Postby nosimpleway » Mon Sep 26, 2022 11:37 pm

I need to clean off an analog stick in my USB controller. I got the chassis open but the sticks are held in place by a separate board, with even smaller screws. Two of those screws come out, but the other two are stuck fast. I can't put enough torque on them to get them to turn before they strip.

So hey, guys who deal with these kinds of tiny electronics screws more often than I do. What do you do from here?

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Re: Computerus

Postby Thad » Wed Sep 28, 2022 3:59 pm

You might be able to get more torque with a right-angle screwdriver. If you can get one with a small enough head.

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Re: Computerus

Postby Thad » Thu Oct 27, 2022 2:13 pm

Getting close to that time again; planning to rebuild my HTPC, but waiting for AMD to roll out its new graphics cards next week.

On the processor side, I'm not seeing much reason to pay a premium for the 7000 series; I think I'll go ahead and stick with 5000. I've got a 5600X in my main desktop and might get another one of those, though at this point a 5700X costs $70 less than I paid for a 5600X a year ago so it may be worth the bump.

Plenty of choices for graphics cards; I think a 6650 would do the job just fine but I'll see what the new lineup looks like.

I think I've already got DDR4 in the current HTPC so I don't think I'll need to buy more RAM at this point. Will need to double-check, though.

I'm still kinda going back-and-forth on whether I want to fuck around with a fresh Linux install or just keep the one I've got. I think I'd rather deal with my years of existing cruft than have to get everything set up all over again; Linux isn't like Windows, and swapping out a motherboard shouldn't break anything. In which case I don't need to buy any more storage than what I've already got.

Haven't settled on a motherboard. I got that Asus TUF X570-Pro for my main at Grath's recommendation last year, and it hasn't given me any trouble yet, so I might just go with another one of those.

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Re: Computerus

Postby Thad » Mon Oct 31, 2022 8:47 pm

Thad wrote:I think the last wifi router I bought was an Asus but I can't find the info offhand. It was for my grandparents; I'll try to remember to take a look at it next time I visit them.

Sorry, kept forgetting, but I was over there today and finally remembered to take it down. It's an RT-AC66U, in case that helps.

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Re: Computerus

Postby beatbandito » Tue Nov 01, 2022 1:05 pm

Thank you. I think I am just behind by a few years of tech on my router. Can't really compare direct numbers, but for the extra range I need, something like that Asus that costs as much now as my Linksys did 12 years ago will probably do fine.
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Re: Computerus

Postby Thad » Thu Nov 03, 2022 6:57 pm

Thad wrote:Getting close to that time again; planning to rebuild my HTPC, but waiting for AMD to roll out its new graphics cards next week.

Ah, okay, so just the $900 and $1000 cards right now (and by "right now" I mean "in 6 weeks"). Not like I'm doing this build tomorrow, but it's probably not worth waiting for whenever the next round of midrange cards comes out, either.

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