Computer Died
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Computer died. Well apparently it was my ssd's The operating system and another data drive with Thea Render. They're going to try and save my documents data, the Quixel materials and the Thea materials and models. Luckily I have most of my cad dwgs, a lot of Sketchup and D5 models.
That said I have to reinstall and reconfigure a lot of programs including Windows 10 ugly set-up.I'm using my last computer here and I have a lot of stuff from Sketchup 2021. He said it might have been an electrical spike.
It's going to be a real pain in the ass. It's depressing. I find myself leaning over to find my new box.
One moral of the story: get a UPS and a big cloud account for back-up. Another is, "listen to your doctor."
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I used a decentralised backup called Storj along with some external SSD hardware.
I’ve had 2 PC failures due to power surges. It’s soul destroying
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@Rich-O-Brien Should I get a UPS or a power strip with a better surge protector? Which one actually works? Mine is on this one:
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Depends on whether you are running off laptop or desktop. I've been laptop for a few years because our electric grid in my area is prone to surges or outages.
If I was on desktop I'd feel a lot happier with a UPS over a surge protector.
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You will only see an uptick in power consumption as the UPS charges. A UPS for a desktop would add ~10w of additional electrical draw to whatever your desktop is drawing.
If your PSU is drawing 300w then attached to a UPS you would probably see 310w at most. Unless you go for a beefier UPS.
I think for the additional piece of mind and if you suffer from dirty power I think you would get more from a UPS
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I have used Belking surge protectors for no idea how long now. One ssd failure in that time and no idea if it was a surge wot done the deed.
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They're finished. $550 for diagnosis, replace the two SSD's, save whatever data can be saved, and load Windows 10 Pro. By data I mean the contents of Window's documents folder, Quxel, Thea materials, etc.
So back to the old drawing board. Gotta reload programs like Sketchup 2022 and 2024. My trusted old Autocad 2000. That's going to cost around $120 for the Longbow software to allow its use in Windows 10. Bunch of other programs.
Then there's re-configuring Windows 10 all over again to the way I had it. I have a lot of those tweaks in my saved F: drive which is a Western Digital Black. I also have all of my drawings, Sketchup models, D5 stuff on that as well.
I'll find out on Thursday. $50 to bring it back to me. I guess it's all tax deductible.
I think I sparked it by plugging in some stupid old spot light for the backyard. I killed my BIOS with that a few months ago.
Soon we'll be an ancient breed. Like the draftsmen of old.
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No idea if products are more flimsy these days but, I have had more failures in the last five years than the prior twenty years.
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@Mike-Amos I wondering too if I should have just stuck with a regular HDD. I've had old computers where all of the sudden the computer stopped and I opened the box and the heat sink for the CPU was lying on its side. So put in some new paste and slapped it back on and it started right up.
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Some issues around 'bought' computers, the shipping companies are more and more concerned with speed. There are more damaged items but this might be due to the hired muppets who I have seen 'throwing' packages around in their vans to find what they need for the latest delivery.
Higher insurance claims.
Higher parcel charges etc.
Generally the pc companies hires "bar keeps" of the first water, deny responsibility, rinse and repeat.
I spoke to a chilblast employee several times lately the same feller who tried to tell me an ssd on 66% health was fine and samsung would not replace. Really? Bravo, Echo, November.........
I am still running off the onboard graphics and no callback which was due last Friday.......
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@Mike-Amos Don't remind me. I probably should have asked the repair guys to pick something else besides a Samsung SSD. Too late I guess.
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I have a batch of Crucial ssd, I'll let you know how they stack up.
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@Mike-Amos Mike, is your house grounded? Are your outlets grounded?
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All outlets are linked and grounded. It's a standard required for ALL rental properties now, the last place I stayed did not have this feature but the gas safety engineer simply rubber stamped the safety forms. I got that place checked by my energy supplier and basically it bankrupted the owner.
A similar situation back in 97, Sara and I stayed in an attic bedsit. The idiots owned six flats in two adlacent buildings and denied everyone access to the gardens. When we left, the fire service and council fit for rental scheme handed them work orders that were in excess of £30k per flat. Our skylight was not secured to the rafters and opening the skylight basically took it out of the roof.
When we left, the owners wife came out and flipped the bird, I said to her it was rude and should I report it to the police. Grovelling apology.
Some people really are sad. -
@Mike-Amos Place I'm at isn't grounded even though it's a three prong plug. I'm certain. It's not a rental property anymore it's a 100+ year old house.
I think my only option for protection is either a UPS or I found this one outfit that builds non-grounded surge protectors. Called "ZeroSurge." Only problem is their 2-plug version is $263. I called them up today to double check and the man said, yes. No need to be grounded.
2 Outlet - ZeroSurge
ZeroSurge® 2 Outlet Product Page ZeroSurge 2 Outlet, 15 Amp Surge Protector 2R15W – #002-00703 2 Always on outlets with 15 amp capacity 6 Foot, 14 gauge power cord Flat, space saving plug Heavy duty, magnetic shielded steel enclosure Non-sacrificial filter technology
ZeroSurge (zerosurge.com)
You or Rich think a UPS alone would work?
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I'm not an electrician so cannot say and the last time I came into contact with UPS it was work related. ALL hospital departments have to have a UPS local to them and all the homes I have lived in as an adult were grounded to some degree or other. Any elctricians in the forum membership?
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Pardon me, dyslexic tryping fingers. Electricians...... Doh.
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@Mike-Amos said in Computer Died:
I'm not an electrician so cannot say and the last time I came into contact with UPS it was work related. ALL hospital departments have to have a UPS local to them and all the homes I have lived in as an adult were grounded to some degree or other. Any elctricians in the forum membership?
I'll consult the tech that's dropping off my computer on Thursday.
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Found this if it is of use
It depends on your situation. There are those who will disagree, but I believe that in most of what we call the "first world", the power grid is reliable enough that a UPS doesn't provide much additional protection beyond what a good surge protector will give you. A rare power failure isn't going to damage most things.
Where a UPS really shines is in situations where you have a lots of small brownouts — the power doesn't cut out entirely, but it wasn't all there for a brief moment either, and this happens frequently (numerous times per day). This can happen in places where the power is less reliable. For example, you may be in an older building, a very rural location, or in a country where the power situation is less stable. In that case, a UPS will definitely pay for itself quickly, and you want to get one that not only provides stand-by protection but also what they call "sine wave output".
And, of course, you might also be going for a high-availability solution. In that case, a large UPS (and maybe even generators) is a must.
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