You would forgive me for finding this network of interactions the least bit hard to wrap my head around.
Damn near impossible after a couple of beers, really.
Worse, it's missing parts!
Don't believe me?
Find the computer's BIOS in there.
I think it's hidden in the blue box, but I'm not sure.
Most laptops BIOS provide some mechanism to handle performance and power consumption if the OS does not take the lead. There have been some arguements (including from chipset makers) that the powermanagement would be -best- handled by the BIOS... but that's another side track we don't want to derail on).
Fortunately, some poor bloke (I think on thinkwiki.org.... but I forgot) mentioned that linux seems happier if you disable all the energy control settings in the BIOS.
After a weekend of constant on time, the computer has not crashed, yet. Though posting to blogger has been my favorite place for it to crash.
A BIOS powermanagement conflict would explain why it never crashed while plugged in....
After my earlier reply under "thorn" the $5 computer running Xubuntu has shown its backside and is suddenly incapable doing anything meaningful with its IDE channels greater than noticing that there are disks and a CD-ROM. I have since skinned it and am on track to tan it and gut it of useful things before sending the remainder to be rendered into glue. No amount of tweaking the bios, changing cables, disks or wiping the extant bios settings provided any relief from this sudden and unexpected problem. "Sometimes the magic works, sometimes it doesn't" Chief Dan George - Little Big Man.
ReplyDeleteToday the skylight vendor called to say that the manufacturer thought that due to a shortage of some key component that the new skylights ,which it was suggested were due to arrive Saturday, would unable to be delivered till mid-December. Further probing revealed that the problem was that we had ordered a "heavy snow load" glazing and changing the order to a laminated glazing freed the order to be produced immediately. So the new promise is for next Saturday. I found it somewhat ironic, if not inconvenient, that the snow load glazing would not be available till December. I can't wait that long on several counts: 1) We're trying to get the new roof put on before it snows and 2) it can snow heavily in December. My bride points out that if the skylights were to break the insurance would pay for their replacement (and we might then do an upgrade).
Its been a fascinating day. I'm beginning to suffer from manic depressive syndrome. I had a project lead come over and explain to the team the architecture of his successful projct so that the team might glom onto both the architecture and approach. It was a great presentation, not on the right side, not on the left side, but right in the groove. I thought he delivered the right messages. I expected the team to see the vision, take fire, and burn it up. After his presentation the team proceeded to wallow around in the slop as they had been doing. I'm disgusted. I am once again reminded of something my father said some 48+ years ago "you can tell them, and tell them, but you can't tell them much". Some things never change.
"Vision is the art of seeing the invisible"
WRT the box: Maybe the bios battery is dead?
ReplyDeleteI hardly think it is worth the effort to find out. For a pittance you can find decent replacements practically anywhere.