“Now run along to my housekeeper, ‘LADY Julia’, and ask her nicely if
she wouldn’t mind you helping wash the dishes - then you can go scrub
the scullery floor…”
Yep! Just had my 600th follower on
Tumblr! Why not help me make it 1000 for
this new year of 2016? Sign up now!
So – I decided
to fix my non-working monitor (one of two I use) before the computer, which I left running so as I could look up
circuit diagrams and so on. The faulty
component was obvious once I’d got the thing apart (no easy task for a
fumble-fingers like me!) – a blackened, charred capacitor in the backlight
circuitry, which crumbled to carbonised dust at a touch – but its role in the
scheme of things, and more importantly its value and spec, was more difficult
to discern and needed the aforementioned diagrams and service manual. The value and specification in particular
seemed closely guarded secrets. But
finally it became clear what was required was a capacitor of 22pf, 5%, low ESR,
high working temperature and 3KV working voltage…So, I’ve now ordered the part
for the princely sum of £1.20 including VAT and delivery (actually I’ve ordered
4 at 25P each + VAT), it has been dispatched, and it should be here tomorrow or
Friday. But whether I can actually get
the bloody screen back together again is another matter entirely!!!
So, that
having been done, and having updated Pinterest, Tumblr, Deviant Art and knocked
out this little offering (just to cheer myself up). I’m signing off until such a time this
machine I’m presently using is back on its feet (which might not be until the
middle of next week if I’m unlucky! It
all depends on how easy it turns out to be to restore Windows off my external
drive setup once I’ve installed the new hard drives – and there’s a LOT more to
THAT than meets the eye, since Windows cannot boot directly via USB (well
Windows XP can’t anyway – coz it tests the USB ports as it boots up and thereby
cuts itself of from its own source. It
also can’t copy itself either – but that’s a separate issue; and one somewhat
easier to overcome).
I’ll still be
contactable via email, using my smart phone (since both my laptops have ‘issues
of their own) and will be regularly tweeting (a New Year’s resolution).
Bye bye for
now. Fingers crossed – and wish me luck…
I’m turning off...right...now…
Best Wishes.
Garth....