The new heatsink is installed and everything is plugged, or inserted in where they should be except for 2 chassis fans and another one tomorrow that need some power connection converters. It took about 5 hours to do. And even though everything was marked as to what port they originally came from, The Robot's nasty reputation for configuration took a turn for the worst. Sometimes, I can't get it to boot up, or when it does, somehow Windows became corrupt. If I have to re-install windows and reprogram the computer, you can find me purchasing a copy of Norton Ghost very soon.
Meanwhile, I just discovered "NOAA Weather Radio" for my Android Smartphone on Google Play and I'm experimenting with the app. While it lists a "Marietta" station, it does not have any West Virginia ones at all. Much of Marietta's broadcast is based on the weather station in Charleston, WV. If it works, it will be a good tool to use down trail. But I think it would be better in the car.
FM radio stations are sluggish to play the severe weather tone. When the weather gets bad, I want to know what's going on immediately. In order to get weather band in a car without a smartphone app, one has to purchase and install a marine stereo head unit. And I'm just don't have the money for that. And even if I was, I'd have to be assured that the unit will always lock on the closest of the seven channels broadcasting, no matter where I'm traveling, then interrupt all other stereo functions in the event of a weather alert. Otherwise, I could just take a small hand held weather band radio, supply it power from the car and jack it into my stereo's auxiliary input. But they usually have a big bulky antenna.
Showing posts with label CPU Overheating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CPU Overheating. Show all posts
2016/01/29
2016/01/27
Log 2016012703
-This entry is the 400th published for the "Treeman's Adventures & Volunteerism" log, which includes topics on necessary equipment for what I do.
In order to mount the new heatsink on my media center computer, "The Robot," it's motherboard will need to be dismounted to install a backing plate. That entails much more work than I originally intended. This computer is difficult to configure. So, in order to do it, every USB cable currently connected will need to be labled and mapped back to where it was inserted. I have my label maker standing by. There are 20 USB ports on this machine. But I might be able to lift out the 6 expansion cards (like video, sound, Wi-Fi, more USB ports) while they're still inserted in the motherboard.
I could just plug them back in anywhere, but I risk it looking for drivers if the cables aren't plugged in where they were before. And this computer takes some "manipulation" to configure. So, it would actually be worth my while if I took the time to label them to prevent unforeseeable problems.
In order to mount the new heatsink on my media center computer, "The Robot," it's motherboard will need to be dismounted to install a backing plate. That entails much more work than I originally intended. This computer is difficult to configure. So, in order to do it, every USB cable currently connected will need to be labled and mapped back to where it was inserted. I have my label maker standing by. There are 20 USB ports on this machine. But I might be able to lift out the 6 expansion cards (like video, sound, Wi-Fi, more USB ports) while they're still inserted in the motherboard.
I could just plug them back in anywhere, but I risk it looking for drivers if the cables aren't plugged in where they were before. And this computer takes some "manipulation" to configure. So, it would actually be worth my while if I took the time to label them to prevent unforeseeable problems.
Log 2016012701
The weather was clear today, so I drove to Micro Center and purchased a new heatsink. This one is bigger, so it should dissipate the CPU's heat better. But I'm not sure when I'll get to install it because I really want to work on the guide for the Ohio Transit Hiker's Resource.
2016/01/26
Log 2016012603
I donned my rubber kitchen gloves today. They were necessary so I could handle it's CPU. I got inside there and wiped the interfacing compound off of it and the heatsink with 91% Isopropyl Alcohol and a static free cloth. The heatsink and cooling fan are a combination that's sold as a single unit. The heatsink is like a hunk of metal that helps disapate heat from the Central Processing Unit (CPU). Unfortunately, the mounting gear for the heatsink broke, probably with age because it's been in there for 8 years. They good news is that a replacement isn't costly. The bad news is that my car isn't working right and it looks like Friday will be the best day that I can get it replaced.
2016/01/25
Log 2016012501
I installed the new 5.25" drive bay drawers on The Robot yesterday. The top one now holds the tools, while the bottom one is holding my cleaning cloths. Today, I purchased a syringe of Arctic Silver 5 High Density Photosynthetic Silver Thermal Compound for it's CPU. Since it's stable at lower temperatures and the the mapping of TARTA's call-a-rides and fixed routes isn't a priority, I'm going to postpone reapplying this heatsink compound for the time being. In the meantime, think I can rely on the laptop more to work on editing the guide for the Ohio Transit Hiker's Resource (OTHR). But when it comes to uploading it's maps, I'm going to have to do it from Google Earth first and that might heat up the CPU?
2016/01/24
Log 2016012401
I cleaned The Robot's heatsink with a vacuum and a compressed air can. And while I was working on the polygon for TARTA's #4 Call-a-Ride, it didn't crash. But when I went to start working on the #8 - Maumee Call-a-Ride, then it powered down and I lost my work. So, the heatsink compound is the last and final thing to try.
2016/01/23
Log 2016012302
I cleaned out The Robot about a month ago and there doesn't seem to be much dust in it's fans or CPU heat sink. But during movie playback when my display is cloned to my TV, the computer will expectantly shutdown. And also when I'm working with my overlaid TARTA maps and I'm drawling polygons for their call-a-ride zones, if it's a particularly large one, then it will also shut down. Since the fans are clean, I've heard that the heat sinking compound on my CPU might need to be cleaned and re-applied. Well, that's possible considering that the computer has been running almost non-stop for six years. Frankly, I'm surprised that the CPU has lasted this long at all. Heat sinking compound is cheap.
2015/12/13
Log 2015121203
I finished the digital mile markers for all 26 sections on the Buckeye Trail. 15 of them are based on modified tracks whose length measurement does not agree with the Buckeye Trail Association's Map Team official totals. The other 11 do.
There could be a number of reasons for this. First is that the GIS and the Map Team's measurement were taken independently. While the surveyors wheel probably stayed on the road's surface as much as possible so that I could get the most traction, some of the GIS on-road tracks were taken as far into the right of way as legally possible. Second, it's possible that one of them might be incorrect off-road. Third, my tracks are "modified." Meaning that I used Google Maps to recreate the on-road, then merged them with the GIS's off-road. Who knows what that could have done. And finally, I may not have merged the sections correctly. On many of the sections, I stopped being so meticulous about preping to merge the sections. So some of the anchors on the merged track might actually correspond to it overlapping and I wouldn't know? Finally, some of the tracks appear to parallel the road by 20ft or so. But that could just be caused by light refraction in the satellite imagery and the only way to prove that is to hike it in person on the most ideal day with my hand GPS and have it to set record a track on the most discriminate setting. Then get it back to my computer and compare.
The My Places are now saved to Google Earth as well as to a KML file on my cloud storage. At this point, I can now proceed with routing a mock hiker for the 10 Mile Per Day Continuous Hikes w/o Transit. Last night, The Robots CPU kept exceeding 122°F/ 50°C. After about 54°F, the system would interrupt my movie and shut down the computer. My guess is that my CPU was overheating. There's not a lot of dust caked up inside the chassis. So the CPU might be going terminal now?
There could be a number of reasons for this. First is that the GIS and the Map Team's measurement were taken independently. While the surveyors wheel probably stayed on the road's surface as much as possible so that I could get the most traction, some of the GIS on-road tracks were taken as far into the right of way as legally possible. Second, it's possible that one of them might be incorrect off-road. Third, my tracks are "modified." Meaning that I used Google Maps to recreate the on-road, then merged them with the GIS's off-road. Who knows what that could have done. And finally, I may not have merged the sections correctly. On many of the sections, I stopped being so meticulous about preping to merge the sections. So some of the anchors on the merged track might actually correspond to it overlapping and I wouldn't know? Finally, some of the tracks appear to parallel the road by 20ft or so. But that could just be caused by light refraction in the satellite imagery and the only way to prove that is to hike it in person on the most ideal day with my hand GPS and have it to set record a track on the most discriminate setting. Then get it back to my computer and compare.
The My Places are now saved to Google Earth as well as to a KML file on my cloud storage. At this point, I can now proceed with routing a mock hiker for the 10 Mile Per Day Continuous Hikes w/o Transit. Last night, The Robots CPU kept exceeding 122°F/ 50°C. After about 54°F, the system would interrupt my movie and shut down the computer. My guess is that my CPU was overheating. There's not a lot of dust caked up inside the chassis. So the CPU might be going terminal now?
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