Tales of Computer Dumbassery!
 

Here's my story.

So, around came the monthly dust & clean of my PC tower. No problem, I have done it a thousand times before.:know:

After unplugging the multitude of USB cables, Cat5, Surround sound, Keyboard & Mouse, I proceeded to unlatch the tower casing. Egads! It was dusty as my Gran's knickers in there. No problem, out comes my air compressor.

All external case fans get blown through, Graphics cards, Sound Card, TV Card & RAM all get removed and air blasted. Then I notice the encrusted dust on my Heat Syncs for the CPU's. That won't do! After thrashing the wife to find where she put my Thermal Paste, I decided that they needed cleaning too. Now I don't know if you have ever cleaned a Heat Sync but it's a funny kind of dust that gathers there. The Air Compressor would not shift it. Damp cloth did.

While my Mobo was basically clear of all clutter, I passed my hoover (with soft brush attachment) over it to ensure all remaining crud was gone.

Finally happy with the cleanliness, I proceeded to rebuild the innards of my PC. Meh, no biggy, I could do it in my sleep.:know: With my tower back together and all cables & peripherals connected again, it was time to fire the beast up and do my usual operating system clean & check.

Hit the button......

"No Video Input Detected"

Fe*k!:damn:

Ok, I thought, I had this before. The GFX cards need re-seating or the monitor cable isn't connected properly. Cable first.....nope, not that. *Sigh* Off comes the tower casing, remove GFX cards & re-seat. Happy that they are firmly seated, I replace the casing and power on again.

"No Video Input Detected"

Double Fe*k!:damn:

Could I have fubar'd one of my GFX cards, either by static or too strong an air pressure? Remaining calm, I remembered that I have an unused/unpackaged ATi X800 sitting in a cupboard should my cards ever die on me. Card duly fitted. Confident in my smugness of always being prepared, I powered on again.

"No Video Input Detected"

Arrrggggghhhhh!! Son of #*^@!

Smoke time!......

I knew my GFX card was good, I knew that I had put my hardware back together properly, I was sure that something else must have been causing the issue. What could it be?

In desperation, I started checking the unlikely things that couldn't possibly of caused my PC to loose it's display.

Working upwards:
Sound Card - Check
TV Card - Check
Network Card - Check
GFX Connections - Check
USB Cables - Check
Keyboard PS/2 & Mouse PS/2 - Check......wait! NO!......

Always ensure that your Keyboard & Mouse are connected to their correct ports!. It seems that getting them arse about face is not a good idea.:oops:

:D been there done that,
I'll bet you slapped your head a couple of times.

HunterICX

Ha Ha! Yeah.

I've never experienced embarrassment with no one else in the room. I was hit by a wave of dumbassery.:oops:

I'm not sure if dumbassery is a word but if it is then I have been on the dumbassery boat before. Sometimes I forget to just plug in the darn power cord:-? Push the on button and push and push...WTH! DOH! How about plugging the power cord in:-?

Most people assume that plugging a USB devices in another USB port other than the one it was installed in is ok, but it's not!!:oops: Someone mentioned that if you set your bios PnP OS to "Yes" can fix this so that you can plug USB devices to any port but computer starts slower, or is it the other way around (set to "No") hmm!!:hmmm:

Hell, I'm just happy the thing starts at all:03:

This story is very familiar. :hmm2: But surely I would never do such a thing. :sunny:

















Well at least not until the next cleaning. :D

Monthly cleaning? :o I thought I was proactive with an annual cleaning (which is about 18 months overdue at this time).

Your computer is all warm and fuzzy inside:O:

Smokin!!:yeah:

I'm with Neal on this one. I have a hard time doing it annually let alone monthly and even when I do clean it I don't take anything apart. I just blow out the fans and usual dust collectiong spots with the air compressor and call it good. :88) This thread is just a further reminder I have to do it.

The bit of dumbassery I had with my computer was the last time I had it apart to clean it. I had buttoned everthing back and was ready to turn it on again. It won't turn on. I check everything it looks fine. I try again. Still nothing. I check everything again and am worried why it won't turn on. Then I check the power switch on the PSU. I had turned it off like I always do when I take my computer apart. Stupid thing is, it's not the first time I forgot to turn the power switch back on. :oops::doh::damn: