Partner's PC (that I built) has a gremlin. The power supply fan died rather loudly a month ago so now I know how to replace that and rewire the power cable guts of a PC leaving everything else in place. (Not fun, didn't post on the first boot, had to reseat RAM I'd bumped loose, 2/10 experience). Since then it's had game and system crashes in an exponentially increasing manner. Today I did a clean OS install, from Windows 10 to 11. Which required going into BIOS because Ryzen CPUs apparently don't play well with 11. It was terrifying. I hate changing BIOS anything. But I did it and got the 'ready to upgrade" green check. Woo. Then... then. Had to download the install software to a USB on my laptop because the PC failed to do so at the last moment. It took 3 tries to install OS from the USB boot. Had to disconnect every unessential peripheral for it to work. Logged in to a new, clean, happy OS. Yay. Decided to run a memory diagnostic just to see. And now.. 4 hours (!!) into it, 88% complete, pretty dang sure that reseated RAM is the issue. Did I break the RAM? Did I fuck the motherboard? Who knows.. another hour likely before I can get a report. And then there's more troubleshooting.
Blarg.
Just venting. Any good vibes you can send that I just need to reseat that RAM one more time and check for loose PSU cables would be appreciated. There's a giant ass CPU cooling fan rig blocking access to the RAM which is a whole thing I'm not looking forward to having to take out, but that's far better than needing to replace the CPU or motherboard.
Like, I'm grateful I know how to do these things. I learned from watching my dad and this skill set is a part of him I will always have with me which is huge. But this is also a big part of why I'm a console gamer now...
Update: I borked the RAM stick. Also learned that Windows installs files on more than the drive you tell it to! Why? No idea. Installed on the SSD then formatted the two HDDs that I thought were just games and movies, restarted, and it wouldn't boot. So back into BIOS we go to reinstall Windows all over again after disconnecting all but the one SSD. Now we're up and running on 32g instead of 64g of RAM until we can afford to buy some new. So far so good.. will be holding my breath for a week or so anyway.
Well, shit. The best 32g are mostly running things. But there have been enough full system crashes and other weirdness that it's time for a rebuild and trying to be as smart as we can about future-proofing that vs. cost.
Can I just say, fully and with great emphasis, Fuck AI? Datacenters are the only reason this is so expensive.
We can afford it. Kind of. Floating 0% CC debt isn't great, need to find a balance transfer offer to keep that going a bit longer before the end of the year. We are so close to being financially viable, goddammit. I'm grateful. I'm blessed. I'm lucky. It's so tricky... Anyway,,
New Asus ROG Strix Motherboard, Ryzen 7 CPU, and 32 g of G.Skill Trident DDR5 RAM on their way. Keeping the case, 2 HDDs and 2 SSDs, the new PSU that we bought when the other shit the bed and started this whole thing, and the graphics card. Also hopefully the Dark Rock Pro 4 cooler, pending how well it fits physically with the RAM sticks. I'm gonna be so grumpy if the new RAM doesn't fit under the cooler.
Tumblr.. prayers, good thoughts, etc? I'm so aware of how much of a first world problem this is, but that doesn't make it less of a problem for me. I need these parts and this next build to work so I and my partner can have energy to focus on the next thing.
Final, I hope, update. New build is holding. I learned a lot in the rebuild process and am more confident in my PC building skills. The cooler fit!! RAM slots are a teeny bit farther away from the CPU so it actually fit better on this board. Had a couple of moments of "oh shit, what's this part I took off meant for" only to realize the new MB incorporates a lot of things that the old one did not. Especially the old external shell! That annoying bit of metal you'd have to clip in on the case? No longer needed. MB has an external face built in and ready to install. So lovely. I'd like to add another 32 g of RAM when/if DDR5 prices ever chill the fuck out. But we are up and running and pretty solidly future-proofed for a bit. World of Warships, Valheim and Subnautica multiplayer and server hosting, steam/discord/spotify/youtube, lots of streaming. Short of opening Dune multiplayer I think we have run it through all of it's paces.. woo!
