Booting from SSD via PCI SATA controller?

[Gene Wirchenko]

[snip]

Those of us who build computer systems for others appreciate your
patronage. ;-)

LOL! You probably have much more hardware skills than I do. Once
again, although I *can* do the building myself (and have done so in
the past), I prefer to pay someone else to do it, so they can do any
needed troubleshooting (I'm admittedly not good at hardware
troubleshooting) instead of me.

I feel similarly. I know enough about hardware that I would
rather someone else did it. I could if I had to, but almost always,
letting Mr. Jackson and his ilk do it works out better. There is too
much that I know about what could go wrong, and then, there is the
stuff that I do not know.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

 

[Ken Blake]

[snip]

Those of us who build computer systems for others appreciate your
patronage. ;-)

LOL! You probably have much more hardware skills than I do. Once
again, although I *can* do the building myself (and have done so in
the past), I prefer to pay someone else to do it, so they can do any
needed troubleshooting (I'm admittedly not good at hardware
troubleshooting) instead of me.

I feel similarly. I know enough about hardware that I would
rather someone else did it. I could if I had to, but almost always,
letting Mr. Jackson and his ilk do it works out better. There is too
much that I know about what could go wrong, and then, there is the
stuff that I do not know.

My sentiments almost exactly. And my lack of hardware skills isn't
limited to computer hardware--it's any kind of hardware. I'm no good
at fixing or modifying cars, stuff in the house, etc. I don't do any
plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, etc. unless it's very simple.

If you want to call me a klutz, you won't be too far wrong. <g>

 

[Gene Wirchenko]

[snip]

I feel similarly. I know enough about hardware that I would
rather someone else did it. I could if I had to, but almost always,
letting Mr. Jackson and his ilk do it works out better. There is too
much that I know about what could go wrong, and then, there is the
stuff that I do not know.

My sentiments almost exactly. And my lack of hardware skills isn't
limited to computer hardware--it's any kind of hardware. I'm no good
at fixing or modifying cars, stuff in the house, etc. I don't do any
plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, etc. unless it's very simple.

If you want to call me a klutz, you won't be too far wrong. <g>

No, no, no! You are klutz when you try anyway. If you do not do
it, then you are a customer. Mr. Jackson has already thanked you for
your business. Please do not disappoint him.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

[snip]

Those of us who build computer systems for others appreciate your
patronage. ;-)

LOL! You probably have much more hardware skills than I do. Once
again, although I *can* do the building myself (and have done so in
the past), I prefer to pay someone else to do it, so they can do any
needed troubleshooting (I'm admittedly not good at hardware
troubleshooting) instead of me.

I feel similarly. I know enough about hardware that I would
rather someone else did it. I could if I had to, but almost always,
letting Mr. Jackson and his ilk do it works out better. There is too
much that I know about what could go wrong, and then, there is the
stuff that I do not know.

My sentiments almost exactly. And my lack of hardware skills isn't
limited to computer hardware--it's any kind of hardware. I'm no good
at fixing or modifying cars, stuff in the house, etc. I don't do any
plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, etc. unless it's very simple.

If you want to call me a klutz, you won't be too far wrong. <g>

Or instead, one could call both of you wise.

I can do a lot and I understand a lot, but I have limitations. I'm not
always successful at stopping short of them, however...

 

[Ken Blake]

[snip]

I feel similarly. I know enough about hardware that I would
rather someone else did it. I could if I had to, but almost always,
letting Mr. Jackson and his ilk do it works out better. There is too
much that I know about what could go wrong, and then, there is the
stuff that I do not know.

My sentiments almost exactly. And my lack of hardware skills isn't
limited to computer hardware--it's any kind of hardware. I'm no good
at fixing or modifying cars, stuff in the house, etc. I don't do any
plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, etc. unless it's very simple.

If you want to call me a klutz, you won't be too far wrong. <g>

No, no, no! You are klutz when you try anyway. If you do not do
it, then you are a customer. Mr. Jackson has already thanked you for
your business. Please do not disappoint him.

LOL. OK.

 

[Ken Blake]

On 4/23/2012, Ken Blake posted:



Or instead, one could call both of you wise.

I can do a lot and I understand a lot, but I have limitations.

I'm generally very good at understanding. It's *doing* that I have
trouble with when hardware is involved.

OK, I exaggerate slightly. I can do a lot too (as long as it's not too
complex or difficult).

I'm not
always successful at stopping short of them, however...

Nor I. One of my worst stories like this goes back to about 1990. I
wanted to upgrade my XT Clone, replacing its 20MB drive with an 80MB
drive. I did *almost* everything right, but I plugged the power cable
in backwards.

It went up in smoke.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:29:27 -0700, Gene E. Bloch



I'm generally very good at understanding. It's *doing* that I have
trouble with when hardware is involved.

OK, I exaggerate slightly. I can do a lot too (as long as it's not too
complex or difficult).


Nor I. One of my worst stories like this goes back to about 1990. I
wanted to upgrade my XT Clone, replacing its 20MB drive with an 80MB
drive. I did *almost* everything right, but I plugged the power cable
in backwards.

It went up in smoke.

Less drastically, I had a homebuilt 6" reflector telescope in which
about 6 or 8" of the tube were held on with mending plates because I
managed to measure once and cut twice.

It was not attractive

 

[Ken Blake]

Less drastically, I had a homebuilt 6" reflector telescope in which
about 6 or 8" of the tube were held on with mending plates because I
managed to measure once and cut twice.

It was not attractive

LOL! I never finished building the 6" reflector I started over 50
years ago. In fact I never finished grinding the mirror.

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 15:18:43 -0700, Gene E. Bloch


LOL! I never finished building the 6" reflector I started over 50
years ago. In fact I never finished grinding the mirror.

I finished some, three that I definitely remember, but there were two
other projects I didn't finish. None of the three were mounted very
well.

I still have one 6-inch mirror, but it's a souvenir; nowadays
commercial telescopes are too inexpensive to justify (to me) grinding
one's own.

 

[Gene Wirchenko]

[snip]

No, no, no! You are klutz when you try anyway. If you do not do

^
Insert "a". Such a poignant correction.

LOL. OK.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

 

[Gene Wirchenko]

On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:29:27 -0700, Gene E. Bloch
[snip]

I'm not
always successful at stopping short of them, however...

Something like:

"I broke through the wall! I broke through the wall! (pause)
Oh, no! It's a fence, and there's cliff here!"

Nor I. One of my worst stories like this goes back to about 1990. I
wanted to upgrade my XT Clone, replacing its 20MB drive with an 80MB
drive. I did *almost* everything right, but I plugged the power cable
in backwards.

It went up in smoke.

I remember a hardware course where we had a final practical where
things might go wrong. I think the instructor probably gave every
team a defective item. Well, except for us. We got two of them. Just
a bit of excitement until we figured out what was going on.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

 

[R. C. White]

Hi, Gene.

... a defective item. Well, except for us. We got two of them. Just a
bit of excitement until we figured out what was going on.

Reminds me of CPA candidates complaining about a problem in the "Practice"
part of the CPA Exam some years ago. Seems many of them spent way too much
time trying to figure out what to do with all the info they were given for
the problem. They complained that much of it was not necessary to get the
right answer. Experienced CPAs told them, "That's the way it is in real
life. Client brings you a pile of papers and YOU have to figure out which
ones are important and which ones you have to discard."

Sounds like you had a teacher with real-life experience. ;<)

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
Microsoft Windows MVP (2002-2010)
(Using Windows Live Mail 2011 Build 15.4.3555.0308 in Win8 CP x64)


"Gene Wirchenko" wrote in message

On Mon, 23 Apr 2012 14:29:27 -0700, Gene E. Bloch
[snip]

I'm not
always successful at stopping short of them, however...

Something like:

"I broke through the wall! I broke through the wall! (pause)
Oh, no! It's a fence, and there's cliff here!"

Nor I. One of my worst stories like this goes back to about 1990. I
wanted to upgrade my XT Clone, replacing its 20MB drive with an 80MB
drive. I did *almost* everything right, but I plugged the power cable
in backwards.

It went up in smoke.

I remember a hardware course where we had a final practical where
things might go wrong. I think the instructor probably gave every
team a defective item. Well, except for us. We got two of them. Just
a bit of excitement until we figured out what was going on.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

 

[BillW50]

In R. C. White wrote Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:20:46 -0500:

Hi, Gene.

So that is why they started to make them keyed so you couldn't plug them
in wrong. ;-)

I remember a hardware course where we had a final practical where
things might go wrong. I think the instructor probably gave every
team a defective item. Well, except for us. We got two of them. Just
a bit of excitement until we figured out what was going on.

Same here. And the instructors were very creative. Removed pins from
sockets, clipped components from circuit boards, etc. And once we were
paired off in twos. And one of the DC voltages was missing this time.
First thing my partner checked was the fuse. He pulled it out looked at
it and put it back in.

And I asked him if it was good and he said yeah, it said so. I said
what? I pulled it out and there was a piece of paper inside of the glass
tube that said GOOD. He said see! I said that doesn't mean anything and
I ohmed it and it was wide open. ;-)

I also knew this one guy in the military that couldn't troubleshoot very
well at all. But he did have an unique way to troubleshoot something
that blows fuses. As he would jumper around the fuse and then watch it
smoke. Then change all of the burnt components. And I'll be darn, that
did work most of the time. Not the way I troubleshoot, but it worked for
him. ;-)

Once I stopped by my dad's house for something and I found out he bought
a pinball machine that one score counter wouldn't update. I was thinking
why on earth would anybody buy such a worthless arcade machine? Anyway
there must have been six boards in all and he had them hooked up
altogether on the workbench and standing there with a voltmeter. He
didn't know what to check and was very glad to see me. He asked if I
could check it. I really didn't want to spend the time at the moment and
there wasn't even a schematic, block diagram, or anything. And I thought
I had a good excuse to get out of it.

I told him they were TTL logic chips and without a schematic, block
diagram, or even a reference manual handy, I wouldn't know if the
signals on the pins were right or wrong. He asked if the electronic
store down the street would have TTL reference manual? I said maybe and
they aren't cheap. So he asked me to go check and they did have one left
for about 30 bucks.

So I checked signals and I really didn't want to mess with this now. But
it seemed important to my dad. And I quickly found one output stuck and
not changing. He said what does that mean? I told him either this chip
is bad or the input of the next chip was holding it there. And I would
have to disconnect the line between the two to know for sure.

He asked how much do they cost? I didn't know for sure but I said a buck
or two. He said just buy both and replace them both. Back to the store
again and both were under a buck each (I probably bought chip sockets or
used my own that I had in the trunk of my car) and now I didn't care
which one was bad (very unlike me). I changed both and it worked fine
ever since. It made him happy and while I really didn't want to get
involved at the moment, it really wasn't that hard to figure out.
Running back and forth to the store was the hardest part of the whole
job. ;-)

 

[Gene Wirchenko]

Hi, Gene.


Reminds me of CPA candidates complaining about a problem in the "Practice"
part of the CPA Exam some years ago. Seems many of them spent way too much
time trying to figure out what to do with all the info they were given for
the problem. They complained that much of it was not necessary to get the
right answer. Experienced CPAs told them, "That's the way it is in real
life. Client brings you a pile of papers and YOU have to figure out which
ones are important and which ones you have to discard."

Sounds like you had a teacher with real-life experience. ;<)

Our main failure was on the indication of whether we had done
previous steps correctly.

He had a pucky sense of humour. I did not mind the complication.
It was certainly realistic, but we were under a tight time
requirement. That made it overly exciting.

Teachers who bring in realism in an exam are doing their students
somewhat of a disservice if they do not cover handling the realism
class.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko

 

[Gene Wirchenko]

Our main failure was on the indication of whether we had done
previous steps correctly.

He had a pucky sense of humour. I did not mind the complication.
It was certainly realistic, but we were under a tight time
requirement. That made it overly exciting.

Teachers who bring in realism in an exam are doing their students
somewhat of a disservice if they do not cover handling the realism
class.

^
Sorry, missed an "in" here.

Sincerely,

Gene Wirchenko