OFFICIAL DOWNTIME THREAD

[kennyblankenship]

Wow I thought it was just me... no such luck lol

[Orbit Storm]

No, definitely not just you..

The server has been crashing off and on for the last few days.. in fact there's been numerous issues over the last couple weeks..

Coli said something about the PSU not being able to handle the workload of the system..
PSU- Power Supply Unit

For those of you less technologically inclined.. a power supply basically provides the power to your entire system.. so if it HAS been the PSU all along, it could have very well fried the CPU, which, well... speaking from experience, could cause an immensely large down-time.

All I can say, is don't get your hopes up. The server is in good hands with Coli, and I'm confident he WILL get it back up, although don't expect miracles in just a couple hours. Take a break, go get some air.. watch a movie..

**PLEASE do not take my post as me speaking for Coli, I'm merely pointing out facts and thoughts..

[redneck39]

ive never heard of a psu goin kaput takin a cpu with it less it was hit by lightning but then agin im just one of those less technically incliined that has been building and workin on computers for 15 years +. but point is just cause a psu is supplying power to the system the power levels can fluctuate and if they fluctuate too much you can get random crashes and freeze up. also if the psu is the problem shouldnt take no more then 5 mins to change it if he has a spare. no idea how long to get uo server back up

[labmonkey]

Only way I've seen a psu take down a cpu is when the psu would actually cause parts of the mainboard to overheat and catch on fire. Dells are notorious for this. Usually its the HD that goes down with the psu though.

[kennyblankenship]

o no! hope it doesn't take as long as all that... or I'll have to go back to nintendo and sega... lol the playstation and xbox are fried so i hope excellsior isn't as well... : (

[Akira]

maybe we should try hanging around with humans? oh no, thats silly.

[forced entry]

what are humans please tell me

[labmonkey]

maybe we should try hanging around with humans? oh no, thats silly.

"Hello Friend Hunam! How are you? We are just fine, real swell. No problems at all! Just fine. No problems at all! "

okay, i tried talking with them. Didn't work so back to waiting for server.

[+Colibri]

Ok found an old PSU in the basement, did some resuscitation, and thanks to scotch tape there's a monstrosity of wires that currently powers it all. Can't say how stable this one will be, but this one is a 500W power supply so the odds are good.

Can't really be sure if it's the power supply, but if the computer restarts on it's own, then that usually is the problem.

There will probably be another 1-hour downtime tomorrow when i get a brand new PSU so I can install it. If it's a scheduled one, then I am sure to let you know before it goes down.

As for those "numerous problems over the past few weeks"... well there was the problem with the old server mysteriously locking me out, but we have a new server now (motherboard+cpu+ram). Then I believe on Monday there have been about 3 disconnects (First one was about 10 minutes, the second and third were just momentary disconnects) but this was due to ISP maintenance. I will however keep my eyes peeled to make my best in keeping the server as stable as possible.

[Akira]

"Hello Friend Hunam! How are you? We are just fine, real swell. No problems at all! Just fine. No problems at all! "

did we talk to the same human or something? i seem to be getting exactly the same dialog around here

[Aiy]

it seems like every time i have a computer reboot on its own its always needed a bigger heatsink... just a idea...

[kennyblankenship]

wowee... well we gotta just try to be patient and hopeful then

[Orbit Storm]

ive never heard of a psu goin kaput takin a cpu with it less it was hit by lightning but then agin im just one of those less technically incliined that has been building and workin on computers for 15 years +. but point is just cause a psu is supplying power to the system the power levels can fluctuate and if they fluctuate too much you can get random crashes and freeze up. also if the psu is the problem shouldnt take no more then 5 mins to change it if he has a spare. no idea how long to get uo server back up

With 15 years of experience then you should understand that it is possible. I happen to have a home-town business here in PA where we "build and work" on computers as well. You explained just how a PSU can take down a CPU in your own post..

power levels..

Too much "fluctuating power levels" could fry the CPU.. period.. It's the same thing as a power surge in a circuit.. that happens, it either pops the breaker or fries the fuse.. in this case, the fuse being the CPU..

The "crashing and freezing up", are key indicators that the PSU is going bad.

As far as him replacing it.. obviously he has, but I never made any insinuations that he didn't have a spare, or that he did.

By the way.. I'm a big fan of the sarcasm.. but it won't work on me..

Only way I've seen a psu take down a cpu is when the psu would actually cause parts of the mainboard to overheat and catch on fire. Dells are notorious for this. Usually its the HD that goes down with the psu though.

Indeed, the HD can be taken down from time to time.. but the RAM and other bits directly attached to the motherboard are more likely to go out first.

As far as pieces of the motherboard catching on fire.. I'm not quite sure if that's possible. For one, the components would need to generate an enormous amount of heat for that to happen. Dells generally don't have that kind of issue considering they are proprietary systems, meaning the parts are not interchangeable, unless you truly know what you're doing.. but then if you try that method, then its your own fault if the parts "catch on fire".. not any liability of Dell's.

Coli:

The "numerous problems" I spoke of fell into the category of restarts etc. It wasn't that the down-time was long, it was more that the issues with restarts and crashes have become more frequent.

As far as the PSU goes, well.. that's for you to judge, considering you're the only one with knowledge of the server specs.

[kennyblankenship]

lol nice

[redneck39]

the only sarcasm was the part about me being one of the less technically inclined, and if ya catch and replace the psu goin bad when it starts freezing and rebooting it usually doesnt get a chance to fry the cpu. never said anything about you sayin whether he had a spare psu or not. i stated that if he had one it shouldnt take any more then 5 mins to swap it. and sarcasm works on everyone whether you care to admit it or not