Craziest things you've had to do to fix your software - Hardware & Software

I remember sometimes my old computer wouldn't start like it had a black screen with some plain text on it (dont remember what it said) I remember the first time it happened I tried fixing it for maybe an hour but failed. finally I got pissed and kicked the thing, turned it on and it worked :D and then it would happen once in a while and I would kick it every time, until I got a new computer

I've got a shitty [URL="http://static.productreview.com.au/pr.products/131463_hp_touchsmart_iq540.jpg"]HP Touchsmart[/URL], and after three years the screen started to go black spontaneously after about an hour of usage. If I turned it off, the screen would flicker back on to show the Shutting Down screen. I had no clue how to fix it so I got into an annoying routine of restarting every hour. Eventually, I found the fix was to grab the top of the computer and pull it towards me quickly then gently put it back in place. As the computer got older, this was happening about every ten minutes but now I can bring the screen back to life with the grab-n-pull method as unconsciously as one would change gears in a car.

My main monitor has a habit of flickering purple, it's not the VGA cable. I've found that smashing it on the top with my fist fixes it for between a few hours and a few weeks.

One of my friends has a MacBook with a busted up DVD drive. The eject doesn't work, so getting movies out of the drive is a lot like trying to get ketchup out of a bottle. Turn it on its side, and enough whacking the other end gets the disc out eventually. [editline]28th April 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=spinpoint F3;40459293]My main monitor has a habit of flickering purple, it's not the VGA cable. I've found that smashing it on the top with my fist fixes it for between a few hours and a few weeks.[/QUOTE] I tried fixing my family's router like this once. Instead I accidentally broke it and had to buy a new one

[QUOTE=TheLolrus;40459921]I tried fixing my family's router like this once. Instead I accidentally broke it and had to buy a new one[/QUOTE] I did the same to my horrible old router, the only difference was i was holding a sledge hammer.

[QUOTE=spinpoint F3;40459967]I did the same to my horrible old router, the only difference was i was holding a sledge hammer.[/QUOTE] Violence doesn't work... I tink is luuz connectionz

My old PC died so i hooked my laptop up to my wide screen and keyboard. was like this for a month till new PC was in and finished!

[QUOTE=CAKEwasTRUE;40467987]My old PC died so i hooked my laptop up to my wide screen and keyboard. was like this for a month till new PC was in and finished![/QUOTE] That's not really a software fix at all. You just had a temporary setup..

[QUOTE=Killervalon;40468040]That's not really a software fix at all. You just had a temporary setup..[/QUOTE] Ok Well, I have a server PC and it crashed, Like the hard drive raid screwed up. I didnt have time to wait for windows to update (using my 2009 window 7 disk), i cloned my personal hard drive and took off the less important stuff.

[QUOTE=CAKEwasTRUE;40468134]Ok Well, I have a server PC and it crashed, Like the hard drive raid screwed up. I didnt have time to wait for windows to update (using my 2009 window 7 disk), i cloned my personal hard drive and took off the less important stuff.[/QUOTE] That's pretty crazy.

[QUOTE=MTMod;40476943]That's pretty crazy.[/QUOTE] Your pic is pretty crazy!

I had a printer inkjet cartridge that didn't work even though it was just bought. I looked at the connectors and it looked like one of them was burnt out or something stupid like that. I smacked the connectors on the table, plugged it back in, the printer reconized it. never again hp

[QUOTE=CAKEwasTRUE;40477140]Your pic is pretty crazy![/QUOTE] [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYkbbMA3ozQ]It's a dead man being Swiffer'd by the power of dubstep.[/url]

i always thought it was a cantaloupe

I went through windows files to attempt to remove a virus (not sure what it was called) and constantly changed things and installed and uninstalled everything. Didn't work so we tried reinstating windows and that didn't work (something about bios error) So I considered the PC useless as it was [B]very[/B] old. After that I had some fun and chucked the big metal thing out my window and it had a big dent in the case, I tried booting it and it worked fine... Well, it managed to get on to boot settings before spazzing out... I still have some pics somewhere, on one of the many hard drives in a box somewhere -_-

wat^

i had to plug in a microphone so cod2 could start, it took me days to figure it out. thank god my days of pirating games are over, too many problems

I had to unplug my joystick because it kept crashing the video driver. I don't even...

Not sure how software-ish it was. But my computer couldn't start if my iPod was connected. It was just stuck at BIOS doing checking. You could leave it for 30 minutes - still there, UNTIL the moment you unplugged it.

One of the machines i sold did that with my MX518

My first custom built rig (ah yes, the Athlon XP days) had this USB dongle for a piece of editing software but it drew so much fucking power that the computer could see it but the moment the software talked to it you would go over the 500ma rating of the port, the dongle would vanish and the software would close saying "DONGLE NOT DETECTED". It did this at random too. To make it behave I ran a wire from the +5 rail on the PSU connector to the fuse on the USB header. Never had a problem after that. [IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a166/ballsandy/Computer%20related/P2030305.jpg[/IMG]

Why did you lift the fuse? Couldn't you just solder the 5v cable to the side of it?

[QUOTE=QuAtT;40527880]i had to plug in a microphone so cod2 could start, it took me days to figure it out. thank god my days of pirating games are over, too many problems[/QUOTE] Cod4 had the same issue for me, I believe it was to do with some realtek drivers.

[QUOTE=spinpoint F3;40538250]Why did you lift the fuse? Couldn't you just solder the 5v cable to the side of it?[/QUOTE] Without a diode the high amperage +5V would flow backwards into whatever it was coming from. Testing showed it wasn't a direct link to the rail. Might of actually gone through the USB controller.

Not software but CD-Drive. Sometimes when you put a disc in my PS2, it would fail to load and make strange spinning noises. Putting another CD on top of it fixed that problem.

[QUOTE=Daemon;40548088]Not software but CD-Drive. Sometimes when you put a disc in my PS2, it would fail to load and make strange spinning noises. Putting another CD on top of it fixed that problem.[/QUOTE] i should try that with mine at some point

Here is how i got some airflow in a SHIT emachines case. i found a use for my spare xbox 360 fans. [t]http://i.cubeupload.com/1AJJSM.jpg[/t] [t]http://i.cubeupload.com/MZDXBy.jpg[/t] I think i gave the heatshrink a little too much heat :v: [t]http://i.cubeupload.com/tcQ7fc.jpg[/t] [t]http://i.cubeupload.com/OlxgLN.jpg[/t] Cable management in this case is impossible. [t]http://i.cubeupload.com/Ram906.jpg[/t] Works alright on 5 volts. [editline]7th May 2013[/editline] Note the glue gun glue and screw holding them in.

[QUOTE=spinpoint F3;40557768]Here is how i got some airflow in a SHIT emachines case.[/QUOTE] I would make a duct out of card stock the size of the exhaust port and enlarge it on the other side to fit the fan assembly in. You could get a bit more creative and add an additional duct to the smaller holes to the upper left of the video card, but you'd have to angle the fans 90 degrees so they pull air from the side of the CPU heatsink (if there's room.) I made a duct for my Apevia case to direct the rear fan to blow down on the CPU, with a small hole and a scoop to direct airflow to the hard drive and it works quite well. With the duct, both parts stay 10-15C cooler. [thumb]http://imageshack.us/a/img823/299/img0260xj.jpg[/thumb]

Nah, the machine was sold for £25, the xbox fans do a good enough job as they are. [editline]9th May 2013[/editline] But i would probably try make some ducting for my own machines when i get a 3d printer.