[UCIMC-Tech] Fwd: [rfu-tech] Studio Computer Reformatting and
Installation All-Nighter
Stephen Fonzo
fonzo.stephen at gmail.com
Fri Nov 21 12:39:34 CST 2008
RFU's studio computer is down - motherboard and all - and we need to replace
it as soon as possible to maintain our transmitter status. Does the IMC
Tech group have an extra computer to spare if RFU cannot find a replacement
soon?
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Andrew Ó Baoill <andrew at funferal.org>
Date: Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 12:12 PM
Subject: Re: [rfu-tech] Studio Computer Reformatting and Installation
All-Nighter
To: Joe Futrelle <futrelle at shout.net>
Cc: Tech WRFU <rfu-tech at lists.chambana.net>
We are meant to be checking at very regular intervals - the FCC guideline is
to be able to respond to Tx issues within 3 hours of them occurring. Given
the relative stability of the transmitter set-up, I'm happy to stay on air
at the moment, but this is an urgent task [and I apologize for not weighing
in earlier - I was travelling through the end of the weekend, and playing
catch-up much of the week].
I'm happy to see Tech working on repair/replacement. The computer is an
important part of our air-chain, so I would see it as necessary to fix or
replace ASAP. If Joe can get a quote, perhaps while others check on possible
donations, that would be great. What sort of time-line would you see in
putting a new computer in place?
Would it be feasible to use the streaming computer on an interim basis while
waiting for a permanent solution? Does it have a serial port, or would the
one from the existing computer need to be transferred? Who would be capable
of that task?
On the question about wiring of the serial cable - this is a concern, and
anyone able/willing to take a look at the cable, perhaps re-doing the
solder, would be welcome.
Andrew
On Nov 21, 2008, at 11:50 AM, Joe Futrelle wrote:
I can get a quote on a minimal new computer today. Am I right that the only
> hardware requirement (beyond being able to run XP) is an RS232 port?
>
> Let's not use the old streaming computer. I'm willing to do significant
> fundraising to cover the minimal cost of a new machine, if there's no
> existing PC fund.
>
> I don't know what Andrew thinks, but I don't think we should be operating
> for more than about 12 hours without a Tx check--what's the longest gap
> between scheduled live shows? Something like that?
>
> --
> Joe Futrelle
> person
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
>> From: nlvivar at gmail.com
>> Sent: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:23:08 -0600
>> To: rfu-tech at lists.chambana.net, andrew at funferal.org
>> Subject: Re: [rfu-tech] Studio Computer Reformatting and Installation
>> All-Nighter
>>
>> Ok, so we should probably start evaluating our options for replacing
>> the computer or replacing parts.
>>
>> I think that the station does have one spare box right now: the old
>> streaming computer. What's the condition of that one?
>>
>> Do we have any other boxes? What can we do for a new computer?
>>
>> Also, this might be a question for Andrew in particular, how long do
>> we want to be on air without doing our transmitter check?
>>
>> -Noel
>>
>> On Fri, Nov 21, 2008 at 11:15 AM, Joe Futrelle <futrelle at shout.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> No, this is definitely not about the PC being underspecced for XP SP3,
>>> because the BIOS detects hardware problems before Windows even boots.
>>> It's a 1GHz Athlon with >=1GB RAM. XP SP3 requirements are 233MHz
>>> processor, 64MB RAM, and 900MB HD.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Joe Futrelle
>>> person
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: rebelmike at earthlink.net
>>>> Sent: Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:14:21 -0600
>>>> To: rfu-tech at lists.chambana.net
>>>> Subject: Re: [rfu-tech] Studio Computer Reformatting and Installation
>>>> All-Nighter
>>>>
>>>> I assume we're talking about the same studio computer we've had along.
>>>> If so, it may be the case that it doesn't have enough speed/memory to
>>>> run XP SP3. It wasn't exactly the pick of the litter when we started
>>>> using it and may be even more behind the curve now.
>>>>
>>>> The wiring to the transmitter was always sorta flaky, because it never
>>>> got attached with screws or whatever. It's also possible that the
>>>> soldering to one of the wires has worked loose. Then it was abused
>>>> constantly by people digging around back there who didn't have a clue.
>>>>
>>>> Having to run the transmitter check with admin privileges is definitely
>>>> a problem, unless there's a work-around once everything else gets
>>>> straightened out.
>>>> Mike Lehman
>>>>
>>>> Noel L. Vivar wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> So I figured that I should get the studio up and running before I
>>>>> leave for the Thanksgiving holiday. I worked late last night to this
>>>>> morning, trying to format the hard drive, installing Windows XP, and
>>>>> updating.
>>>>>
>>>>> Here's my status report:
>>>>>
>>>>> * Reformatting successful
>>>>> * I used the Hawkins's copy of windows XP Home
>>>>> o it was the only copy that worked
>>>>> o Stephen, you can take back your personal copy and the
>>>>> IMC's Dell OEM copy back. They are in the Vault in the
>>>>> Tech folder
>>>>> o Randy, thank you for the copy
>>>>> * After taking all night to update itself, I started playing
>>>>> around with the newly installed version
>>>>> * Transmission check worked at first, but then started getting
>>>>> flaky. It would start up, but not get a signal from the
>>>>> transmitter. Of the 10 times that I tried the transmitter check
>>>>> from the admin account that I made, the transmitter check worked
>>>>> 4 times. I think the wiring job may be a bit flaky behind the
>>>>> computer.
>>>>> * From what I can tell, the transmitter check needs to be run from
>>>>> a login with "administrator" privileges. This is not conducive
>>>>> to us locking the computer down.
>>>>> * OS would randomly freeze up
>>>>> o This is particularly distressing since this was a newly
>>>>> installed system.
>>>>> o The freezes started to occur even before SP3 was
>>>>> installed.
>>>>>
>>>>> I'm not sure what to recommend at this point. We could try to hobble
>>>>> along on this computer, but I am expecting that we are going to start
>>>>> having major problems within a month of constant airshifter use. I
>>>>> don't know where the problem is in the hardware. It could be anything
>>>>> from a degrading hard drive, degrading motherboard, or just dust
>>>>> getting in the box and messing up the connections. It's all
>>>>> speculation at this point, and I don't have enough skills to test any
>>>>> of this.
>>>>>
>>>>> What do we think we should do?
>>>>>
>>>>> Have a good holiday. -Noel
>>>>>
>>>>> --
>>>>> Noel L. Vivar
>>>>> 505 E. Clark St., Apt. 24
>>>>> Champaign, IL 61820-4420
>>>>> 630.740.5775
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>>>
>>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>>> rfu-tech mailing list
>>>>> rfu-tech at lists.chambana.net
>>>>> http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/rfu-tech
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Noel L. Vivar
>> 505 E. Clark St., Apt. 24
>> Champaign, IL 61820-4420
>> 630.740.5775
>> _______________________________________________
>> rfu-tech mailing list
>> rfu-tech at lists.chambana.net
>> http://lists.chambana.net/cgi-bin/listinfo/rfu-tech
>>
>
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--
Stephen Fonzo
Media Training Advisor
AmeriCorps CTC VISTA
Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center
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