My Dear Friend is Better
A few weeks ago, I was absentmindedly writing an uneventful email. Suddenly, my computer made a pop and shut down instantly. When I tried to restart it, nothing happened. Unfortunately, my last backup was two weeks prior. Major bummer! However, I knew the hard drive (RAID SSD) was fine and, with some effort, was able to make a copy of my latest files. Yay!
Still, I had an epic repair quest ahead of me. When I first got this computer, I had to replace the Asus Republic of Gamers Rampage V Edition 10 motherboard because it had a fault that made the video and RAID cards run super-hot. Thus, this seemed like the most obvious failed component.
Because it is eight years old and no longer in production, I ordered a used motherboard on eBay. Fortunately, there were three to choose from, and I got the best price. Nice. Five days later, the seller canceled the order. So, I ordered another used motherboard, but I failed to see the no-return policy. Three days later, it arrived, and I realized that I had ordered the wrong model. Girrrr. I ordered a third used motherboard, and the seller canceled. By this time, the other one had sold, and there were none left. Dang!
I began searching for other used options. A day later, a fourth appeared on eBay, and this one came with a bunch of accessories. Plus, it was at a great price. Buy it now! A day later, the seller canceled. This was becoming a dreadful pattern.
In my search, I found more expensive used motherboards on the Amazon marketplace, but they shipped from China, which meant a 10-day wait. I felt I had no choice but to order one. In the meantime, one appeared on a seven-day eBay auction. I placed a low bid as a backup in case the Chinese motherboard was not as described.
I won the auction and the eBay board arrived; we will call this motherboard ‘A.’ I put A in and accidentally damaged the CPU socket pins, so I removed the original motherboard. Girrrr. No problem, because it was bad. When I turned A on… Nothing! This made me realize the processor was the problem! Girrrr. At this point, I had been without a main computer for three weeks.
Again, because the computer was old, no new processors were available. So, I ordered a used processor on eBay, and three days later, I put it in. Success! Yay!!! The first thing I did was back everything up again. What an enormous relief! I answered emails like a madman and did all the tasks I could not do on my “test computer.” My life returned to normal, and motherboard ‘B’ arrived from China. Whatever, I could sell it on eBay.
A day later, the nightmare returned. I got a blue screen of death. Typically, I get one of these a year. Oh well, reboot. Soon, I got another, and by the end of the day, I was getting blue screens every five minutes. I tried every BIOS setting and reinstalled the RAM and processor. No luck.
I installed motherboard B, but it would not boot consistently. I did a RAM BIOS tweak, and the system has run fine ever since. The wave of relief was overwhelming, and my stress subsided. Finally, I got a good night’s sleep.
During my main computer downtime, I used my “test computer.” It is an older machine that I try new programs, run long-duration tasks, or go to websites that might be problematic. I also have rarely used software on it that I do not want clogging up my main machine. A good example is the Sony PlayMemories camcorder software. I use it about twice a year to transfer/encode videos, and it takes half a day to run. Side note: Why can’t I take out the memory card and copy the video? One of life’s many mysteries.
To make the test computer more useful, I installed MS Word, which was surprisingly easy because MS had my account and allowed another instance of the program to be activated. Nice! This allowed me to write articles and some emails (but not all, because certain emails needed files that were on my main computer).
This incident has inspired a new path if this issue occurs again. I will buy a new (model) motherboard, processor, and RAM. Then, do a full reinstall of the OS and programs. I had wrongly thought that replacing the failed components would be faster, cheaper, and less painful.
In addition, I used to make backups every 1-2 weeks. So, I added a dedicated backup SSD drive to my main computer. Now, after every edit, I make a full backup of all my documents onto that drive. I back up monthly to a dual-drive kept in a safe, and twice a year, I back up to another drive I keep at my parents’ house in a fireproof box. I did both steps before, but they were not on a formal schedule. Now, I have them marked on my calendar.
This event taught me a lot. Specifically, I am far more dependent on my computer than I realized. Yet, my test computer can do the same tasks as my main computer, but there is a huge difference. My main computer (I need to give her a name) (Yes, all good things in life are female) has every relevant file in the correct location. I organized all my internet bookmarks the way I want them, and I have my old emails collected for easy searches.
Every program has the preferences perfectly set up, and even the desktop icons are right where I expect them to be. As a result, I am more effective when I use my main computer. I am also more relaxed during and after our interaction. Yes, I think the exchange goes both ways. And yes, I am thinking about her as I finish this article. Thank you, my friend, for helping me to be a better person.
You’re the best -Bill
July 28, 2021 Updated December 27, 2025
Still, I had an epic repair quest ahead of me. When I first got this computer, I had to replace the Asus Republic of Gamers Rampage V Edition 10 motherboard because it had a fault that made the video and RAID cards run super-hot. Thus, this seemed like the most obvious failed component.
Because it is eight years old and no longer in production, I ordered a used motherboard on eBay. Fortunately, there were three to choose from, and I got the best price. Nice. Five days later, the seller canceled the order. So, I ordered another used motherboard, but I failed to see the no-return policy. Three days later, it arrived, and I realized that I had ordered the wrong model. Girrrr. I ordered a third used motherboard, and the seller canceled. By this time, the other one had sold, and there were none left. Dang!
I began searching for other used options. A day later, a fourth appeared on eBay, and this one came with a bunch of accessories. Plus, it was at a great price. Buy it now! A day later, the seller canceled. This was becoming a dreadful pattern.
In my search, I found more expensive used motherboards on the Amazon marketplace, but they shipped from China, which meant a 10-day wait. I felt I had no choice but to order one. In the meantime, one appeared on a seven-day eBay auction. I placed a low bid as a backup in case the Chinese motherboard was not as described.
I won the auction and the eBay board arrived; we will call this motherboard ‘A.’ I put A in and accidentally damaged the CPU socket pins, so I removed the original motherboard. Girrrr. No problem, because it was bad. When I turned A on… Nothing! This made me realize the processor was the problem! Girrrr. At this point, I had been without a main computer for three weeks.
Again, because the computer was old, no new processors were available. So, I ordered a used processor on eBay, and three days later, I put it in. Success! Yay!!! The first thing I did was back everything up again. What an enormous relief! I answered emails like a madman and did all the tasks I could not do on my “test computer.” My life returned to normal, and motherboard ‘B’ arrived from China. Whatever, I could sell it on eBay.
A day later, the nightmare returned. I got a blue screen of death. Typically, I get one of these a year. Oh well, reboot. Soon, I got another, and by the end of the day, I was getting blue screens every five minutes. I tried every BIOS setting and reinstalled the RAM and processor. No luck.
I installed motherboard B, but it would not boot consistently. I did a RAM BIOS tweak, and the system has run fine ever since. The wave of relief was overwhelming, and my stress subsided. Finally, I got a good night’s sleep.
During my main computer downtime, I used my “test computer.” It is an older machine that I try new programs, run long-duration tasks, or go to websites that might be problematic. I also have rarely used software on it that I do not want clogging up my main machine. A good example is the Sony PlayMemories camcorder software. I use it about twice a year to transfer/encode videos, and it takes half a day to run. Side note: Why can’t I take out the memory card and copy the video? One of life’s many mysteries.
To make the test computer more useful, I installed MS Word, which was surprisingly easy because MS had my account and allowed another instance of the program to be activated. Nice! This allowed me to write articles and some emails (but not all, because certain emails needed files that were on my main computer).
This incident has inspired a new path if this issue occurs again. I will buy a new (model) motherboard, processor, and RAM. Then, do a full reinstall of the OS and programs. I had wrongly thought that replacing the failed components would be faster, cheaper, and less painful.
In addition, I used to make backups every 1-2 weeks. So, I added a dedicated backup SSD drive to my main computer. Now, after every edit, I make a full backup of all my documents onto that drive. I back up monthly to a dual-drive kept in a safe, and twice a year, I back up to another drive I keep at my parents’ house in a fireproof box. I did both steps before, but they were not on a formal schedule. Now, I have them marked on my calendar.
This event taught me a lot. Specifically, I am far more dependent on my computer than I realized. Yet, my test computer can do the same tasks as my main computer, but there is a huge difference. My main computer (I need to give her a name) (Yes, all good things in life are female) has every relevant file in the correct location. I organized all my internet bookmarks the way I want them, and I have my old emails collected for easy searches.
Every program has the preferences perfectly set up, and even the desktop icons are right where I expect them to be. As a result, I am more effective when I use my main computer. I am also more relaxed during and after our interaction. Yes, I think the exchange goes both ways. And yes, I am thinking about her as I finish this article. Thank you, my friend, for helping me to be a better person.
You’re the best -Bill
July 28, 2021 Updated December 27, 2025
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