wiped disk - no longer bootable

[rikona]

On Thu, 11 Jul 2019 11:15:24 -0400
Gene Heskett <gheskett at shentel.net> wrote:

> On Thursday 11 July 2019 06:03:09 Liam Proven wrote:
> 
> > On Wed, 10 Jul 2019 at 23:05, Gene Heskett <gheskett at shentel.net>   
> wrote:
> > > I've tried to steer clear if those unless wet.  Dry, they can
> > > generate enough static to blow the gates it your memory.  
> >
> > Aargh!
> >
> > Shows you can't trust all online tech tips... :-(  
> 
> Well, me being both a retired tech, a C.E.T. and basicly a belt and 
> suspenders type in this regard, I also will be wearing a "ground me" 
> wrist band.  Those things are cheap enough, 2 or 3 bucks, that you 
> should always snap it on before touching what is today, nearly 100%
> CMOS based circuitry. I also make heavy use of one of those $14 AC
> sniffers. We still have in most pre-NEC built houses, and even in
> stuff built 20 years post-NEC 3 pin electrical plugs that aren't
> properly wired by incompetent carpenters.  You can get those gizmo's
> from your nearest home center, electrical aisle.
> 
> When I married this lady in '89, I moved into a house she'd bought 
> in '81. Since there weren't any children to consider, I took the 3rd, 
> smaller bedroom and made it into my computer den. First thing in the 
> next storm, blowed a modem.  Replaced it, blew it again. I took the 
> sockets out, verified they were wired right and soldered them with a 
> silver bearing solder, going all the way back to the service, found
> it wasn't properly grounded and fixed that. That was 18 years ago,
> and I haven't lost a single piece of gear since. I don't care if
> lightning hits my service pole and sends me a quarter million volt
> surge, but if everything is properly bonded so that everything
> bounces in unison, nothing will be hurt.  I've since built a wired
> workshed and a garage, that needed a new 200 amp service, so this
> house is now a subcircuit. And I still seem to be safe.

I'll second your comments re older house electrical problems. I also had
improper grounding which I fixed. Also had poor connections, which I
first noticed when a switch plate was slightly loose and could move a
bit, causing the light to flicker. At that point I checked the whole
house and found other issues as well. It IS worth checking - the loose
connections were potential safety issues.

Rik