I brought the motherboard, video card, disk drives, etc from one of my desktop computers to Vietnam. I had the case and the monitor from when we were here in 2001-2002. It’s set on my computer tables since we left.
I installed the motherboard and other components into the case and nothing worked. I took it to the computer store that I like and their tech blew out all the dust, etc. and got it working, so I brought it back to the house.
After a week or so I started having problems getting the computer to boot up. I kept getting 4 beeps, so I took it to the computer store today. I watched while their tech checked the memory, video card, etc. I also noticed that he used a hair dryer to dry off all the components.
It’s awful damp over here in Vietnam. I would think that it was also very damp in Portland, Oregon, but somewhow it’s more damp over here. Must be the tropical weather. BTW, it’s due to rain all day tomorrow.
So the tech booted the system several times and it seemed to work OK, so I brought it home. After hooking it up, I booted it up and, darn, I suddenly have problems booting it up. It POSTS Ok, but I continuously receive a CMOS checksum error.
It may also be due to the fact that none of the electrical wiring seems to be grounded over here. Forget three prong electrical plugs. When I plug in the computer over here I receive a not-so-small electrical shock whenever I touch the case. And remember, it’s 220v over here. The non-grounding of the system may have done permanent damage to the motherboard and/or memory. I can’t say for sure because it’s out of my league, but I wonder.
Mai talked to the Vietnamese gentleman who worked for the Vietnamese electrical company into giving me 5 meters of wire so I can put a stake into the ground and run the wire to the computer or to the “Automatic Voltage Stabilizer” box that I use. You would think that it would have a ground on it, but I can’t find one.
I received a fair number of email responses from my emailing informing friends about “Our Vietnam Experiences” blog: “Our Vietnam Experiences”. And, quite frankly, I felt overwhelmed knowing that I would have to reply to all the emails. (Is that part of the brain trauma, feeling overwhelmed easily?)
Anyway, I’ve felt guilty every day for not being able to get the “umph” and focus to write a reply to your email. So I answered four emails tonight — with rather long emails!
I hope our friends will take a look at the blog and will leave one or more comments! I hope to add more pictures — I’m still learning how to put photos onto the web and have them be as high a quality as possible and still be small in size so they download quickly. So much to learn, (and I love learning), and so little time.