I’ve been pondering the replacement of my web server, the machine that runs this website, for about a year now. I finally took the leap today and placed the parts order with my favorite computer component dealer, NCIX. A new chassis, motherboard, processor (Intel!), memory, and flat panel display are now waiting to be added to my credit card.
…but you can’t fault my persistence. I have managed to break my main PC again. The exact same cause: once again, I decided to try putting my machine in standby after an update. And once again, when the machine came out of standby, it horrendously corrupted my ATI SATA RAID array (of Western Digital Raptor drives). Exactly the same steps, exactly the same results.
I run my main computer slightly on the edge. I don’t overclock it, but I do have some of the latest hardware inside, and the latest drivers. I build (assemble the bits, install and configure the OS) it myself not because I consider myself particularly brilliant, but because it sort of makes me feel good.
I am pretty technically proficient. However, I build one (1) completely unique computer per year more or less: you don’t learn all the ins and outs of a build when you only create one of them. And as a result of the “one of a kind” nature of my configuration, I am periodically caught by a problem. That’s what this post is about.