Monday, April 24, 2006

Coordinator, front USB online! XD

I was appalled to find Coordinator off when I returned from church this afternoon. My initial guess was a power outage, but considering that the two desktops were the only victims, it was likely a power surge. I never turn off the computers, so I took this rare chance to vacuum the inside. It's been nearly a year since it was cleaned, anyway.

While I was at it, I decided to try getting the front USB connected again. After much flipping the motherboard user's guide and searching online, I ventured into the unknown. The fact that the connectors came unlabelled and separated only added to the confusion. With some beginner's luck, I was able to get the connectors lined up correctly. It was difficult to describe my feeling and sense of pride when the USB mouse cursor moved across the screen while connected to the front port. Hey, I am no tech, so opening up the case and getting something to work without screwing up is always a big accomplishment for me.

Having carried out this exploit successfully, I moved on to New Type with more confidence and a bit more experience under my belt... Only to find that the connectors were already on. Apparently, I only disconnected the ones in Coordinator back then because of the location of the pins. Feeling annoyed and a little foolish, I went to grab the motherboard user's guide just to make sure. In the bag was, lo and behold, a USB bracket with connectors! To mend my wounded ego, I immediately got to work on putting it in. Needless to say, I was feeling satisfied once more when New Type recognised the USB key I plugged into the new ports. The front ones still didn't work, however. I think the connectors might have gotten loose during that HD swapping incident way back, but I was too irritated to open it up again for inspection. It'll have to wait until next time (read: unforeseeable future).

Today's score:
Coordinator - 6 USB (4 rear, 2 front)
New Type - 4 USB (4 rear)

PS. There was another power surge while I was typing this post, which earned a "damn it!" from me. Luckily, I was only in the middle of the second paragraph (not counting the first line) and still remembered mostly everything.

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