[windows2000] Re: OT: Pesky whiskers zap PCs
- From: "Sullivan, Glenn" <GSullivan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <windows2000@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2004 12:05:28 -0400
If you end up taking the cover off of the TV, find the air intakes, and
place Dryer Sheets (like Bounce, or something like that) near them.
Don't cover them, just put a few dryer sheets in there.
Almost all bugs, including no-see-ums, hate the smell, or something,
because it keeps them away... I learned this as an effective method when
our motion detector software that monitors the security cameras kept
tripping off. Turned out to be a spider inside of one weatherproof
enclosure on one camera, and a bunch of trapped no-see-ums in another
weather proof enclosure. Adding dryer sheets to the enclosures solved
the problem, and neither have returned.
I got a great spider-web-construction video first though... constant
motion all night long. Actually, he took about thirty 30 second
breaks... ;-)
Luckily, I have a building maintenance department, and they have a
software applications to track periodic maintenance (air line filter
changes, etc...). I added "Change dryer sheets in Camera Enclosures" as
a monthly task... you should have seen the looks on their faces when
they came to ask WTF I was talking about the first time it came up on
the schedule... You will have to do something similar, so it might even
be worth making a trap door in the back of the TV so that you don't have
to remove the shell every time.
So give that a shot.
MAJOR DISCLAIMER: the inside of a TV can kill you... don't assume that
you can put your hands anywhere, even if the TV has been unplugged for
quite some time. I've gotten a noticeable shock from a TV that has been
unplugged for 6 months. Treat is as if it were plugged in... touch
nothing that you don't have to.
HTH,
Glenn Sullivan, MCSE+I MCDBA
David Clark Company Inc.
________________________________
From: windows2000-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:windows2000-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jennifer Hooper
Posted At: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 11:54 AM
Posted To: Windows 2000
Conversation: [windows2000] Re: OT: Pesky whiskers zap PCs
Subject: [windows2000] Re: OT: Pesky whiskers zap PCs
Heya Glenn -
That's *SO* not even funny (well, ok, it is... hysterical even),
because we live between 2 of the grodiest neighbors you can possibly
imagine, and our landlord won't do anything about the bug infestation
from them, so we have to bomb every 3 months or so to keep our place
clear of the nasty things. So we were watching TV the other day, and
over the MSNBC icon, crawls a little tiny baby roach! Inside the screen
of my 'new' 52" RCA!!!! (the cable guys that came out to fix my DVR said
that bugs *LOVE* HDTVs) WOT!?!?! So we trotted down to Walmart and got
4 tubes of caulk and spray foam and a whole new set of foggers, and have
to tackle it again. I'll check out my computer too. *yikes* I just
hope that the bombs don't mess with the electronics too much.
Jen
PS: If anyone has any good tips... email me off list! :D
________________________________
From: Sullivan, Glenn [mailto:GSullivan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 8:45 AM
To: windows2000@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [windows2000] Re: OT: Pesky whiskers zap PCs
Not quite like this, but I have had the classic "bug" rear it's head...
An employee brought their computer in because it started to smell funny
and then shut down. Turns out that a pair of cockroaches (together, so
I wonder if they were in the throes of passion of something) had made
their way to the back side of the motherboard, and to the rear side of
the motherboard power connector.
The 12v DC available at that connector made a very effective bug zapper,
until the fuse in the power supply cut out.
Of course everyone knows that is where the term "a bug in the system"
came from, but I had never had a real example until then...
Glenn Sullivan, MCSE+I MCDBA
David Clark Company Inc.
________________________________
From: windows2000-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:windows2000-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Jennifer Hooper
Posted At: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 11:37 AM
Posted To: Windows 2000
Conversation: [windows2000] OT: Pesky whiskers zap PCs
Subject: [windows2000] OT: Pesky whiskers zap PCs
Has anyone had this kind of trouble in their data centers? Curiouser
and curiouser... I remember the early days of clean room data centers.
Boy howdee, did that go out the window quick. Maybe with the advent of
headless blade servers, a pure environment is something to consider
(never fly in a corporate forecast these days with the costs of
implementation and maintenance, though.)
Jen
This article was emailed to you at the request of :
The sender included the following brief message :
View this article
<http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E33%257E2245069,00.html>
View The Denver Post <http://www.denverpost.com>
Pesky "whiskers" zap PCs in secretary of state's office
<http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E33%257E2245069,00.html>
By asvaldi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:asvaldi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Aldo Svaldi
Denver Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 01, 2004 -
Small metallic fibers known as "zinc whiskers" are the likely culprit
behind crippling computer outages in the Colorado secretary of state's
office over the past three weeks.
The fibers "are blowing out the power supplies on the computers," said
Lisa Doran, a spokeswoman for the agency.
Metal on floor panels and even in computer cases can secrete zinc
crystals over time, said Rich Hill, president of Data Clean in Des
Plaines, Ill.
Zinc whiskers can appear as a light peach fuzz on a metal surface if
they grow long enough, but typically they are invisible.
Whiskers can get sucked inside computers and short out power supplies,
trip circuits and in extreme cases cause data errors, Hill said.
Aging computer rooms and more compact computer designs have increased
the problem, Hill said.
The outages in the secretary of state's office, which effectively halted
electronic filings of business and elections documents at
www.sos.state.co.us , highlight why the state's various websites should
be brought under one authority, said Leroy Williams, the state's
secretary of technology. Legislation this year enabled the creation of
such an authority, which was financed with $7.5 million at the direction
of Gov. Bill Owens.
The secretary of state's office has begun working on a remediation plan
to clean up the whiskers, Doran said.
<http://media.mnginteractive.com/media/paper36/whisker0701g.jpg>
Staff writer Aldo Svaldi can be reached at 303-820-1410 or
asvaldi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx .
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