Billy Young's Blog - Posts Tagged "failure"

My graphics card failed spectacularly this week. I had just headed for bed on Wednesday when Magz called up to me to ask if I had switched off the computer. So I headed back down stairs to have a look to see what was going on as I had left it on. At first the system refused to power up so fear that something very serious was wrong filled me with dread. After a couple of minutes it did finally power up but as it booted into windows I heard the crackle of electricity and smelled that unmistakeable smell of burning PCB. I quickly killed the power. After removing the now defunct graphics card I checked the rest of the computers innards finding nothing towards. I powered up no problems using my I7 for a picture to my screen to find everything else was working as it should. Sadly my new XFX HD7970 showed the clear sign of a complete melt down. Sadly I can’t just send it back to the retailers to be replaced as sending it back to the USA is just a little too expensive. I have been trying to contact the manufacturer but have heard nothing back from them. The weekend I will try to get their phone number maybe calling them might give results. I would hate to think that I am now stuck with a useless waste of cash on my hands but at the moment that is exactly what I have.
Calum had a spare card that he has lent me so that I don’t need to rely on my CPU to deliver the display. Unfortunately it has meant that I can’t mine any coins at the moment. This is when I wish I had the ASIC miner that I have pre-ordered from Butterfly Labs. That though is still going through testing with only a limited number so far shipping. So it could be some time before I get mine. I expected that though when I placed the order so can’t complain. I’m just very disappointed about XFX’s product which I had high hopes for.

Patients is something that comes in handy in many things in life. Sadly mine is running short at the moment as I wait for all the plants in my garden to grow. What has caused this? Well so far only one of the peas I planted has decided to grow. Add to this that the cucumber and courgette that I planted have died. Then there was the tomato plant that the slugs destroyed. Yes this is par for the course when you do anything. You have the failures as well as the successes. At the moment though it being early in the season disaster is more common than the triumphs at the moment. Instead of looking at the problems of failed plants I should be looking at those small signs of the bounty that will come. Things like the cherry trees flowering. If the weather holds maybe this is the year I will get some cherries. Also my apple trees are now in bloom with the promise of another good year for them. Though my strawberries are needing weeded again, they also look like they are coming along nicely. I only need the summer warmth to encourage them to flower to gain their fruits so Magz can make some more jam this year. So really I shouldn't feel so down about the small fails after all I can always replant. Still I do get a little despondent seeing my efforts hitting the wall as they have. That is only human after all. But like most of us I will pick myself up and get on with it. After all we don't have much choice in the end. We can't just wallow can we. We have to get up and keep trying because if we don't then we will never achieve anything in life. I suppose though we've all heard that before. Though it doesn't make it any less true.