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About 5 weeks ago, I went to bed noting that my CPU fan was "sluggish".
Thinking that Trade Station Charting and the Global Server were running OK,
I was tired and stupidly dismissed the potential severity of the problem.
The next AM I had a blank screen and the CPU heat sink was too hot to touch;
the cpu fan was dead.
I couldn't work for the next 4 weeks because I had continuous Win 2k Pro
crashes after two years of complete stability with out one TS 2k crash.
What happened?
The fan died, the cpu overheated and then became not only defective but
destructive!
Though the defective CPU did not cause electronic nor physical damage to the
computer hardware, it did damage the software in the motherboard bios, and
led to a series of crashes and cascading events which damaged and corrupted
my registry for weeks on end.
My CPU was under warrenty, and its going to be replaced. Meanwhile, my
older CPU is in place, and I've finally got the system stable again, running
fine, after flashing in a new motherboard software bios and doing a
re-install of Win 2k Pro Service pack #2. Trade Station software and all
those fix packs will probably have to be re-installed. Fortunately, I had a
back up copy of all my global server data and my workspaces.
My advice to traders?
1) Check your CPU fan periodically. I run my computer now with my cover off
so I can visually check daily, that my CPU fan is OK.
2) Periodically touch the heat sink on the CPU; it will be warm, but it
should not be so hot that you rapidly pull away your hand.
3) If your CPU fan does not have ball bearings, and is not of the best
quality, it is worth getting a good one.
4) Radio Shack sells an electronic sillicone tuner spray. About every
three months, remove the fan and spray into it at both ends briefly. Let it
dry. Put it back on the CPU. Don't use RD-40 or a petroleum based
lubricant; it is oily and will gum up the bearings.
Good trading to all,
Peter Hoon
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