Hi all,

I've got a couple of problems at the moment and it doesn't quite seem right to just expect it to be solved by the allegro community sans moi, so I thought perhaps I could suggest a deal.

I've been doing some drawings lately for a story that might one day form the framework for an allegro blockbuster so I thought I could explain the two problems I'm having and for each one solved I could show a WIP of the pictures.

So here goes :-

1. The red light on my box is flicking on and off at a regular frequency and this might be to do with the fact that I took some fans out recently because the neighbour downstairs couldn't sleep at night due to the noise but I'm not sure.

2. My firefox install has a bug. When I try to download things it (including the downloader) crashes. I've tried a fresh install. This started happening after I started using an add-on to rip youtube soundtracks
The add-on is disabled now though but the problem persists.

BTW - don't expect too much from the pictures - they're half finished.

1. Removing the fans was probably a poor solution. Unless you're confident that there's enough cooling without them you might just lead to overheating and instability. You may be able to find some software that allows you to check CPU temperature at run-time. There may also be a status page in your BIOS/CMOS setup program. You should probably confirm that the CPU doesn't get too hot, even under load. It might be more wise to reinstall the fans and turn your computer off at night (I know, sad ).

   You could look into alternative, quieter cooling systems if you have any money to spare... I would imagine liquid cooling is pretty quiet, but I've never seen it first hand in a computer case so I couldn't say for sure. Getting a different case instead might be an option. Bigger fans should be able to move the same air while turning slower and should therefore be more quiet. Or a better case design might allow air to flow through more easily, requiring less effort from the fans.

   OK, I'm more or less just guessing here..

2. The following will completely delete your Firefox user settings and user profile(s), including all extensions that you have installed (so make note of the ones that you want back before doing this because you'll have to reinstall them). Also, if you're using Firefox sync then export your sync key so that you can restore it afterward^[1].

   
   

   1. First of all, exit all instances of Firefox and wait until they are actually dead (it usually takes Firefox 20 - 40 seconds ... use something like htop in Linux or Windows Task Manager in Windows to see).

   2. In Linux, rm -fR "$HOME/.mozilla". In Windows, rmdir /s /q "%APPDATA%\Mozilla". Be careful with these commands. There is no prompt and there's no going back (short of undelete software that you don't want to hunt down and can't guarantee success..).

   That should allow you to start fresh. If it's still not working after that then either your Firefox installation itself is tampered with or there's something else fishy going on (I'd really only suspect this in Windows under normal circumstances). In that case I'd uninstall Firefox, run anti-malware software (particularly in Windows), and then reinstall Firefox.

Maybe he has Panaflos? or shitty fans that are just as loud. It's pretty common in grey box machines and the fans that come with shitty ATX cases.

I'd say get some gelid or noctua fans to replace them. Dead silent and they move a ton of air.

Liquid cooling done right is pretty damn awesome. Works best with passive cooling, without a pump, that is. There are systems with external heatsinks, pretty large too, and they produce enough of a temperature difference to keep the fluid circulating through convection alone. There's also this thing where the entire case doubles as a heatsink - not really practical I imagine, but I guess passive cooling doesn't get much better than that. And if you're really serious about liquid cooling, you can always try this.

I like the foliage in the second one and how the illusion of depth was developed.

A blinking power led usually means the computer is sleeping. If it isn't sleeping maybe the LEDs are hooked up wrong.

I guess what I meant was - potential for excellent picture status but your question has made me think about it less simply. Potential could mean anything so your response has helped me not to work out whether I should continue with it but to think about why I might want to.

Thanks

Thanks again Dennis. Thanks for explaining. I'll be reflecting on your words whilst considering how to carry on with the picture.

I'm really enjoying drawing at the moment. Anyone know when the next Doodle Thread is ?

Cool.

to_do_list.push("Do a doodle.\n");