[Gllug] How to prove a computer is overheating.

[John Winters]

On Sat, 2005-03-19 at 12:25 +0000, Russell Howe wrote:
[snip]
> This was a bit odd, and then I saw the radiator behind it...

This reminds me of an incident some years ago (early eighties) when I
was working for GEC.

We had a temporary computer room, stuffed with minicomputers, and to
keep it cool there were about 6 portable air-conditioning units.  Each
of them had an external radiator dangled out of a window.

The trouble was, the internal units would steadily freeze up - they'd
become completely cased in ice on the working parts, so the units had to
be put into reverse every few hours to melt the ice.

One night, one of the units apparently iced up to the point where
something serious broke, and it turned from an air-conditioning unit
into a flame thrower.  The whole computer room burned down.  I was in
Australia at the time (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!) and was
actually logged on to one of the computers using IPSS as the room was
burning.  The only indication I got was when my connection dropped.  It
wasn't unusual to lose a connection, but it was unusual not to be able
to get on again.

Anyway, I waited till a reasonable hour to phone the UK, then rang to
ask why I couldn't log on.  The op I spoke to said, "Well, I'm standing
at my desk and I can see what remains of that computer."  Since his desk
was meant to be two offices away...

John

-- 
John Winters <john at sinodun.org.uk>

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