Please welcome our newest family member, Blake, into the world.
The labor was long–almost 45 hours–but father and baby are now doing just fine.
I’d like to thank Blake’s godparents, Blaise T. and Jake H., without whom Blake could not have been, um, conceived.
| case | Antec Solo Black/Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower |
| power supply | Nexus NX-8040 80 Plus Efficiency 400 Watt Silent PSU |
| motherboard | Gigabyte GA-P35-DS4 Rev. 2.1 LGA 775 Intel P35 ATX Ultra Durable II |
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz 2 x 4MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Quad-Core |
| RAM | 4GB G.Skill 2x2GB PC2-6400 DDR2 |
| graphics | Asus EN8500GT GeForce 8500GT 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP |
| storage | 2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA |
| CD/DVD | Sony NEC Optiarc 20X DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA |
| case fan (rear) | Nexus 120mm Nexus Quiet Case Fan w/Fan Mounts |
| case fan (front) | 2x Nexus 92mm Nexus Real Silent Case Fan w/Fan Mounts |
| CPU fan | Zalman Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler CNPS7700-AlCu |
For the most part, things went smoothly. Notable exceptions:
The first time I powered up, the mobo lights came on, fans started spinning, and… nothing else. No beeps. No POST. [Feeling of dread setting in.]
After several hours and much head scratching, it turned out that the CPU wasn’t seated properly in its socket. Discovered this incidentally, after, out of desperation, I dis- and re-assembled the CPU/fan assembly.
Got BSOD during Windows XP install, even after loading the RAID driver (jraid.sys) from floppy.
Turns out that the BSOD was caused by my premature BIOS tweaking. I had set the SATA mode (Intel ICH9R Southbridge) to AHCI. Restoring the default (Disabled) solved the problem.
[NOTE: A floppy drive is required to install Windows XP on a RAID volume. Stupid Windows installer assumes that a floppy drive will be present; the installer has no other way of loading the RAID driver. Shortsighted design.]
Installed Windows XP, then got BSOD during subsequent reboots. The crash happened a few seconds after Windows log-on. Turned out to be ASUS SmartDoctor. Booted Windows in safe mode, uninstalled the offending software, and things went smoothly from there.
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SO, when are we gonna get the REAL post, huh? Everyone okay over there?
:)
Yeah, I seriously thought you were announcing the birth of your baby until the picture computed in my brain along with the weight listed....
You're very silly.
Ice pack to relieve pain from Sara's smack: $5.
Imagining your reactions--from \:d/elation to :-/confusion to x(anger: priceless.
Oh, for cryin' out loud. Can Sara please smack you upside the head for teasing us like that?
"my premature BIOS tweaking..."
ron, this is nothing to be ashamed of. they make pills for this. many men sufffer from "premature BIOS tweaking." ...not that i would personally i know. but i hear things.
mazel tov on the boy. but at 35 pounds, i think we can at least say it is a kid, not a boy.
Why, you look underneath, of course!
How do you tell that IT is a boy?? Gram