I can live with connecting front panels, power switches, leds and whatnot.

However - routing ribbon cables in a way that is not a complete mess? Yeah...

I also face the same issue when I attempt to use zip ties to keep the inside of my computer case nice, tidy, and easily accessible without accidentally disconnecting the ribbon cable that is connected to the HDD, ODD, or FDD.

xjas's 7-step programme to a Fun Saturday Afternoon (very common procedure in complicated software installs, but also applies to more than just messing with computers.)
- Find guide for how to do something moderately difficult online
- Find 20 people in comments of said guide making statements like "yay! worked for me!"
- Find every other search result links back to or plagarizes the same guide
- Try guide
- Doesn't work
- Absolutely no apparent reason why it didn't work, and no way to fix it because you don't know what the problem was
- Set everything on fire (YMMV)

xjas wrote:

xjas's 7-step programme to a Fun Saturday Afternoon (very common procedure in complicated software installs, but also applies to […]
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xjas's 7-step programme to a Fun Saturday Afternoon (very common procedure in complicated software installs, but also applies to more than just messing with computers.)
- Find guide for how to do something moderately difficult online
- Find 20 people in comments of said guide making statements like "yay! worked for me!"
- Find every other search result links back to or plagarizes the same guide
- Try guide
- Doesn't work
- Absolutely no apparent reason why it didn't work, and no way to fix it because you don't know what the problem was
- Set everything on fire (YMMV)

This is my life. 😢 😵

bjwil1991 wrote:

I also face the same issue when I attempt to use zip ties to keep the inside of my computer case nice, tidy, and easily accessible without accidentally disconnecting the ribbon cable

The more zip ties you use, the harder any reconfigurations become. And who cares about it being tidy or not if the chassis is opaque 😀

Azarien wrote:

The more zip ties you use, the harder any reconfigurations become. And who cares about it being tidy or not if the chassis is opaque 😀

Airflow matters if you don't want to use too many fans to blow air through.

Also - crippling autism in my case.

Recently, with my Packard Bell 386SX-II motherboard, finding out the exact set of components and settings to allow the machine to boot. BIOS shadowing off = no boot. No hard drive connected = floppy seek error. Downclocking = freezes on disk access. 4x4MB 3-chip SIMMs = memory error at 8MB, no matter the order.

For me, it’s things that half work... something that worked perfectly when you last used it but now has some minor fault, like lines on the screen, ports not working, etc etc. If something is plain old dead you try and fix it then throw it out if it still doesn’t work but intermittent faults are an easy recipe for hours of frustration and pain.

Also will echo the bit about parts covered in sticky tar from being smoked around 😵 those tar-filled dust/fluff balls are some of the most disgusting things you can expect to find in an old PC. Near impossible to clean and stink to high heaven until you do.