- RAID is never a replacement for backups.
- Never work directly with a surviving disk, clone it and work with the cloned drive.
- Are you sure you can't rebuild the RAID? That really is the best solution in many cases.
- If a RAID failure is within tolerance (1 drive in a RAID5 array) then it should still be operational. Make a backup before rebuilding if you don't have one already.
- If more disks are gone than that then don't count on recovering all data even with data recovery tools.
anamethatisnt
Gonna be interesting to see which models disappear from EU altogether and which models get the better repairability and software updates next summer:
Ecodesign requirements will apply to mobile phones and tablets put on the EU market from 20 June 2025 onwards, including:
- resistance to accidental drops or scratches and protection from dust and water
- sufficiently durable batteries which can withstand at least 800 charge and discharge cycles while retaining at least 80% of their initial capacity
- rules on disassembly and repair, including obligations for producers to make critical spare parts available within 5-10 working days, and for 7 years after the end of sales of the product model on the EU market
- availability of operating system upgrades for longer periods (at least 5 years from the date of the end of placement on the market of the last unit of a product model)
- non-discriminatory access for professional repairers to any software or firmware needed for the replacement
If it's a good old game, check if gog.com sells it. That would probably be the easiest way for a non technical user.
Many of their old games run using Dosbox, but without the end user having to set it up, f.e.
https://www.gog.com/en/game/sid_meiers_colonization
If the leaks are correct we're talking about 120W TDP and higher power and thermal efficiency than the 7000 series of X3D CPUs.
L2 8MB, L3 96MB(32MB + 64MB) for a total of 104MB according to Toms Hardware
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/extensive-amd-ryzen-7-9800x3d-specs-leak-details-unlocked-120w-cpu-with-5-2-ghz-boost-clock
Priority one for me is that the motherboard allows for BIOS Firmware updates from a USB drive without having to boot an operating system. The user manual is usually the fastest way to verify that one.
Then I would look at PCIe slots, if I bought a new motherboard today I would want to have at least one PCIe 5.0 x16 slot and one PCIe 5.0 m.2 slot.
Oh, and searching the net for people having trouble with the motherboards networking or bluetooth when running linux distros is always a good idea.
CPU
Some games benefit a lot from the large L3 cache in the X3D cpus, f.e. the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Check whether it is true for the ones you play.
GPU
I'm running an AMD 6650XT GPU in Linux without any trouble, I even use vfio to use it in a Fedora VM without errors.
RAM
Buying 2x32GB gives you enough RAM to run a bunch of VMs while gaming. 2x16GB is more than enough for a gaming rig.
My water is stored in a dark and cool food cellar that stays at 12-15°C (Below 60°F) all year round and in sanitized food-safe water containers. So far the water has had neither colouration, smell or taste after a year of storage.
The next bit is a citation from "Livsmedelsverket", which is responsible for food safety in Sweden, and has been through a rough Google Translate because it's too long for me to care to manually translate it. A link to the Swedish PM is found at the bottom.
TL;DR: In a biologically stable system (low carbon content in the water and limited possibility of utilization carbon from the material, there is really no upper limit to how long the water can last stored from a microbiological point of view. This according to microbiologists and risk assessors at the Swedish "Enheten för biologiska faror" (Unit for biological hazards).
Preface
This PM constitutes a scientific basis for microbiological risks during the growth of bacteria in water stored in a can for a long time.
The material has been produced to order by The unit for sustainable food consumption and will be the basis for advice on how how long a consumer can store water.
Responsible for the report's content is Jakob Ottoson, microbiologist and risk assessor at the Unit for biological hazards.
The report has been fact-checked by Roland Lindqvist, senior microbiologist and risk assessor at the Unit for Biological Hazards.
The Swedish Food Agency
[...]
Risk characterization
Questions and answers
The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has a website on behavior and storage of drinking water in cans Creating and Storing an Emergency Water Supply
| water, Sanitation, & Hygiene-related Emergencies & and Outbreaks | Healthy Water | CDC. Make Water Safe During an Emergency (Print-only) (cdc.gov)
Among other things, it is stated that the water is replaced every six months and that the cans are sanitized with chlorine.
a. Evaluate whether the information on the CDC website is useful for Swedish conditions.
Answer: The short answer is yes, the information can be used under Swedish conditions.
However there is theoretically no upper limit to how long the water can be stored.
For example, specified a shelf life of 2 years in tetrapack and 12 months in bag in box on the water that was taken revealed in a pilot study (Livsmedelsverket 2024b).
The specified chlorine concentration for sanitization is large and not really necessary (see further below).
Of the potential pathogens frequently detected in drinking water systems (see Hazard Identification), including bottled water,
M. avium and A. hydrophila have the potential to infect humans via the gastrointestinal system.
However, there is no epidemiological connection that this has happened and the likelihood of illness following consumption of stored water is assessed as very low and limited to an immunocompromised population.
However, smell and taste can be affected by any microbiological growth.
In a biologically stable system (low carbon content in the water and limited possibility of utilization carbon from the material, there is really no upper limit to how long the water can last stored from a microbiological point of view.
[...]
What is the best way to clean the cans?
Answer: The best way is to rinse out of the can.
Any remaining stains that may be made up of biofilm is wiped or washed away in a way that prevents as much as possible that the material is scratched because this gives bacteria in the water a larger surface to attach to and new carbon sources may leak from the material.
If necessary, cleaning agents, e.g. hand washing detergent, used, but then it needs to be rinsed off thoroughly.
If necessary, the can can be disinfected with chlorine.
However, the latter is not necessary as there are no obvious ones microbiological hazards in the water if it is initially of drinking water quality that was filled into a pure dunk (see answer to question 1).
A certain excess of free chlorine can, however, extend the time to the build-up of new biofilm (Huang et al. 2020) but can also lead to unpleasant odors and taste of the water and the formation of harmful by-products such as trihalomethanes (Food Administration 2024a).
In case of recurring problems with visible growth, smell or taste within six months, however, sanitizing with chlorine, or buying a new storage container, can be one alternative.
A spice measure (one ml) of chlorine (12% chlorine by weight) in three liters of water gives a total content chlorine corresponding to 50 ppm.
The vessel should be rinsed out after the treatment (in about 30 minutes) and air dry before refilling with new water.
Citation from
Livsmedelsverket. Ottoson, J. 2024. PM 2024: Vatten på dunk - Riskvärdering. Livsmedelsverkets PM.
Uppsala.
PM 2024
ISSN 1104-7089
https://www.livsmedelsverket.se/globalassets/publikationsdatabas/pm/2024/pm-2024-vatten-pa-dunk-riskvardering.pdf
You could always go for a Debian stable host as long as it supports your hardware and then use kvm/qemu to run virtual distros and see which one fits you the best.
I try to always keep 30L to 50L of water safely stored in the food cellar.
If you store it properly it can stay safe and drinkable for years, I replace it about once a year though.
As someone who mixed his own vape fluids and slowly lowered the nicotine to ~1.8mg/ml and then went cold turkey first on nicotine and then also on vaping. The craving for a cigarette full of tar is still there once in a while when drinking or when completely stressed out.
Most of the time it's my brain wanting "5 minutes of fresh air" while working on a problem or thinking back about a good time such as a beer, a smoke and good company during a backyard bbq. I can do those things without the nicotine, and I do.
It's rare now though, especially compared to how it was when I was still vaping nicotine.