• Mike L (unregistered) in reply to Patrick
    Patrick:
    GPU and Windows 95? Is this a story with another flux capacitor?

    No, really, the Voodoo graphics card was released at the end of 1996 and even from there on it was a long way to something you could call GPU. And even today there is no real reason to put a GPU into a network server.

    This I see as being the proper answer.

    Heck a couple months ago I bought a brand new Lenovo gaming PC with both an Intel graphics chip and Nvidia graphics card. Only problem, Game Maker (yes I know GM isn't a real game engine to some people) has a fit with the intel chip and Eve Online doesn't recognize the Nvidia card. Before I figured out how to prioritize graphics use I tried disabling the intel chip (which initially had priority) so GM would work. Unfortunately since Eve refused to recognize the Nvidia card I had much the same result of this story, sudden 100% CPU usage and a VERY hot lap. Though modern OSes handle the situation better.

  • NemesisGhost (unregistered) in reply to Norris

    I had a system admin force push Seti@home to all the computers in the small company where we worked, even the dev boxes. Needless to say, none of us were very amused, but because the IT group was the only ones who knew how to use a computer, he never got reprimanded.

  • toacca (unregistered) in reply to The Fury
    The Fury:
    Why would you run Windows 95 on a *server*! Windows NT surely. Not sure it would have avoided this issue.

    Well, NT 3.51 did the same thing but I can't remember if it was fixed in 4.0 or a later release. 3D pipes screensavers and actually just moving the mouse on the console would shoot the cpu to 100% and lock everything.

  • Anonymous Paranoiac (unregistered)

    Clearly, TRWTF is giving IT staff aliases.

  • (cs) in reply to faoileag
    faoileag:
    Steve The Cynic:
    Black Bart:
    TRWTF was Windows 95, that couldn't even set the priority of a screensaver correctly.
    Oh, it *could*. It just didn't bother.
    Could it really? I seem to recall that early windows versions used "cooperative multitasking" instead of "preemptive multitasking", thus putting the onus of letting other applications room to breathe erm cycles to use on the application developer instead of on the operating system. But I might be wrong, perhaps someone can clarify?
    Windows 95 preemptively multitasked everything EXCEPT individual 16-bit Windows apps, which were cooperatively multitasked together inside one virtual x86-- although THAT entire environment was preemptively with all the DOS and 32-bit Windows programs.

    I doubt they were running this system on Windows 95. 95 couldn't even run for more than 49 days without locking up. It was probably a Windows NT 4.0 server with 95 clients. The same problem happened with the pipes screen saver on Windows NT. NT has great scheduling, but the screen saver process ran at a normal priority level.

  • Chris (unregistered)
    After dispatching the hooker

    I thought this was The Daily WTF, not Grand Theft Auto.

  • pif (unregistered) in reply to heh
    heh:
    the wtf is having desktop on server...
    TRWTF is having a graphic card at all on a server!
  • (cs) in reply to operagost
    operagost:
    I doubt they were running this system on Windows 95. 95 couldn't even run for more than 49 days without locking up. It was probably a Windows NT 4.0 server with 95 clients. The same problem happened with the pipes screen saver on Windows NT. NT has great scheduling, but the screen saver process ran at a normal priority level.
    It was only 95-OSR2 that had the "die at 4 gibimilliseconds" bug.

    Yes, it worked fine on the original retail/upgrade release, and on OSR1, but they broke it fairly thoroughly on OSR2. I don't remember whether it was bugged on the later OSRs, but it was definitely OK on 98.

  • QJo (unregistered) in reply to faoileag
    faoileag:
    belzebub:
    I'm missing the last part - where upon his return, James is told that the system is down again and the customer has filed a complaint against him for breaking their screensaver, which - thank you very much - was working thr whole time just fine. They were fortunately able to restore the full glory of the screensaver in a few hours. Incidentaly the system failed just about 10 minutes after screensaver was fixed, which proves that James didn't fix anything, has meddled with their state-of-the-art screensaver and probably just got lucky. After replacing VGA card with OpenGL-capable one, James was fired for improper sexual behaviour (the hooker called him gay) and was killed by meteorite from mars. The (proper) End.
    Nice try. But you forgot the president's daughter.

    "The president called, complaining that James had mistaken his daughter for a hooker -- she was only trying to get a lift out of the place, where she had (long story) found herself. Ten minutes after James had driven off, she was murdered by a mob of the various assorted ne'er-do-wells who frequent such an insalubrious location."

  • drake (unregistered) in reply to JW
    JW:
    This link (among others easily findablethrough Google), briefly discusses why using "ghetto" to mean "low calss, dangerous" is problematic.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.html

    (Briefly, since the original definition of "ghetto" was "part of a city where a minority dwells", then using it to mean "low class" is the same as saying "minorities are low class".)

    Thank god for left wing blogs that tell us what words we can use, and what health care we want!

  • Paul Neumann (unregistered) in reply to Adam
    Adam:
    TRWTF is that he killed a hooker.
    TFA:
    After dispatching the hooker...
    Sterling Archer: Oh my god, you killed a hooker! ISIS Comptroller Cyril Figgis: Callgirl! She was a callgirl! Sterling Archer: No Cyril, when they're dead, they're just hookers!
  • Chris Q (unregistered)

    I once had to make a 20 mile journey by taxi to turn up the brightness on a monitor

  • Paul Neumann (unregistered) in reply to JW
    JW:
    This link (among others easily findablethrough Google), briefly discusses why using "ghetto" to mean "low calss, dangerous" is problematic.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.html

    (Briefly, since the original definition of "ghetto" was "part of a city where a minority dwells", then using it to mean "low class" is the same as saying "minorities are low class".)

    Spambot posts are annoying. Where is CAPTCHA when you need it?!

  • anonymous (unregistered)
    While parked at the side of a street in the downtown area consulting a map, James was approached by the hooker. Given the size of Annapolis, there was likely to be just the one.
    Well, given the size of Annapolis, I doubt there were too many other economic opportunities for young women...
  • QJo (unregistered) in reply to drake
    drake:
    JW:
    This link (among others easily findablethrough Google), briefly discusses why using "ghetto" to mean "low calss, dangerous" is problematic.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.html

    (Briefly, since the original definition of "ghetto" was "part of a city where a minority dwells", then using it to mean "low class" is the same as saying "minorities are low class".)

    Thank god for left wing blogs that tell us what words we can use, and what health care we want!

    Thank god for rednecks who look upon education and social advancement with contempt. Otherwise we civilised people would have nobody to despise.

  • (cs) in reply to JW
    JW:
    Since the original definition of "ghetto" was "part of a city where a minority dwells", then using it to mean "low class" is the same as saying "minorities are low class".)
    Etymology is not destiny.
  • Dave the geographer (unregistered)

    TRWTF is actually this part, last sentence in the paragraph where he "dispatched" the hooker:

    And this was Canada
    Or maybe I just wasn't aware that Annapolis was in Canada.

    captcha: abigo....that's what she said!

  • topj (unregistered) in reply to Dave the geographer

    Or maybe you weren't aware that Nova Scotia is in Canada

  • Dave the geographer (unregistered) in reply to topj
    topj:
    Or maybe you weren't aware that Nova Scotia is in Canada
    Well then, today I learned that there is an Annapolis County and a town called Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia... but at a population of 481 and an area of a little over 2 sq km, I don't think they have 6 movie theaters.

    Source: ok Akismet won't let me post the URL since it thinks I'm spam, but look this up on Wikipedia: Annapolis_Royal,_Nova_Scotia

  • sexist_sid (unregistered) in reply to Zacrath
    Zacrath:
    I don't see how "The cleaner" is bad ass. Perhaps the author meant "bad as".

    Never watched Harvey Keitel as The Cleaner in Pulp Fiction or The Assassin and probably some other stuff too?

    'I never did mind about the little things.'

  • TheOtherSysAdmin (unregistered)

    So if the only thing this guy cleaned was pipes...

    He is the pipe cleaner?

  • (cs) in reply to Matthew
    Matthew:
    a screensaver on a server is the problem

    ... the wonderful world of Windows "servers" ...

  • (cs) in reply to WowImpressed
    WowImpressed:
    Screensaver on server was eating all the resources.

    Check.

    Wow. This made my day.

    I'm off to xkcd.com

    Dude, this is Thursday. Yer gonna have to wait a while.

  • (cs) in reply to Kivi
    Kivi:
    JW:
    Since the original definition of "ghetto" was "part of a city where a minority dwells", then using it to mean "low class" is the same as saying "minorities are low class".)
    Etymology is not destiny.

    I think you guys should quit dumping on a word that Elvis made famous.

  • anonymous (unregistered) in reply to topj
    topj:
    Or maybe you weren't aware that Nova Scotia is in Canada
    I for one wasn't aware that there was an Annapolis in Nova Scotia. I had to check Google Maps to make sure that my leg wasn't being pulled. captcha: suscipit
  • DAVe3283 (unregistered) in reply to Kivi
    Kivi:
    JW:
    Since the original definition of "ghetto" was "part of a city where a minority dwells", then using it to mean "low class" is the same as saying "minorities are low class".)
    Etymology is not destiny.
    Thank you! It baffles me how many people think that the etymology of a word has some bearing on its current social meaning. It does not.
  • Klimax (unregistered) in reply to VariousPickles
    VariousPickles:
    Matthew:
    a screensaver on a server is the problem

    ... the wonderful world of Windows "servers" ...

    Those quotes have no business being there... (And I guess that FUD campaign by Unix vendors was superfluous as well back then. Or it never existed...)

  • (cs) in reply to Matthew
    Matthew:
    There could be a whole category of TDWTF where a screensaver on a server is the problem. Definitely not the first one of these.

    I don't know...there's been a lot of mention of screen savers, yes, but OpenGL screensavers. Maybe OpenGL is the TRWTF?

  • I Might Be That Guy You're Thinking Of (unregistered) in reply to QJo
    QJo:
    drake:
    JW:
    This link (among others easily findablethrough Google), briefly discusses why using "ghetto" to mean "low calss, dangerous" is problematic.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.html

    (Briefly, since the original definition of "ghetto" was "part of a city where a minority dwells", then using it to mean "low class" is the same as saying "minorities are low class".)

    Thank god for left wing blogs that tell us what words we can use, and what health care we want!

    Thank god for rednecks who look upon education and social advancement with contempt. Otherwise we civilised people would have nobody to despise.

    What is sad is that people actually think like this...

    ...who was a referring to?

  • Techpaul (unregistered) in reply to Chris Q
    Chris Q:
    I once had to make a 20 mile journey by taxi to turn up the brightness on a monitor
    Hmm 200 mile journey into valleys of Wales and single track roads, to remove a jumper, then 200 miles back again.

    To remove the jumper they had already been instructed over the phone to remove.

    Also this was 'high' security research centre that once I arrived I was left alone in the office with the systems while they went outside to get a sandwich from the sandwich truck.

  • Nova Scotian (unregistered)

    Correct, there is no Annapolis, Nova Scotia.

    Annapolis Royal is a tourist area, not much else. Annapolis Valley covers a fair size area of the province, apple orchards as far as the eye can see plus lots of small towns, also a large undergrad university and some colleges.

    My guess is that it was actually the "Valley" as we call it around here. Though I really doubt there are any hookers to be found except for the rug making kind.

  • Valued Service (unregistered) in reply to QJo
    QJo:
    drake:
    JW:
    This link (among others easily findablethrough Google), briefly discusses why using "ghetto" to mean "low calss, dangerous" is problematic.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.html

    (Briefly, since the original definition of "ghetto" was "part of a city where a minority dwells", then using it to mean "low class" is the same as saying "minorities are low class".)

    Thank god for left wing blogs that tell us what words we can use, and what health care we want!

    Thank god for rednecks who look upon education and social advancement with contempt. Otherwise we civilised people would have nobody to despise.

    Thank God for the idiots who think there are only two groups. They banter and waste time while the libertarians and moderates make the deciding vote.

    And thank God that I don't have to prescribe to what others think of me.

  • Splatmandeux (unregistered)

    I once worked on a SCADA system (water treatment plant) that had this problem. Whenever the CPU on some node would stay at 100% for "too long" an alarm would go off, under the assumption that "something bad is happening".

    Had a site where the user at an "operator station" (running NT4) changed the screen saver to the Pipes, causing a predictable amount of chaos.

    Back in those days (mid 90s), decorative screen savers were typically designed to use as much CPU as possible. After figuring it out, the customer actually had the gall to file a bug stating that the system should be usable with the Pipes screen saver.

  • Valued Service (unregistered) in reply to Kivi
    Kivi:
    JW:
    Since the original definition of "ghetto" was "part of a city where a minority dwells", then using it to mean "low class" is the same as saying "minorities are low class".)
    Etymology is not destiny.

    It's the liberals that insist that we have all this welfare otherwise the poor couldn't survive, that insist people become entitled and slaves to the government, who are really limiting and disenfranchising the minorities.

    Equal opportunity, not equal wealth.

  • (cs) in reply to cellocgw
    cellocgw:
    WowImpressed:
    Screensaver on server was eating all the resources.

    Check.

    Wow. This made my day.

    I'm off to xkcd.com

    Dude, this is Thursday. Yer gonna have to wait a while.

    SMBC!

  • (cs) in reply to Coyne
    Coyne:
    Matthew:
    There could be a whole category of TDWTF where a screensaver on a server is the problem. Definitely not the first one of these.

    I don't know...there's been a lot of mention of screen savers, yes, but OpenGL screensavers. Maybe OpenGL is the TRWTF?

    The fact that a screen saver not named "Blank Screen" exists is TRWTF.

  • (cs) in reply to JW
    JW:
    This link (among others easily findablethrough Google), briefly discusses why using "ghetto" to mean "low calss, dangerous" is problematic.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.html

    (Briefly, since the original definition of "ghetto" was "part of a city where a minority dwells", then using it to mean "low class" is the same as saying "minorities are low class".)

    I put that site on par with jezebel.com

  • Annon (unregistered)

    The real WTF - waiting around for another 10 minute rather than resetting the screen saver to 1 minute to test.

  • drake (unregistered) in reply to Valued Service
    Valued Service:
    QJo:
    drake:
    JW:
    This link (among others easily findablethrough Google), briefly discusses why using "ghetto" to mean "low calss, dangerous" is problematic.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.html

    (Briefly, since the original definition of "ghetto" was "part of a city where a minority dwells", then using it to mean "low class" is the same as saying "minorities are low class".)

    Thank god for left wing blogs that tell us what words we can use, and what health care we want!

    Thank god for rednecks who look upon education and social advancement with contempt. Otherwise we civilised people would have nobody to despise.

    Thank God for the idiots who think there are only two groups. They banter and waste time while the libertarians and moderates make the deciding vote.

    And thank God that I don't have to prescribe to what others think of me.

    Agreed!

    I despise the idea of the moral police of the right wing nuts trying to control beliefs and actions just as much as I despise the thought police of the left wing nuts trying to control choice and innovation.

  • (cs) in reply to Nova Scotian
    Nova Scotian:
    Correct, there is no Annapolis, Nova Scotia.

    Annapolis Royal is a tourist area, not much else. Annapolis Valley covers a fair size area of the province, apple orchards as far as the eye can see plus lots of small towns, also a large undergrad university and some colleges.

    My guess is that it was actually the "Valley" as we call it around here. Though I really doubt there are any hookers to be found except for the rug making kind.

    I saw what you didn't intend to do there!

  • Haligonian (unregistered)

    Annapolis Royal NS is a tiny little community. There is no Annapolis.

    The closest theatre is in New Minas.. Even 20 years ago, there's a drive-in in cambridge but no multi screen theatre.

    Obfuscation?

  • Stuart (unregistered) in reply to Annon

    That is not how you perform a proper test. You might as well not bother testing it at all if that is your way of doing it. What if it wasn't just the screensaver? How would you know as you'd be in the car heading to the airport when it falls over again after 10 minutes.

  • anonymous (unregistered) in reply to Splatmandeux
    Splatmandeux:
    I once worked on a SCADA system (water treatment plant) that had this problem. Whenever the CPU on some node would stay at 100% for "too long" an alarm would go off, under the assumption that "something bad is happening".

    Had a site where the user at an "operator station" (running NT4) changed the screen saver to the Pipes, causing a predictable amount of chaos.

    Back in those days (mid 90s), decorative screen savers were typically designed to use as much CPU as possible. After figuring it out, the customer actually had the gall to file a bug stating that the system should be usable with the Pipes screen saver.

    So? Disable the screensaver while you're running like my video player does. Bug closed.
  • (cs) in reply to anonymous
    anonymous:
    Splatmandeux:
    I once worked on a SCADA system (water treatment plant) that had this problem. Whenever the CPU on some node would stay at 100% for "too long" an alarm would go off, under the assumption that "something bad is happening".

    Had a site where the user at an "operator station" (running NT4) changed the screen saver to the Pipes, causing a predictable amount of chaos.

    Back in those days (mid 90s), decorative screen savers were typically designed to use as much CPU as possible. After figuring it out, the customer actually had the gall to file a bug stating that the system should be usable with the Pipes screen saver.

    So? Disable the screensaver while you're running like my video player does. Bug closed.

    New ticket created: application prevents screen saver from running

  • (cs) in reply to Haligonian
    Haligonian:
    Annapolis Royal NS is a tiny little community. There is no Annapolis.

    The closest theatre is in New Minas.. Even 20 years ago, there's a drive-in in cambridge but no multi screen theatre.

    Obfuscation?

    Indeed. I find it funny that so many people are trying to research the fiction of this article against reality.

  • Yazeran (unregistered) in reply to Norris

    Yep.. Been there done that.. :-)

    In my case it was a big server ment to be used for numerical calculations (think FEM analysis and the like).

    Most of the time it just sat ther doing nothing on all of it's 4 CPU's, and as I had an account there, I set up 4 instances of SETI (nice -19 mind you so not to 'be in the way').

    But the powers that be din't like their server always showing up in the monitoring systems as maxed out on CPU usage....

    I did get a fairly good score before they noticed however....

    Yazeran

    Plan: To go to Mars one day with a hammer.

  • Ebert (unregistered)

    So now we have Canadian Hanzo?

  • (cs) in reply to Thanatos Complex
    Thanatos Complex:
    Adam:
    TRWTF is that he killed a hooker.
    Glad I'm not the only one who noticed that.
    No, no. He dispatched her; he became her pimp, and sent her to her next client.
  • (cs) in reply to Ebert
    Zacrath:
    I don't see how "The cleaner" is bad ass. Perhaps the author meant "bad as".
    Ebert:
    So now we have Canadian Hanzo?

    Yup.

  • S (unregistered) in reply to operagost
    operagost:
    NT has great scheduling, but the screen saver process ran at a normal priority level.

    And since the screen saver was nominally the foregrounded application, it would have been given priority over stuff running in the background...

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