When Servers Explode

1sockchuck writes "Have you ever lost your patience with a server? We're not sure who was the first person to intentionally blow up a server, but plenty of others have followed in their footsteps, and many seem to have captured the event on video. The Gallery of Exploding Servers documents the sometimes incendiary relationship between man and machine. Those who prefer a kinder, gentler disposition may prefer the guide to Flying and Crashing Servers."

Re:Snow crashes?

[atomicthumbs]

It was real. Sometimes programs would lose their minds and write all over the video memory.

Re:Snow crashes?

[hummassa]

In the old days, when we liked to have an onion in our belts, because it was fashionable than, the Z-80 processor that drove our computer was the same that drove the video, i.e., took the bytes from the video memory and generated the corresponding image in the CRT. So, if you crashed the processor very badly, and it stopped responding to video interrupts, then your image generator could go "out". If it was connected to an RF generator (which was also fashionable at the day), it could turn that off also, and then, sshskhskhkshshskhsk no RF on channel 3/4, snow snow snow noise noise noise.

Flaming Printer

[cbuskirk]

Never had a server explode on me but I did get a call once 10 years ago when I was working tech support at a University from a scared professor about a his printer smoking. I told him to unplug it and laughed thinking it was the usual type of user hysterics. I smell a little bit of burnt plastic thinking maybe there was some plastic left from when the printer was packed up by the manufacturer. I plug it in and right as it starts up its print head check flames start shooting up out of the back of the printer. I quickly extinguished it but looking around we really dodged a bullet. This printer was networked, and sitting on top of a large stack of student papers. The entire room was some college professor cliche with dozens of massive stacks of paper in this tiny 6x6 office. One unattended network print and the entire office goes up in flames in less than a minute.