I am not a handy man; If I can’t fix something by hitting it, rebooting it, or blowing on
it, I’m sunk.
But am I actually fixing the problem?
Hi there everyone, Julian here for DNews from YouTube Space LA.
We’ve all done it.
Don’t act like you haven’t.
The the remote doesn’t work, the fridge makes a weird noise, the jukebox won’t play,
so you give it a quick smack.
And then, almost magically, everything is fixed.
For about 30 minutes.
What’s happening here?
Well you’re probably not actually a wizard with dominion over appliances, but because
you can’t see what happened inside it certainly feels that way.
More than likely there’s a loose wire or bad solder, and by giving it a good thump
you’ve knocked it back into place and the machine is functioning like it was designed
to again.
But odds are good the problem will come back again.
Taking something apart to clean it and check all the connections may not be as fast or
satisfying as giving it a good smack, but it’s certainly more permanent.
If you need to fix something and just can’t take it apart because you’re, say, on a
nuclear submarine, there are a couple handy euphemisms you can use when filling out the
navy’s paperwork.
Percussive maintenance, impact calibration, or mechanical agitation are good ones, but
my favorite is “The Clarkson Method.”
However, just as Jeremy Clarkson learned, you can’t fix all your problems by hitting
them.
There’s a good chance you’ll make the problem worse.
So what about other techniques?
Like blowing on something, specifically video game cartridges.
I grew up with an NES and when it started acting up, I vividly remember pulling out
the cartridge, blowing on the 72 copper pins, and inserting it again, and it worked like
a charm.
Or at least it felt that way, but actually what I was doing was making the problem worse.
Copper tarnishes when it’s exposed to oxygen, something you’re familiar with if you’ve
ever heard of the statue of liberty.
Moisture from your breath with oxygen dissolved in it can prolong the O2’s contact with
the pins, tarnishing them faster and making it harder for the system to read the cartridge.
If you really want to clean the pins, it’s recommended you use isopropyl alcohol on a
cotton swab to dissolve and soak up any grease.
If the pins are oxidized, a pencil eraser can rub off the patina and the underlying
copper should be shiny and conductive.
So why did we all keep blowing into our copies of Duck Hunt?
Well just the act of reseating the cartridge probably fixed the problem, but we attributed
it to our sweet blowing skills because, well, kids are kind of dumb sometimes.
Alright so you can break your precious delicate electronics by hitting them or even just blowing
on them.
But surely turning them on and off again doesn’t actually do anything, does it?
Yep, it does.
It’s a great equalizer.
If your computer is running slow, it could be a program is hoarding memory after running
for a long time.
Closing the program or rebooting the system entirely will free up that memory for other
processes.
Modern software is extremely complex, and the more complex something is the more opportunities
it has to go wrong.
Sometimes there’s a low level software error and the program can’t go on without restarting
from zero.
It might not even be the software’s fault, just a random event like a power glitch that
turns what should be a zero into a one.
A simple reboot and it’s back in action.
It works often but it won’t fix corrupted software or failing hardware, but it’s a
quick and easy step to take before pulling your whole computer apart.
That’s why usually the IT guy’s first question will be, “have you tried turning
it off and turning it on again?”
So shutting down your router might fix your wifi so you can access the series of tubes
beyond it called the internet.
Trace explains exactly how the internet works down here.
Are there any other quirky mysteries you want explained?
let us know in the comments and I’ll see you next time on DNews.