Toshiba NB200, life and death, and rebirth with the Phoenix crysis disk

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In Greek mythology, a phoenix or phenix (Ancient Greek φοίνιξ phóinīx) is a long-lived bird that is cyclically regenerated or reborn. Associated with the sun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor [wikipedia.org]

This was a very exciting Christmas. I was on the job while inadvertendly clicked on the wrong file: the latest (currently should be 2.20) BIOS winflasher for my Toshiba NB200, previously saved for later use.  Panic: I should have press Cancel right away.

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Asrock ALiveNF6G-VSTA sound issue with Ubuntu Precise

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Ubuntu precise is sometime unsettling at best. Audio won’t work with my old ALiveNF6G-VSTA. It used to be the reverse on Linux: old hardware would work, new hardware not always. Ubuntu Precise changed that altogether: old hardware isn’t working, and new hardware isn’t working either.

ALiveNF6G-VSTA(m)
ALiveNF6G-VSTA motherboard. Photo courtesy of Asrock

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Fixing the frontpanel USB ports, One at time

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Today I decided to fix my front panel USB , that were since long gone due an unspecified issue on my Asustek mobo (WYGIWYP, what-you-get-is-what-you-paid). Since the usual remedies wouldn’t work (resetting CMOS, changing front panel, BIOS fiddling) I decided to tackle the problem the hard way, by bypassing the motherboard completely.

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