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C1sc0cat

Great story though you could have just pulled out the switch and soldered the wires together :-)

I look forward to the practical soldering test for developers at FANG's - every one on here can solder right.

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> I look forward to the practical soldering test for developers at FANG's

This seems equivalent to whiteboarding algorithms that you'll never use.

FWIW, I'm 42, have built and repaired many, many computers over the years, dating to 286's, and I've never picked up a solder iron.

I'm also 42, and just recently starting picking up the soldering iron for Arduino projects. Never needed it in two decades of software development or general computer maintenence, including quite a few builds.

As they say, the only way to know you'll never need something is to learn it.

I'm not older than you and I've had to solder several times at work.

Heh, thanks for making me feel old. I was repairing Apple ][s when you were in the womb.

I wish more people would make me feel young here :-)

That was my reaction too. Maybe I just work much more in hardware, but if I came across that issue, I would have just pulled out the wires for the switch and soldered a new one on there.

Is there something I am missing?

Well the part you're missing is that if these folks were anything like me and just pure software people they probably pronounce it "soul-der" and would look at a soldering iron with deep concern and confusion.

Seriously, I have no idea how to solder so it wouldn't even come to mind.

This is why I think CS degrees should require at least EE 101 or Computer Engineering 101. Soldering is such a basic skill that is super valuable. And it's not hard:

1. Plug in soldering iron

2. Wait

3. Touch tip of iron to metal you want to fuse with 1 hand

4. Touch solder to tip of iron with other hand

5. Remove iron once desired amount of solder has melted into place

It only takes an hour or two to go from solder noob to pro.

It wouldn't help me very much lol, I have a philosophy degree.

Let your degree define what you can do. Never let it define what you cannot do.

I'm a mathematician, doctor of philosophy, and my mom taught me to solder at around age 10. I've done some embedded systems work that involved etching my own PCBs and soldering circuits...

I agree with the other comment! The best time to learn is now. You're never too old.to learn about how all of this works.

Oh I agree, but I've never really been a hardware tinkerer though... that's not what I get enjoyment from so I don't really think about that stuff too much.

I'll probably pick it up eventually... maybe.

Side note, Soul-der is the correct pronunciation in the UK (and I believe also AU/NZ).

I know a guy who used a machine with case off, and turned it on by touching the power button legs with a screwdriver...

I did that for a couple of days when the power button cable was just too short to reach the header.

No solder needed, the front power switch plugs in to the motherboard using a typical DuPont 0.1" connector.

The odds of knackering something else on an irreplaceable machine while you're in there. Yes, it's small. No, it's probably not worth the risk.

Just that it's funny

Fair enough. I should probably just enjoy a story for a story.

No soldering required, the motherboard wants a momentary contact to tell it to boot. Soldering the wires together would be more like pressing and holding it.

That’s true for ATX cases, but remember that this is the build machine for Excel 97 East Asian Languages. It’s probably an AT case.

Ah, TIL. So AT cases had a maintained toggle button on the front that had to stay depressed, and the computer shuts off when it's released? I suppose that makes more sense for the screwdriver keeping it powered on. I was figuring it was something like a momentary button sticking and the long hold causing a force shut down.

Not only that but the switch toggled line voltage that fed the power supply. Off meant off in those days.

Ah, the first computer I remember had the hard power switch on the back and a button on the front to turn them on, but that would've been early/mid-90's.

The ATX standard was released in 1995 and it took a few years for them to become common. Are you sure it wasn't the late 90s. Time-frames get hazy this far back, its actually not improbable these Office '97 machines are ATX.

It ran System 7 which puts it somewhere between 1991 and 1997. Not super helpful.

But Apple might have been off doing their own thing with respect to motherboard form factors and power buttons. And I could also be mixing it up with later computers.

Apple did their own thing and didn’t follow ATX. Most Macs had soft power switches (often on the keyboard) except for the very old ones with the integrated CRT.

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