Electronics - Computer meltsdown

I've put together a lot of computers from scrap over the years.

Once I had a 4Mhz machine (slow - electric toothbrush kind of slow) that had no hard drive, and another one that had no power supply. I didn't know anything about computers, but I found I could plug some wires from on to the other, and create a computer twice as large as any other, but only about a quarter as good.

Since then I've discovered that all the bits inside your computer just un-screw, and are interchangeable.

But no matter what combination of things I try, all bits of all my old computers are dead, except the BIOS, and the screen of the laptop. (the BIOS is a chip holding a basic set of instructions on how to talk to all the other stuff that's plugged in (Basic Input Output System (I think)).

So the short story is, I'm stumped.

How do three computers all die in the same week and also have all their different components be dead?

I'm starting to wish I was into UFO conspiracies.

At least then I might have some kind of explanation, but as it stands, I cant even blame it on something as mundane as a power surge, as they were never all plugged in at the same time.

Built in obsolescence accurate to the week?

Why are there no "built in obsolescence" conspiracy theories, involving the end of the Mayan calendar, and large software companies?

Oh well, we cant have everything.

I cant even have the correct plural form of "meltdown". I dont think it's the down-ness that's happening more than once, I think it's the melt-ness that is. So I'm changing my dictionary to read meltSdown.



120 things in 20 years is just killing time between computers, and editing dictionaries.