Physical Disability and Computer building

[Amaio]

Hi, sorry if I have posted this in the wrong place but it didn't seem to fit anywhere else.

 

I've always built and maintained my own pc systems but I am finding harder and harder to do as my hands are getting worse for precision work and connecting components.

 

Does anyone have any tips to make building and maintaining easier? Hoping I don't have to resign myself to a future of prebuilt systems!

[WereCatf]

4 minutes ago, Amaio said:

Does anyone have any tips to make building and maintaining easier?

It'd help, if you explained how, exactly, your hands "are getting worse" -- do your hands tremble? Or is it muscle-weakness? Or trouble bending the joints? Or what? It's impossible to give any meaningful feedback with zero information.

[Amaio]

Your right, sorry. The issue is joint stiffness and weakness when trying to apply pressure (ie. Struggling to hold a graphics card in place and slot in/screw in at the same time).

[WereCatf]

4 minutes ago, Amaio said:

The issue is joint stiffness and weakness when trying to apply pressure (ie. Struggling to hold a graphics card in place and slot in/screw in at the same time).

I don't have any good tips or hints, sorry. My own issue is that my hands and fingers tremble like I was a narcoaddict gone cold turkey -- kinda difficult to deal with precise stuff as well at times, but in a different way!

[Amaio]

2 minutes ago, WereCatf said:

I don't have any good tips or hints, sorry. My own issue is that my hands and fingers tremble like I was a narcoaddict gone cold turkey -- kinda difficult to deal with precise stuff as well at times, but in a different way!

Yeah, I do have slight shakes that make 2.5inch drives in my current case a right pain but I know a new case when I upgrade will sort that out. Mine shakes are small enough that a magnetic end on the screwdriver sorts out the issue of getting screws to the right place but actually getting them in once there is the problem.

 

Sorry for the original lack of detail, I struggle sometimes talking about the disability, which isn't very helpful when I'm asking for help!

[ToboRobot]

34 minutes ago, Amaio said:

 

 

Does anyone have any tips to make building and maintaining easier? Hoping I don't have to resign myself to a future of prebuilt systems!

Exercise and stretching.  

I'm entirely serious.  Make sure you are active, and taking care of your body by using it, and taking care of it. 

I got hit by a car, and have learned the hard way to use your body or it will fall apart on you.  

[Amaio]

25 minutes ago, ToboRobot said:

Exercise and stretching.  

I'm entirely serious.  Make sure you are active, and taking care of your body by using it, and taking care of it. 

I got hit by a car, and have learned the hard way to use your body or it will fall apart on you.  

Trust me mate, I have a physio approved excercise plan that I stick to religiously and do everything I can but unfortunately some conditions progress no matter what and we can only slow them down so much.

[ToboRobot]

26 minutes ago, Amaio said:

Trust me mate, I have a physio approved excercise plan that I stick to religiously and do everything I can but unfortunately some conditions progress no matter what and we can only slow them down so much.

Good, I too am working out to keep my body from prematurely failing apart after it lost a high speed durability contest with a car

Hopefully robots can help us, until then, perhaps find someone with time and dexterity that you can teach some PC skills to?  Mentor someone, and perhaps they will be around to help in the future?  

[IkeaGnome]

30 minutes ago, Amaio said:

Trust me mate, I have a physio approved excercise plan that I stick to religiously and do everything I can but unfortunately some conditions progress no matter what and we can only slow them down so much.

I don't know what tools you use currently, but a lot of the mechanics I work with tend to switch to larger handle screwdrivers. Craftsman makes some that last pretty well even underground here. I can't remember if they're magnetic tip or not..  I don't know if using more muscles would help stabilize or make worse. Might be something to look into. You mentioned new case when you upgrade. I'd look into something with removable hard drive bays. Instead of trying to mount them in the case, you could put the 2.5s in where you have more room and a better angle. 

 

[Letgomyleghoe]

1 hour ago, Amaio said:

but actually getting them in once there is the problem.

there is handheld powered screwdrivers you can find on amazon just for this situation, they're about the same size if not a little larger than a normal screwdriver.

[WereCatf]

8 minutes ago, Letgomyleghoe said:

there is handheld powered screwdrivers you can find on amazon just for this situation, they're about the same size if not a little larger than a normal screwdriver.

Hm. A flexible extension might be a good fit for OP's needs; it can be used with practically any standard screwdriver with swappable bits, including electric ones -- it'd make it easy to get the screws in the right place and OP's lack of muscle-strength would become a non-issue as well. Two birds with one stone.

[Dedayog]

You mention holding a GPU in place and screwing it in... I lay my case on its side so that the GPU is vertical.  No need to hold it in place when screwing.

 

Don't be afraid to manhandle the case any which way you want, it can function upside down so rotate the sucker to make it all work for you.

 

Also, a good case is night and day.  Get one that facilitates the install rather than hinder it.  Get one that mounts 2.5 inch drives on the back panel, or ikn removable trays that you can install the drive onto outside the case, then slide the whole thing in.

 

One reason I love my Define R6 so much, lots of room and ease of building in.  I'm clutzy, so it helps a lot.

[LogicalDrm]

Helping hands. Either mechanical or biological. Though for using anything mechanical for making things click is bit iffy. So maybe you would think about what in the process you are willing to leave for other persons hands, and still do as much as you can.

 

I don't if this is a thing where you live. But in here if you have notable disability (50% or higher I think), you can hire personal assistant and government pays most or all of their fees. So if this is possibility, you could talk to your doctor, try and apply, and then have someone be your hands when assembling. I'm pretty sure the few blind PC enthusiasts I know use their assistants when building.

[Amaio]

Thank you very much for the suggestions, I am going to try out the flexible extension and electric screwdriver ideas when I do my next build.

 

Hadn't considered either before so thank you!

[Roswell]

On 2/1/2021 at 10:36 AM, ToboRobot said:

Exercise and stretching.  

I'm entirely serious.  Make sure you are active, and taking care of your body by using it, and taking care of it. 

I got hit by a car, and have learned the hard way to use your body or it will fall apart on you.  

This is like telling someone with bipolar disorder to just meditate and think happy thoughts.

 

Stretching and exercise don’t fix degenerative diseases.

 

Stop it. 

[ToboRobot]

29 minutes ago, Vitamanic said:

This is like telling someone with bipolar disorder to just meditate and think happy thoughts.

 

Stretching and exercise don’t fix degenerative diseases.

 

Stop it. 

 

To quote the OP

"Trust me mate, I have a physio approved excercise plan that I stick to religiously and do everything I can but unfortunately some conditions progress no matter what and we can only slow them down so much."

 

I'm not a doctor, nor do I know what condition OP is dealing with.  I provided my advice, and OP is welcome to ignore or use it.  

 

[Kisai]

On 2/1/2021 at 7:18 AM, Amaio said:

Your right, sorry. The issue is joint stiffness and weakness when trying to apply pressure (ie. Struggling to hold a graphics card in place and slot in/screw in at the same time).

Get better tools unfortunately.

 

Like those tiny eye-glasses/jewelry screwdrivers are terrible for applying pressure, and lack surface area to turn them. You need a screwdriver that lets you turn the screw/nut without applying downward pressure. I don't know what this particuar one is called, but I have one that was in a walmart "smartphone repair" kit that actually works pretty nicely.

[LogicalDrm]

12 hours ago, Vitamanic said:

This is like telling someone with bipolar disorder to just meditate and think happy thoughts.

 

Stretching and exercise don’t fix degenerative diseases.

 

Stop it. 

12 hours ago, ToboRobot said:

I'm not a doctor, nor do I know what condition OP is dealing with.  I provided my advice, and OP is welcome to ignore or use it. 

The underlying issue would be that you see the word "disability" and think its just one's imagination. When it usually refers to permanent and/or advancing medical condition. Your initial advice, before OP did clarify, was bit of thoughtless, but something quite normal for the internet. Most disable people won't get that easily offended because people talk before thinking. Its whole another thing with sympathizers who would be in your throat for such insults.

 

Just like with people telling me to get eye surgery. Yeah, I'm still waiting doctors to come up ways to fix patchy retinas.

[ToboRobot]

3 hours ago, LogicalDrm said:

The underlying issue would be that you see the word "disability" and think its just one's imagination.

That would be an incorrect assumption.  

Pretty hard to think disability is imaginary when I am "disabled" myself.  I know from personal experience, the painful kind, that exercise is essential to delaying the breakdown of the human body, and its worth doing, and it's seems like OP is doing the stretches as recommended.

 

So I really don't understand the reason for this pushback.  I made a suggestion, if it's not applicable, no big deal...

[SAVE-12-HK]

open case, test bench setup would be ideal, no actual case needed