A computer crash

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A computer crash

by GmatKiss » Tue Oct 25, 2011 11:51 am
A computer crash has occurred when a computer's central processing unit 'freezes up' and cannot respond to further commands or perform additional functions. In the split second during a computer crash, however, certain functions are still possible. When cindy's micron 401 computer crashed, she suspected it was due to an electrical power surge to the computer. The micron 401 computer usually does not work fast enough during a crash to produce an error message on the screen before the computer 'freezes'. However an error message can be triggered by an electrical power surge to the computer. Whenever a micron 401 computer crashes without producing an error message on the screen, the computer's hard drive is damaged. Upon restarting her computer, cindy determined its hard drive was not damaged.

Which one of the following must be true on basis of the information above ?

(A) If the micron 401's processor worked faster during the crash, the computer 's hard drive would have been damaged.

(B) The micron 401's hard drive is specially suited to withstand computer crashes.

(c) If the the micron 401's crash was not due to an electrical power surge, the computer's processor worked unusually fast during the crash.

(D) The micron 401 computer is built to withstand electrical power surges.

(E) If an error message appeared on the screen of the micron 401, it did so only after computer crashed.

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by GmatKiss » Wed Oct 26, 2011 12:02 pm
GmatKiss wrote:A computer crash has occurred when a computer's central processing unit 'freezes up' and cannot respond to further commands or perform additional functions. In the split second during a computer crash, however, certain functions are still possible. When cindy's micron 401 computer crashed, she suspected it was due to an electrical power surge to the computer. The micron 401 computer usually does not work fast enough during a crash to produce an error message on the screen before the computer 'freezes'. However an error message can be triggered by an electrical power surge to the computer. Whenever a micron 401 computer crashes without producing an error message on the screen, the computer's hard drive is damaged. Upon restarting her computer, cindy determined its hard drive was not damaged.

Which one of the following must be true on basis of the information above ?

(A) If the micron 401's processor worked faster during the crash, the computer 's hard drive would have been damaged.

(B) The micron 401's hard drive is specially suited to withstand computer crashes.

(c) If the the micron 401's crash was not due to an electrical power surge, the computer's processor worked unusually fast during the crash.

(D) The micron 401 computer is built to withstand electrical power surges.

(E) If an error message appeared on the screen of the micron 401, it did so only after computer crashed.
Hi Friends,

Surprised!! No one wants to try this one?

-GK

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by vishubn » Wed Oct 26, 2011 11:46 pm
IMO A

What's the source?
KILL !! DIE !! or BEAT my FEAR !!! de@D END!!

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by krishnakumar.ks » Thu Oct 27, 2011 5:06 am
Took a LOT of time to arrive at E. But...:)

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by rohangupta83 » Thu Oct 27, 2011 6:21 am
imo C

1. Micron 401 during a crash works VERY slowly
2. An error message can be triggered by a crash due to electrical power surge.

so if there was a message its either because the computer worked unusually fast or crashed due to electrical power surge.

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by vinayaerostar » Thu Oct 27, 2011 10:19 am
IMO It is D

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by GmatKiss » Thu Oct 27, 2011 12:53 pm
OA is A ; Source: LSAT

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by swipesville » Thu Oct 27, 2011 4:47 pm
A computer crash has occurred when a computer's central processing unit 'freezes up' and cannot respond to further commands or perform additional functions. In the split second during a computer crash, however, certain functions are still possible. When cindy's micron 401 computer crashed, she suspected it was due to an electrical power surge to the computer. The micron 401 computer usually does not work fast enough during a crash to produce an error message on the screen before the computer 'freezes'. However an error message can be triggered by an electrical power surge to the computer. Whenever a micron 401 computer crashes without producing an error message on the screen, the computer's hard drive is damaged. Upon restarting her computer, cindy determined its hard drive was not damaged.

Which one of the following must be true on basis of the information above ?

(A) If the micron 401's processor worked faster during the crash, the computer 's hard drive would have been damaged.

(B) The micron 401's hard drive is specially suited to withstand computer crashes.

(c) If the the micron 401's crash was not due to an electrical power surge, the computer's processor worked unusually fast during the crash.

(D) The micron 401 computer is built to withstand electrical power surges.

(E) If an error message appeared on the screen of the micron 401, it did so only after computer crashed.

You eliminate B and D here, after that it's pretty much a fist fight. This would need a complex diagram and I can't quite wrap my head around it. Between A C and E it's very ugly

I think you can eliminate it E because it says "it usually doesn't crash before" Therefore the modifier only becomes incorrect.

Then again we go from a computer who "usually does not work fast enough" to the word processor in both A and C are we allowed to infer that a processor is what the computer uses for its speed. While this is real world knowledge, we're not getting this from the passage. I'm flipping a coin between A and C and trying to limit the time damage by moving on.

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by westom » Thu Oct 27, 2011 6:21 pm
GmatKiss wrote: A computer crash has occurred when a computer's central processing unit 'freezes up' and cannot respond to further commands or perform additional functions. ...Which one of the following must be true on basis of the information above ?
1) A computer crash that results from those timing or threshold changes is a software crash. Hardware damage does not exist for a long list of reasons. Cindy's assumptions created wild speculation. Even worse, her conclusion is devoid of hard facts or numbers. That logic even proves ghosts haunting a computer room or Saddam's WMDs. No reason to suspect a surge even existed. Especially when destructive surges occur maybe once every seven years. A damning number.

2) Surges are microsecond events. If any error message was possible, then again, a surge was not even a reasonable assumption. Once numbers are included, then reality takes a 180 degree turn.

3) An electrical anomaly that might create an error message must on the order of tenths of seconds or longer. And must somehow get through a power supply designed to make those anomalies irrelevant. In reality, those electrical anomalies (that exist only due to wild speculation) are urban myths created when observation (not tempered by fundamental knowledge) somehow becomes fact. Numbers defined by first learning the science says that statement obviously is erroneous.

4) A crashing processor does not cause hard drive damage. No command instructs a disk drive's computer to do a "Cause hardware damage." Commands not understood by a disk drives computer are ignored. Another hard fact (required to know how a computer works) says that possibility should never be considered.

5) If a computer has crashed, then it cannot possibly execute the maybe 1000 instructions necessary to put any letter on the screen. If any one of those thousands of instructions is incorrect, then nothing is displayed.

Above five points state that A B C and E are not possible or reasonable conclusions - let alone explain what Cindy saw.

All appliances including computers (even long before the IBM PC) were required to contain surge protection. Most surges are nothing more than noise. If a destructive surge existed, Cindy is too busy taking inventory of other surge damaged appliances.

D is both true and false. Because all answers are possible when information is subjective. Why is advertising so much fun? Because subjective claims can get people to believe almost anything.

To have a useful reply always means hard facts based in science. Perspective means numbers must always be provided.

A first indication that any conclusion is only from wild speculation: it comes without well understood facts and the always required numbers. No useful answer is possible since everything Cindy saw or assumed is only subjective and contrary to how computers actually work.

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by saketk » Fri Oct 28, 2011 6:05 am
I wrote this summary --

An error message can be triggered by an electrical power surge to the computer. --> but the hard drive was not damaged---> hard drive is damaged when there is no error message on the screen.

Therefore, we can conclude that there was no error message on the screen.

We already know that Micron 401 is usually not fast enough to produce an error message. But, an error message can be triggered by an electrical power surge to the computer. THEREFORE, we can also conclude that Cindy's assumption was wrong [ she suspected that there was an electrical surge]


Option D is thus eliminated.

Option B is easy to eliminate because we cannot conclude this from the information provided.

Option E is also easy to eliminate because we already know that there was no error message.

Only Option B and Option C are left.

I am not able to eliminate option C here. My thinking is inclined towards B because I saw the spoiler.

Good question :)

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by westom » Fri Oct 28, 2011 7:20 am
saketk wrote:I am not able to eliminate option C here.
Option C is easy to eliminate once we add knowledge: how all computers work.
(c) If the the micron 401's crash was not due to an electrical power surge, the computer's processor worked unusually fast during the crash.
Computers work at the same speed when doing productive work or when doing nothing. A computer works as fast as its master clock. Synchronous logic means a computer processes all instructions, one by one, at the same speed no matter what it is doing. Only emotion says a computer works faster, slower, or harder. That master clock works all hardware constant (at the same speed) no matter how much work must be done. Computers work just as fast no matter what it is doing.

All five options ignore how computers actually work. Are classic examples of conclusions made only from observation. By ignoring numbers. Conclusions that are only subjective - that provide no numbers - are too often lies. Each option A - E demonstrate how junk science reasoning works. Many who do not first learn the underlying science are easily enthralled by observation and the resulting junk science reasoning.

Hardware works at a constant speed as defined by a master clock and its synchronous logic. If a computer works faster and slower, then defined is something that has never succeeded - asynchronous logic computer.

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by saketk » Fri Oct 28, 2011 7:37 am
westom wrote:
saketk wrote:I am not able to eliminate option C here.
Option C is easy to eliminate once we add knowledge: how all computers work.
(c) If the the micron 401's crash was not due to an electrical power surge, the computer's processor worked unusually fast during the crash.
Computers work at the same speed when doing productive work or when doing nothing. A computer works as fast as its master clock. Synchronous logic means a computer processes all instructions, one by one, at the same speed no matter what it is doing. Only emotion says a computer works faster, slower, or harder. That master clock works all hardware constant (at the same speed) no matter how much work must be done. Computers work just as fast no matter what it is doing.

All five options ignore how computers actually work. Are classic examples of conclusions made only from observation. By ignoring numbers. Conclusions that are only subjective - that provide no numbers - are too often lies. Each option A - E demonstrate how junk science reasoning works. Many who do not first learn the underlying science are easily enthralled by observation and the resulting junk science reasoning.

Hardware works at a constant speed as defined by a master clock and its synchronous logic. If a computer works faster and slower, then defined is something that has never succeeded - asynchronous logic computer.

I appreciate your explanation but it is way out of the reasoning required to answer GMAT Critical reasoning questions. What if this question appears in front of a guy who is from Medical background? He would not even know what a "master clock means". "Asynchronous logic computer" -- WOW! that was my reaction after reading this.

The only information we need to answer a CR question is the information provided in the question.

If you are using similar kind of approach in other CR question then please don't do that. It is very extreme thinking and may prove incorrect at times!

How would you approach this question if I replace the word computer by "BAZOOKA" ?

Thanks

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by westom » Fri Oct 28, 2011 9:37 am
saketk wrote: I appreciate your explanation but it is way out of the reasoning required to answer GMAT Critical reasoning questions. What if this question appears in front of a guy who is from Medical background? ... How would you approach this question if I replace the word computer by "BAZOOKA" ?
Spontaneous regeneration was taught in elementary school science. Using only observation, spontaneous reproduction proved how life was created. And that is the point. Cindy 'assumed' a computer crashed using the same subjective reasoning based only in observation.

Critical analysis starts with determining integrity of presented facts. First, information must be confirmed by numbers, supporting details, and other hard facts. No reasons were provided to believe her assumption - that came only from observation. For all we know, that computer power cycled. So she did what many would do - make a conclusion from wild speculation. Same symptoms could have come from at least five other events.

No attempt was made to separate what she actually saw (basic facts) from speculated conclusions. Another reason why presented facts have little credibility. Integrity of presented facts is bogus. A first step to junk science conclusions.

Elementary school science taught why observation alone creates junk science. Spontaneous reproduction was proven by the same reasoning that Cindy used to know a computer crashed. Step one in critical thinking requires given facts have proven integrity. Integrity of her information is suspect. For all we know, Cindy had never seen a computer before.

Second, critical thinking requires perspective. That means hard facts such as numbers. Subjective facts can prove almost anything. In the 1950s, it proved cigarette smoking improves health. Critical thinking always requires quantitative facts. Conclusions without numbers is classic junk science.

Third, critical thinking always requires underlying knowledge. How often do you prescribe medicines based only on what is provided on a paper inside the drug box? An answer for the bazooka always means learning how a bazooka works. Critical thinking says without that required bazooka knowledge, then no honest conclusions can be drawn.

History demonstrates what happens when critical thinking does not first demand quantitative facts. When underlying knowledge is ignored. Conclusions only from observation and subjective reasoning is why seven Challenger astronauts were murdered.

Critical analysis without perspective - ie numbers - is why so many managers cause corporate bankruptcies.

All five conclusions in that 'critical analysis' are bogus. Not based in reality. And demonstrate what happens when critical reasoning is based in concepts that also proved spontaneous reproduction. Those five options violate three requirements for honest critical analysis. Explains why all five options are also popular urban myths.

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by mankey » Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:38 am
Can someone please provide a clear and concise reasons to consider/eliminate each of the points?

Thanks.

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by mankey » Wed Nov 02, 2011 9:26 am
Can some expert help on this one?

Thanks.