Saturday, May 07, 2005
Bill Gates owes me 6 hours of my life.
I was looking for a new driver on microsoft dot com (not linking in a futile attmept to avoid bolstering their google page rank), and windows update tells me "you have critical updates to download".
I make the mistake of downloading a couple of these things.
After I installed them and rebooted, the fun started.
1) Windows kindly turned my screen back into a 256 colour 640x480 (from 1024 X 780 high colour). That's an easy fix.
2) Firefox has disappeared. No toolbar shortcut, no desktop shortcut, file not found when I search for it.
3) Point two doesn't really matter because I can't connect to the Internet. According to hardware troubleshooter, wireless card is working fine, network adapter is working fine, I just have no LAN connection. I uninstall it and its controller. Reinstall - no luck.
Long story short, after 6 hours of trying all sorts of things, I went to bed (and was taunted with dreams of the icon that shows I have a LAN connection - sad but true). I undertake a "last chance before I reinstall windows" effort. Thankfully it works.
I am NEVER downloading windows updates again. Even if they say that they've kidnapped my family's cat and will pick her up and carry her around (which she hates) if I don't. Sorry Quizzie, you'll just have to deal with it.
But I have firefox back now (even the three minutes of IE to get to www.getfirefox.com and download it were bad enough) and hereby resolve to never buy any microsoft product ever again (except possibly windows, as much as that bugs me, I'm not sure if I'm geeky enough for linux).
On the upside, if I imagine that the Red Deer Magpies work for Microsoft, I should be able to psyche myself up to make a few big tackles. It's the opening game of the Alberta AFL / Gaelic Football season in a couple hours and I have been selected for the Calgary Kangaroos squad (mind you, so has anyone at training who said they didn't have weddings, funerals, or work today).
I make the mistake of downloading a couple of these things.
After I installed them and rebooted, the fun started.
1) Windows kindly turned my screen back into a 256 colour 640x480 (from 1024 X 780 high colour). That's an easy fix.
2) Firefox has disappeared. No toolbar shortcut, no desktop shortcut, file not found when I search for it.
3) Point two doesn't really matter because I can't connect to the Internet. According to hardware troubleshooter, wireless card is working fine, network adapter is working fine, I just have no LAN connection. I uninstall it and its controller. Reinstall - no luck.
Long story short, after 6 hours of trying all sorts of things, I went to bed (and was taunted with dreams of the icon that shows I have a LAN connection - sad but true). I undertake a "last chance before I reinstall windows" effort. Thankfully it works.
I am NEVER downloading windows updates again. Even if they say that they've kidnapped my family's cat and will pick her up and carry her around (which she hates) if I don't. Sorry Quizzie, you'll just have to deal with it.
But I have firefox back now (even the three minutes of IE to get to www.getfirefox.com and download it were bad enough) and hereby resolve to never buy any microsoft product ever again (except possibly windows, as much as that bugs me, I'm not sure if I'm geeky enough for linux).
On the upside, if I imagine that the Red Deer Magpies work for Microsoft, I should be able to psyche myself up to make a few big tackles. It's the opening game of the Alberta AFL / Gaelic Football season in a couple hours and I have been selected for the Calgary Kangaroos squad (mind you, so has anyone at training who said they didn't have weddings, funerals, or work today).
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Richard, anyone who can write, with blythe simplicity "I uninstall it and its controller. Reinstall..." is well geeky enough for Linux, try one of the Linux from a CD options to get a feel...
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