The Vent and Rant Thread

[poohbear_nc]

Originally Posted by LCF

Here are the exorcism instructions:

Wear black.
Obtain the hard to find instrument: Bootable DOS CD (if such thing exists)
After booting DOS type: format c:
Hit Enter.
Confirm.
Wait.
Exorcism completed.

If your USB port begins spewing green pea soup -- RUN!!

[GeoffC]

Bootable DOS ! Sacre Bleu !!!! - but at least in those days you had control ....

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by LCF

Can you forbid booting from USB in the Bios? This should help... I think.

That's what I was going to suggest....

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I swore and cussed, is that the same ?

approximately .... yes.

[GeoffC]

It's not an option that is [enabled], but what I wonder is, if during the update, something was transferred to each available drive as part of "configuration" that it does when one switches the PC off - and continues when it is re-started (though the re-start was confused by not being able to 'find' the system disc). Only after putting in the installation disc was I able to continue the boot process during which time the first thing IT did was to "configure the updates" !

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by LCF

Obtain the hard to find instrument: Bootable DOS CD (if such thing exists)

Not quite DOS, but: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Not quite DOS, but: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

link gratefully marked for future necessity ...

[kennyc]

I've used that ultimateboot disk a couple of time....not recently...

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

Bootable DOS ! Sacre Bleu !!!! - but at least in those days you had control ....

I multi-boot DOS on my old notebook - Win2K Pro, Ubuntu Linux, Puppy Linux, and FreeDOS. Yes, it does offer control. (Getting FreeDOS to boot from Grub 2 was an interesting experience, but once it did, it worked fine.)

I'd actually like to replace Win2K with Win98SE, since most of what I need Windows for at all on the box could be handled by Win98 with the addition of KernelEX. But Win98 insists on taking over the box, and provides no way I've found to tell it "Install to this partition." I'd have to wipe the box, install Win98, then repartition to put the other stuff back. I'm not quite ready to invest that level of effort.

I'm considering it at all because the box has an 867mhz Crusoe processor, and 256MB RAM (which the CPU grabs 16MB of off the top for code morphing.) It came from Fujitsu with WinXP Pro SP2, which wants 512MB minimum to think about running adequately. Performance was better imagined than described. Win2K seemed like a better fit, but while it technically runs, you grow old and gray waiting for anything to happen. It takes a full 8 minutes to simply boot.

The machine was a gift from a friend who had upgraded, and wanted to see it go to a good home. She loved it, but said it was "slow slow slow", and it took about 5 minutes after getting it to see why. WinXP Pro SP2. 256MB RAM. Right.

I put Linux on it as a better fit for older hardware, and it is, though hardly a speed demon. Win98SE is quite happy in 256MB RAM, and would probably have been a better option going in.

Meanwhile, I have pretty good control of XP on the desktop, where I trinpe boot Win2K, WinXP, and Ubuntu 9.10. The only area where control is really lacking is the ability to specify the order in which stuff run on start up is loaded.
______
Dennis

[GeoffC]

In the good days, you knew what went where and why.
As Windows grew up it started to throw little bits here and little bits there, here, there and everywhere.
pppfffftt !

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

link gratefully marked for future necessity ...

I have the companion UBCD4Win product here, and consider it an essential part of my toolkit.

It requires an existing Windows installation. What it does is make a copy of your Windows installation on a bootable CD, so you can boot into a Windows instance to do diagnostics and repair. It comes with a wide variety of open source and freeware diagnostic and repair utilities, including A/V and anti-spyware/malware tools.

Recommended.
______
Dennis

[GeoffC]

vent and rant #2 for the day ...


Couriers, despite request, not contacting clients before they arrive (and I don't mean from the doorway entrance) when they uplift something.

This is the same company I have problems with trying to understand their philosophy of telling clients they have to be in and available between 8:00 and 17:30 whilst telling them the same day in the mid-afternoon !

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

It's not an option that is [enabled], but what I wonder is, if during the update, something was transferred to each available drive as part of "configuration" that it does when one switches the PC off - and continues when it is re-started (though the re-start was confused by not being able to 'find' the system disc). Only after putting in the installation disc was I able to continue the boot process during which time the first thing IT did was to "configure the updates" !

If the problem is that it hangs on boot with the USB external drive connected, perhaps the simple solution is to disconnect the external drive before rebooting, then plug it in once you are up again?

I don't reboot that often. My desktop is normally on 24/7, and gets rebooted if required by something like a critical update or I'm playing with hardware.
______
Dennis

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

If the problem is that it hangs on boot with the USB external drive connected, perhaps the simple solution is to disconnect the external drive before rebooting, then plug it in once you are up again?

I don't reboot that often. My desktop is normally on 24/7, and gets rebooted if required by something like a critical update or I'm playing with hardware.
______
Dennis

It happens on occasion with the internal secondary drive, and I've learned the solution to that one - but it's the first time it's done it with the USB external drive. (coincidence to the update configuration ? who knows .... )

[WT Sharpe]

My A/C guy is here. It looks like the transformer in the attic is fried. No juice at all to the thermostat, and it blew the replacement fuse he put in. If I could have found my multimeter, I could have discovered that last night. He's putting in a new transformer now. Shouldn't cost too much.