Ok, my computer is officially on it’s last legs. If it crashes one more time I won’t be held responsible for my reaction. So there’s a number of things I need to do in order to fix the problems and bring it up to speed. First, I need to psych myself up in order to go into a computer store. Why? Simple, men in these stores are trained to make people (men and women alike) doubt there own computer knowledge.
Case in point, the last time I went in to a store to buy a sound card the sales associate was insisting (without even setting eyes on my pc) that the problem was a dead hard drive. He was aiming for me to get a new computer. So, having built my own computer and having taught Comp Sci 101, it really drives me over the edge of civility when these kids assume I’m an idiot and will fall for their lies.
Sometimes, depending on my mood and if I have time, I’ll show off and teach them a lesson about assuming things. Otherwise, I simply tell them that I built my first computer when they were in diapers and the reciprocal condescension usually does the trick and they point me to the aisle I need to go. We’ll see what happens tomorrow:
So once I buy a new a CD-RW and sound/vga card for my computer and get it home, I’ll be working on my PC in 3 phases:
Phase I – Hardware/Software:
- removing damaged zip drive
- replacing cd-rom drive with a CD-RW and installing drivers. testing it to make sure it works as everything else is contingent on this install.
- installing an external DVD burner (purchased 3 months ago)
- replacing sound/vga card
Phase II- Software:Upgrade
- upgrading OS from Win-ME to XP-Pro (not as easy as you think – for this upgrade you really need to know what the hell your doing or your screwed. I’ve done it a few times before and I think I can manage on my own.
- upgrading MS Suite from 2003 to XP
- installing XP Service Pack 2 – this should take about a bazillion hours unless I get to borrow a cd. (snore)
Phase III- Software: Reinstall
- an additional 11-13 additional hours to re-install all my old favorite software including my firewall, anti-virus, email client, Treo/PDA, Adobe, Java, HTML compilers, etc., etc., etc., along with my games and drivers for all my neat accessories which I haven’t used in a long while like my digicam.
- installing new programs like Dragon Voice, Team Speak and some work related proprietary applications from work (one which I designed), so that I can occasionally telecommute & keep my job for now
- and finally, after all that’s done, fine tune some of the darned Win-XP default settings which drive me crazy.
Why am I bothering to write all of this down? Because if I don’t share this personal commitment with you then I just might get distracted by the nice spring weekend we’re supposed to have.
So if I don’t come up for air to blog, you’ll know where I’ll be: elbow deep in cables, wires and computer entrails. Mind you, I’m only doing all of this because Jon nagged me enough and because I really want to be able to spend time with my wonderful BAD family as much and as possible.
So if you don’t see me for a few days… it’s because I F@#$% up big time and need outside support, like from a professional. To keep you entertained in the meantime, I’m going to transfer my archives from my former site on blogspot, and post an entry linking all my top 10 posts (based on hits and ranking). You be the judge and let me know if you agree.
Best of luck. I can totally empathize. I worked in the VoIP and DSL arena for 5 years. I have DSL at home. You can guess how well it goes when I call BellSouth and the person on the phone tells me to 'reboot your pc'. Sigh. Though I usually take a deep breath, just let them follow their help scripts and then ask for a level 2 support person.
Posted by: vw bug at April 10, 2005 07:28 AMAs a note of encouragement, I found that installing drivers on XP tends to be a lot easier than with previous versions.
Posted by: Harvey at April 10, 2005 03:18 PMI can send you a copy of the SP2 disk I have.
Posted by: _Jon at April 11, 2005 10:52 AMI am so lucky... CDW (Computer Discount Warehouse) is only a few miles from me. I can go there and shop in person, and I have yet to be condescended to by some 16 year old know-it-all! It's true that quite a bit of their inventory is located back in the warehouse - which means you MUST have a sales clerk order it out for you - but I've never had any issues with them, except maybe the amount of time waiting for the merchandise to be picked up and moved to the front of the store. I'm really sorry you don't have anything comparable near you. Yeah, it might cost me a few dollars more... but not excessive... it's well worth it - AND the people on the floor are very knowledgeable... amazing in this day and age!
When I know I'll have to deal with the other kind of sales people - I go in knowing exactly what I want... or close to it. If I want a sound card and they want to ask why... I say, because I want a sound card - got a problem with that? If you don't tell them why, they can't try to lord it over you like you're stupid. *grin* Good Luck with the rebuild.
Posted by: Teresa at April 12, 2005 12:10 AM