Today's run/walk: another 4.25mi on the dreadmill. It was too windy to try to fight any sort of mileage outside this morning.
So. The new tower is set up and appears to be running all right for now. (This post is brought to you courtesy of a lot of tedious but necessary work to make this thing functional.) I do believe it was some sort of Intel graphics update that ran, which hosed the monitor. We shall not run that one. Ever.
After work on Tuesday, I went through all 37 "Important" updates and researched/installed each one by one. With a restart after every update or two. It made for an incredibly long, boring evening. But after I installed most (I decided I could do without IE9 for now, plus a few others), with the monitor still cooperating, I declared that phase successful.
I went on to load Firefox, then transferred all my data from the old computer. Then came the Office 2010 suite, and iTunes. I then installed the backup software off the Seagate drive. Giddy with success, I started a full backup, so I'd at least have some kind of external restore point.
Tonight I took a break from computer stuff, and went back to knitting on my fingerless gloves. I might just have another pair by the weekend. Yay!
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
::headdesk:: ::headdesk:: ::headdesk::
Today's run/walk: nada. Had my heart set on being outside but woke up to rain, so I went back to bed for an hour.
Yesterday's run/walk: 4.25 on the treadmill (total of 5K run, 1.15mi walk)
So. Back to that gorram new computer. I had a visit from a technician yesterday, who installed a new motherboard (with integrated video card). Swapped out towers again, powered that bad boy up, and... same monitor epilepsy issues. He tried a few things, then he got on the phone with tech support and tried a few more. End result: not a hardware problem, but a software problem. Here's an 800 number. Then he left.
After I'd logged off work for the day, I got on the phone with Dell tech support again. This time, I was to reinstall the Windows 7 OS from the boot disk. In the fullness of time, that was done, and... joy. The monitor was behaving. I then had to try to link up to the network. Uh... no network drivers. Called Dell again. I should've received a disk with the drivers. Nope. Solution: go online and download.
Now, how in hell am I supposed to go online to download network drivers when I CAN'T ACCESS THE FRIGGIN' NETWORK? Paul got on his computer, I got on the MacBook, and the race was on. The Dell support web site was so bobawful slow that we kept getting the connection reset, which set us back to square one. Maybe an hour later, Paul finally got the two drivers onto a thumb drive. After another exasperating experience (they weren't self-extracting, of course), he finally got the wireless connection to work.
So, starting around 5:30pm Monday evening, I finally had the damn thing up and running around 10pm. Almost immediately, it said there was an update to install. So, as I'd planned to actually keep on top of that, I let it install and restart.
The result? The monitor was hosed again. Son of a two-headed toad.
I have to say I'm now really good at wiping/reinstalling an OS now. And updates? Screw 'em.
Yesterday's run/walk: 4.25 on the treadmill (total of 5K run, 1.15mi walk)
So. Back to that gorram new computer. I had a visit from a technician yesterday, who installed a new motherboard (with integrated video card). Swapped out towers again, powered that bad boy up, and... same monitor epilepsy issues. He tried a few things, then he got on the phone with tech support and tried a few more. End result: not a hardware problem, but a software problem. Here's an 800 number. Then he left.
After I'd logged off work for the day, I got on the phone with Dell tech support again. This time, I was to reinstall the Windows 7 OS from the boot disk. In the fullness of time, that was done, and... joy. The monitor was behaving. I then had to try to link up to the network. Uh... no network drivers. Called Dell again. I should've received a disk with the drivers. Nope. Solution: go online and download.
Now, how in hell am I supposed to go online to download network drivers when I CAN'T ACCESS THE FRIGGIN' NETWORK? Paul got on his computer, I got on the MacBook, and the race was on. The Dell support web site was so bobawful slow that we kept getting the connection reset, which set us back to square one. Maybe an hour later, Paul finally got the two drivers onto a thumb drive. After another exasperating experience (they weren't self-extracting, of course), he finally got the wireless connection to work.
So, starting around 5:30pm Monday evening, I finally had the damn thing up and running around 10pm. Almost immediately, it said there was an update to install. So, as I'd planned to actually keep on top of that, I let it install and restart.
The result? The monitor was hosed again. Son of a two-headed toad.
I have to say I'm now really good at wiping/reinstalling an OS now. And updates? Screw 'em.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
The Best-Laid Plans Still Go Awry
Today's run/walk: nada. Unplanned rest day.
Mostly because it's 10:33am and I'm still in my robe. Why? Well, I'd decided to swap out my PC towers this morning, after doing my backups and file-saves and all kinds of due-diligence last night. But this:
... has a bad video card. At least, that's what I thought when I unhooked everything from the old tower, hooked this one up, and turned it on. After an initial Windows is starting screen, everything got all crazy-pants on the monitor. All kinds of pixelation and shimmy-shaking going on. I think I set up a user account, but couldn't well see enough to be sure.
So, I called Dell. "Yeah, hi... I'm trying to hook up my new tower, and my old monitor - which works fine with the other computers in the house - is all messed up. I think the video card is bad."
Nah, couldn't be that. We did a bunch of trouble-shooting, re-initializing, rechecking connections (again - I'd already done that twice), resetting to factory defaults, etc. Boot it up again - same thing. So after an hour on the phone, the conclusion: my video card is bad. And of course, it's integrated with the motherboard. At least I don't have to send it back, as they'll send out a technician. Unfortunately I won't have time to have technical guests at the house for at least a week and a half.
Ah, well... the old tower is back in place for now. I need to go take a shower and get moving.
Mostly because it's 10:33am and I'm still in my robe. Why? Well, I'd decided to swap out my PC towers this morning, after doing my backups and file-saves and all kinds of due-diligence last night. But this:
 |
| New Dell tower |
So, I called Dell. "Yeah, hi... I'm trying to hook up my new tower, and my old monitor - which works fine with the other computers in the house - is all messed up. I think the video card is bad."
Nah, couldn't be that. We did a bunch of trouble-shooting, re-initializing, rechecking connections (again - I'd already done that twice), resetting to factory defaults, etc. Boot it up again - same thing. So after an hour on the phone, the conclusion: my video card is bad. And of course, it's integrated with the motherboard. At least I don't have to send it back, as they'll send out a technician. Unfortunately I won't have time to have technical guests at the house for at least a week and a half.
Ah, well... the old tower is back in place for now. I need to go take a shower and get moving.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
It's Always Something
Monday's run/walk: nada. Rest day.
Today's run/walk: 5.01 mi in 1:01:24
Last week's mileage: 21.8 mi
This morning started out pretty good. Weird, but good. About a half mile from home, along one of my usual routes, the street lights were out. Completely out. And with no moon, it was dark. It made running that stretch a bit interesting - it's a crapshoot with the streetlights, as the sidewalk is quite uneven in places. But with the tiny bit of light I had to see, I couldn't see if the lines were just the normal breaks between sections, or a 1" height difference that would make me trip. I probably looked like I was practicing high-stepping for a marching band.... assuming anyone could see me at all. At least that was only a half-mile or so.
I did finally feel comfortable with the run - that's progress. More fun than work. That's something.
But, tonight, we figured out that the blower on the furnace wasn't blowing. No cool air, no warm air. Nada. I had just gotten my contract renewal for our HVAC company in the mail... it must have been a sign. I'll wait for their call in the morning...
Today's run/walk: 5.01 mi in 1:01:24
Last week's mileage: 21.8 mi
This morning started out pretty good. Weird, but good. About a half mile from home, along one of my usual routes, the street lights were out. Completely out. And with no moon, it was dark. It made running that stretch a bit interesting - it's a crapshoot with the streetlights, as the sidewalk is quite uneven in places. But with the tiny bit of light I had to see, I couldn't see if the lines were just the normal breaks between sections, or a 1" height difference that would make me trip. I probably looked like I was practicing high-stepping for a marching band.... assuming anyone could see me at all. At least that was only a half-mile or so.
I did finally feel comfortable with the run - that's progress. More fun than work. That's something.
But, tonight, we figured out that the blower on the furnace wasn't blowing. No cool air, no warm air. Nada. I had just gotten my contract renewal for our HVAC company in the mail... it must have been a sign. I'll wait for their call in the morning...
Friday, October 21, 2011
Not as Dramatic as I Expected
Yesterday's run/walk: nada. Rest day.
Today's run/walk: Garmin says 5 mi. in 1:02:28
It was in the upper 30s when I went out today - had to break out more cold-weather gear. You know it's chilly when frost forms on your clothes. A plus over the treadmill, though - you can spit. Indoors, it's bad form. Outdoors? Target practice.
Back in August, my Subaru Forester hit a milestone...
You know, it's just not as dramatic when it's all digital. No more 'rolling-over'... it's just 99999 one second, and magically, 100000 the next. Blink and you miss it. (Or, stare at the odometer while you're driving so you don't miss it, and you risk hitting something.) Yay for low-traffic side streets.
Today's run/walk: Garmin says 5 mi. in 1:02:28
It was in the upper 30s when I went out today - had to break out more cold-weather gear. You know it's chilly when frost forms on your clothes. A plus over the treadmill, though - you can spit. Indoors, it's bad form. Outdoors? Target practice.
Back in August, my Subaru Forester hit a milestone...
You know, it's just not as dramatic when it's all digital. No more 'rolling-over'... it's just 99999 one second, and magically, 100000 the next. Blink and you miss it. (Or, stare at the odometer while you're driving so you don't miss it, and you risk hitting something.) Yay for low-traffic side streets.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Technology: a Love-Hate Relationship
Today's run/walk: nada. Rest day.
Mileage last week: 23.9mi
So. Technology is how I make a living. It can also be the bane of my existence. Let's take the last 24 hours, for example.
The ancient Dell PC was really slow to react. I tried to download some photos, but it didn't recognize the camera connection. So what did I do? The same thing I'd recommend to someone at work - reboot it. So I did. And stared at a black screen for about 30 minutes. Great.
Next: do a hard restart. I get the initial boot-up screen, then... nothing. I try the last-known-good-configuration option. Apparently not so good a configuration - it freezes up again.
Per Paul's advice. I boot up in safe mode. It doesn't get beyond a screen of initializations before freezing again. So, I unplug the printer and external hard drive, and try safe mode again. This time it comes to life. We reboot one more time, normally... and it's back.
Turns out my Maxtor external drive - that which backs up my life - has ceased to play well with others. And, it's making an odd ticking sound. That's never good. At lunch today, I went to Best Buy to try to get a new backup device. I still haven't gotten to where I can transition everything to the MacBook Pro, so the PC needs to limp along a little longer.
Tonight starts the great peripheral adventure. The tower has five USB ports on it. With the first two I tried, it didn't even recognize that a new device was attached. On the third, I get an unknown device warning - and when I attempted to find drivers, it found none. Dammit.
I switch the cordless mouse controller to a different port, and try the new hard drive in that one... finally! Hey, yes, I did know that I had a new device. ::facepalm::
So, now a backup is running. LOL - 1159 files, done, 5821 pending. I got the printer working again. (Apparently I unplugged something there, too.) And - I ordered a new PC. Sure, I have the MacBook. But... some habits are hard to break. Not to mention that Paint Shop Pro doesn't come in a Mac version. But, that's another story.
Mileage last week: 23.9mi
So. Technology is how I make a living. It can also be the bane of my existence. Let's take the last 24 hours, for example.
The ancient Dell PC was really slow to react. I tried to download some photos, but it didn't recognize the camera connection. So what did I do? The same thing I'd recommend to someone at work - reboot it. So I did. And stared at a black screen for about 30 minutes. Great.
Next: do a hard restart. I get the initial boot-up screen, then... nothing. I try the last-known-good-configuration option. Apparently not so good a configuration - it freezes up again.
Per Paul's advice. I boot up in safe mode. It doesn't get beyond a screen of initializations before freezing again. So, I unplug the printer and external hard drive, and try safe mode again. This time it comes to life. We reboot one more time, normally... and it's back.
Turns out my Maxtor external drive - that which backs up my life - has ceased to play well with others. And, it's making an odd ticking sound. That's never good. At lunch today, I went to Best Buy to try to get a new backup device. I still haven't gotten to where I can transition everything to the MacBook Pro, so the PC needs to limp along a little longer.
Tonight starts the great peripheral adventure. The tower has five USB ports on it. With the first two I tried, it didn't even recognize that a new device was attached. On the third, I get an unknown device warning - and when I attempted to find drivers, it found none. Dammit.
I switch the cordless mouse controller to a different port, and try the new hard drive in that one... finally! Hey, yes, I did know that I had a new device. ::facepalm::
So, now a backup is running. LOL - 1159 files, done, 5821 pending. I got the printer working again. (Apparently I unplugged something there, too.) And - I ordered a new PC. Sure, I have the MacBook. But... some habits are hard to break. Not to mention that Paint Shop Pro doesn't come in a Mac version. But, that's another story.
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