quote:

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Originally posted by heavyboots:
there is also Linux, the Ralph Nader of operating systems.

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Bwahahahaha!

That's great HB, thanks.

OK. I admit it. WinXP SP2 has beaten me. I've tried rubbing, and I've tried scrubbing, and I still have:RING AROUND THE COLLAR!

Those dirty rings...

Er, so any of you Windows gurus have any idea why I keep getting "access denied" errors on a SP2 update?

I've Googled, I've deleted registry entries, I've tried to change permissions on registry trees (which is one of the odd behaviors), I've rootkit detected, I've HijackedThis, I've registered .dlls, and safe-moded, and tried local installs. Good grief!

The next step is, of course, the fallback position, wipe and re-load. But I'm loathe to take a production machine out.

Dammit, Redmond! Do away with that gawdawful registry!

(Grumble grumble, gripe, bitch, moan)

Hmm, that reminds me, I told Windows Update it could download SP2 about a week agao, and haven't heard from it since. I just checked, and it didn't stealth install it overnight... I'd actually decided not to go ahead with the install just yet anyway - I read the stat somewhere that it hoses up to 15% of systems, and that seems unacceptably high to me, given that I'm really happy, and really secure, with the way it's running now.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels that way.

My PC keeps reminding me about it, and I just keep clicking "cancel".

I'll hurl some totally useless Mac know-how into the mix. Is there a way to download like an uber-kill version of the update? Apple always releases one patch that just updates the little things to go up by .1 version and another that will take you from 10.x all the way to 10.x.y where y is > 1. The general consensus is to always get the combo installer because it contains complete versions of the apps and libs being upgraded instead of just the bits that were patched.

Does Windows have something like a combo updater somewhere?

Yeah, I was about to say that I thought there was a non-interactive download version of SP2. That is, instead of letting Windows Update do it, you d/l the whole thing as one file and install it. It's around 200 meg though, from memory, if it exists. But then I wondered whether doggo already had all the relevant downloads but was having install problems... Only other possibility I can think of is you're not running it from an administrator account, but surely it'd tell you that...

OK, I have a question for youse alls.

We have this swintek electric typewriter at work. When you type, the wrong letters come up. Many of the incorrect letters are symbols. Some of the symbols are symbols I've never seen before.

We tried remounting and replacing the wheel. We tried resetting the codes. We've no idea. It's the typewriter of Babel.

Any suggestions?

CTRL-ALT-DEL? Nah, I am clueless on electric typewriters. You've tried a different wheel too? Is it a wheel or a golf-ball? Could just be someone put on some kind of super-sekrit mathematical/engineering ball for a special job and didn't replace the original?

It's a wheel, yes. Not a ball.

Weird thing about electric typewriters is that it could be a mechanical error, but it could also be electrical / programming.

Actually, if it comes to electric typewriters ( or 80th cent printers) there are infect some models with wheels:

and some models with balls:


I allways prefered the ones with balls ... object's with wheels allways seem to catch my attention and distract me at some point. While objects whith ball's are usually ignored by my subconscious.

???

Based on pictures of her boots, I'd imagine she has the four-rotor U-boat model.

Service Pack update? Damned, never bothered, yet. A tip for all us Windows freaks: Stay One OS Behind the Latest. I was using XP Pro - till I realised what a bloated, babying piece of shit it is. Though I reserve the right to change back if by some miracle it got made better. Did nice, random things, like uninstall my NIC's drivers, and never let me reinstall. And not let me have access to shared folders that were on the same friggin HDD as the XP install. Like being locked out of a room in a house you own, for no reason.

Staying behind, and using an older OS, means they have a lot of the bugs worked out.

Failing that, one day we'll rally and march on Redmond, and make Willie-boy do the most painful of tasks, like setting up a network between 98se comps and XP PCs. Then, we'll wrap him in a carpet and roll him down a hill. Then we'll make him dance a merry jig.

Okay fellas, you're gonna have to dig deeper. I think I've got all the basic stuff covered, I support over 30 machines of various OSes in my office. So, yeah, I'm trying to install from the admin account, and I'm using the the SP2 network install file, not Windows Update.

It's failing on a bunch of registry keys. Registry keys which have permissions which prevent the install. Registry keys which resist having their permissions changed through normal means.

I'm wondering if the user's account, which is also an administrator account that won't let the "administrator" have access to it, is the problem. What a silly idea. An account on a box that the administrator doesn't have access to (though I'm sure I set that up so that this user, my colleague in management, would have a certain amount of privacy. D'oh! That notion is going out the window).

Hey Lithos? It sounds like you did an upgrade install. I thought
the general rule (well... the one I've always lived by) is to do
a clean install with Windows because any upgrade will cause more
headaches and work.

Doggo. Sorry man, I have nothing for you. I downloaded a copy of
it, but have since decided not to use it (at least for the time
being). I've heard of too many problems with it.

quote:

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Originally posted by Marshdrifter:
Hey Lithos? It sounds like you did an upgrade install. I thought
the general rule (well... the one I've always lived by) is to do
a clean install with Windows because any upgrade will cause more
headaches and work.

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Nope, my man, OEM, came with my PC. Although what's funny with the disappearing NIC is that it's integrated on my mobo. How the hell it manages to lose something welded to the motherboard, I've no clue. 98SE's probably the best M$ OS (or O$, heh) I've used. I got my copy of 2000 from alternate sources.

Tricky, very tricky this Windows operating system...

Here's the solution. What MS doesn't tell you is that the commands all have to be in UPPERCASE. Otherwise the commands don't work. Thanks for all the frickin' help Microsoft.

I suspect meddling with the registry by spyware, or anti-spyware.

All in all, I prefer the OS X way. Boot from your install disk, start Disk Utility, click on Repair Disk Permissions.

No Googling cryptic registry entries from the log files.

Hell, no spyware installed by the flippin' browser either! Stupid Windows.

Thanks Doggo.

Just got Deus Ex: Invisible war. While I love the Unreal 2.0 engine it was built off, what I don't love is that fact that it's doesn't seem to run toooo well off a RADEON 9800 Pro. The anti-aliasing doesn't seem to be as high as it should. Same thing happened with SC: Pandora Tomorrow. Curse you, Nvidia, for flinging cash at Epic!

Just thought we'd need something to get the sour taste of M$ out of our mouths.

I'm most of the way through Invisible War, playing on a 9800 Pro. It got pretty bad reviews, but I'm actually enjoying it quite a bit (but,as has been pointed out for movies, I'm easy!) I just finished re-playing Half Life: Opposing Force, and Suzie and I just finished Neverwinter Nights proper and started the Shadows of Undrentide expansion pack. She's playing Black and White tonight, though.

If the game still holds your interest after that, you should play hordes of the underdark - far better than shadows, although it ain't co-op friendly, from memory.