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GeneralRe: Win2k - Long log off Pin
Matt Newman8-Aug-04 6:57
Matt Newman8-Aug-04 6:57 
GeneralRe: Win2k - Long log off Pin
Mekong River4-Aug-04 15:12
Mekong River4-Aug-04 15:12 
GeneralSome device did not run when you turn on after turn on the your PC Pin
Mekong River1-Aug-04 4:39
Mekong River1-Aug-04 4:39 
GeneralRe: Some device did not run when you turn on after turn on the your PC Pin
Roger Wright4-Aug-04 7:17
professionalRoger Wright4-Aug-04 7:17 
GeneralRe: Some device did not run when you turn on after turn on the your PC Pin
Mekong River5-Aug-04 17:24
Mekong River5-Aug-04 17:24 
GeneralDeal with CPU Usage of a program Pin
A_Fa30-Jul-04 22:59
A_Fa30-Jul-04 22:59 
GeneralSecurity /Logon Services Pin
Member 50323830-Jul-04 1:19
Member 50323830-Jul-04 1:19 
GeneralLast Resort Pin
Roger Wright29-Jul-04 22:34
professionalRoger Wright29-Jul-04 22:34 
This was an odd one that I hope someone can learn from. Today I had a call from a customer that was totally baffling. Her two CD drives in the secondary IDE channel went missing. My first thought was a loose cable, but reseating the cable didn't help. Second, though the odds are long against it, was that the drives or cable had failed. But the BIOS recognizes both drives perfectly; if the cable or either drive had failed that would not happen.

A bit of history:
Several months ago I replaced the existing motherboard, a PII, with a new, top of the line P4 with hyperthreading enabled. I know that it's bad practice, but I did it without reinstalling the OS - Win98 original. My reason at the time was that they had a bunch of software installed that they use regularly, but don't have the disks to reinstall. They also don't have a copy of Win98 in the office. I've had some luck doing this, but Win98 can't adapt to hardware changes very well and usually a full reinstallation of the OS is necessary to force redetection of the motherboard resources. On this occasion it worked, but the performance was terrible - the thing still runs like molasses in January. But it functioned, and the error messages that originally prompted the upgrade went away. Now, suddenly, the system can't recognize the drives on the secondary IDE channel. All of the drives are operating in "compatibility mode" which explains why it's still slow. But at least they were usable for several months, and I can't figure out what might have triggered the change!

My recommendation today was to bite the bullet, accept that they're going to lose data and the programs that created it, and install Win2K Pro on the thing. I just hope that they can still buy Win2K, as the primary program used by this PC will not run on WinXP. I'm hopeful that I can do this cleanly, without major problems, but this system seems to be cursed. IIRC, a clean installation only wipes out the C:\Windows folder, and it's just possible that the installation program and files for third party tools are in their own, separate folders. I sure hope so...

I hate it when I can't solve a customer's problem... It doesn't happen often - perhaps twice in ten years - but it still sucks!

The moral of the story is, I guess, that when it's best to do a full reinstallation it is better to accept the loss and do it early, than to wait until later and suffer poor performance until then. Some things just can't be helped, especially when you're dealing with people who really shouldn't be allowed to operate a PC without adult supervision.

"My kid was Inmate of the Month at Adobe Mountain Juvenile Corrections Center" - Bumper Sticker in Bullhead City
GeneralRe: Last Resort Pin
Mekong River30-Jul-04 6:22
Mekong River30-Jul-04 6:22 
GeneralRe: Last Resort Pin
Roger Wright30-Jul-04 14:34
professionalRoger Wright30-Jul-04 14:34 
GeneralRe: Last Resort Pin
Mekong River1-Aug-04 3:50
Mekong River1-Aug-04 3:50 
GeneralRe: Last Resort Pin
Roger Wright1-Aug-04 4:34
professionalRoger Wright1-Aug-04 4:34 
GeneralRe: Last Resort Pin
cmk2-Aug-04 0:27
cmk2-Aug-04 0:27 
GeneralCalculate e-mail usage on the server for each client Pin
Mekong River29-Jul-04 19:00
Mekong River29-Jul-04 19:00 
GeneralDialup networking folder have the problem Pin
Mekong River29-Jul-04 18:28
Mekong River29-Jul-04 18:28 
GeneralCPU Usage for per Thread (Please Help Me!!) Pin
A_Fa28-Jul-04 1:19
A_Fa28-Jul-04 1:19 
GeneralTo be success in MCP Pin
Mekong River27-Jul-04 17:36
Mekong River27-Jul-04 17:36 
GeneralRe: To be success in MCP Pin
Roger Wright28-Jul-04 7:07
professionalRoger Wright28-Jul-04 7:07 
GeneralRe: To be success in MCP Pin
Mekong River28-Jul-04 11:43
Mekong River28-Jul-04 11:43 
GeneralRe: To be success in MCP Pin
Roger Wright28-Jul-04 12:35
professionalRoger Wright28-Jul-04 12:35 
GeneralRe: To be success in MCP Pin
Mekong River28-Jul-04 18:31
Mekong River28-Jul-04 18:31 
GeneralOutlook express prevent from open/save attachment file Pin
Mekong River27-Jul-04 17:32
Mekong River27-Jul-04 17:32 
GeneralRe: Outlook express prevent from open/save attachment file Pin
Dimitris Vasiliadis4-Aug-04 2:13
Dimitris Vasiliadis4-Aug-04 2:13 
GeneralRe: Outlook express prevent from open/save attachment file Pin
Mekong River5-Aug-04 17:26
Mekong River5-Aug-04 17:26 
GeneralMdaemon not send/recieve an e-mail to/from outside of the world Pin
Mekong River25-Jul-04 1:28
Mekong River25-Jul-04 1:28 

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