That's what Schnoodlepooh called me for "tweaking" my new computer. Carol, on the other hand, calls me "stupid!"
Gee! "Stupid?"
Candace, or Chenoah, thinks I should have bought a Mac and I wouldn't HAVE to tweak or learn a non-intuitive Operating System.
But I'm a bit hard-headed (Carol is nodding) and a tinkerer by nature.
Plus I love to save a buck. So I decided to install my OLD computer hard drives into my NEW computer, transfer any wanted files to the NEW hard drive, then re-format the old hard drives and use them for extra storage space.
I didn't really NEED the extra space, but why waste a good hard drive? Yeah, they were older technology, but hey. . . they WORK, right? So I opened the case, stuck them in there and wired them up.
(RobotJam warned me. He made it clear that like Pandora's box, once that new computer's case was opened all KINDS of evil would ensue. But I -- stupidly, says Carol -- pressed on.)
Ah, but one of them had been "partitioned" (using a program called "Partition Magic") and I needed to UN-partition it so I could access ALL that space. So I fired up "Partition Magic" (One of the programs from my OLD computer) and tried to do so. Unfortunately that program works fine with earlier versions of Windows but has compatibility issues with Vista. I tried anyway. It seemed like it was working. . . at first.
But it never quite managed to "UN-partition" the drive. So I gave up.
But then I had a new error message pop up everytime I started (booted) my new machine. Something about "XMNT2002 Program not found. . . skipping Autocheck."
I Googled that error message and found that it's a product of Partition Magic when the program doesn't work right. (As, when it's not compatible with the Operating System?)
Oh, but there's a fix! It requires going into the Registry Editor and changing your Registry entries.
But all of the "experts" tell you NOT to mess around in the Registry unless you REALLY know what you're doing, or you might permanently mess up your whole computer!
Did that stop ME?? NO!! I'm "brave and talented!" ...or is it Carol's version? (But first I got some advice and a script to follow from my I.T. -- Information Technology -- guys at work. Lucky for me, they DO really know what they're doing!)
And the fix they provided worked!
So I have now uninstalled the incompatible Partition Magic from my computer. Everything is rosy again, and the computer now works just like it's supposed to. It's fast, and becoming more intuitive every day (as I climb that learning curve that I wouldn't have to climb if I'd just bought a Mac. Right, Candace?)
But I think Carol's adjective may have been right (as usual) after all.
Sorry, Schnoodlepooh. (But thanks for the thought!)
14 comments:
Forget the partition magic stuff, I'm still awed that you did such a good job hiding all the cabling.
I HATE computer cabling. What an eyesore! And a major dust catcher besides! Bleck bleck bleck!
Kirsten:
I have a secret weapon. It's called. . . (shhhh!) . . . (twisties!) Even so, those cables are still back there and they DO collect dust. Each piece of hardware seems to need 2-4 cables: power, usb, network cable, coaxial (to the cable modem), and so on.
And then, in the dark, they. . . (shhhh) . . . MULTIPLY!!
John
John, good for you.
I somehow don't think you would have been yourself if you hadn't at least tried to do what you did. I think you are brave. It took guts to try - well done! *wink*
You ARE brave. I wouldn't even want a prefessional to do all that to my computer....LOL
Impressive.
You are the first non-IT guy I've heard of who changed your registry entries and didn't go stark searing mad.
Jan,
"Stark searing mad?" I love it! I may use that in the book I'm writing!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
John
Well I'm sorry too. I thought you knew what you were doing. You are brave though, to mess with your new computer. You're taking the chance of messing it all up. Maybe you just don't know any better. Just try to stay out of trouble. If I don't see your blog change for a few days, I'll know you really did something to the poor maching.
Macs rule.
i can't believe you bought a brand new computer and immediately took it apart, modified it, did some other stuff, changed your registry (?) andd all that and the damn thing still works! Whether it's genius or sheer luck, I'm impressed.
Christina:
The geeks... oops, I mean "I.T. Professionals"... at work keep TELLING me that women are impressed by men who can work on electronic stuff, but I never believed them. Now... ??
Dad :)
I guess I'm just not atinkerer, at least on computers. You're way ove my head and I congratulate you on your ability.
John, now I think I understand - it's not the kill at the end of the hunt you enjoy so much, it's TRACKING the kill, right?
Did you also tinker with cars and stuff when you were a kid?
Me? When I get behind the wheel of a car or sit down in front of a computer, I couldn't care less what's under the hood or how it works. I just want it to GO. Which is why, someday, I. will. have. a. Mac.
Rock on.
Duke,
You are quite frankly nuts. It may appear to be working now but thats how it lures you in. Now it waits until it finds the longest time before you last backed up your data before it will throw a wobbler.
And Macs ?!? easy to use ?!? I have one and have spent the last 3 weeks trying to find the mouse button.
RJ
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