arghh windows rant

[philip]

So yesterday I decided I would do my ICT assignment since I had to boot windows for it. So I did and the fun started.

Now I've used it only one day before cause I had to do something for school then too for which I couldn't use linux and after that I just left it for a couple of months. Doesn't seem like much can go wrong isn't it?

So I boot windows. Windows automatically loads media player, why? I didn't set that. Windows creates error. Windows locks. Reboot. Same thing happens. Another reboot. Finally it goes well. HiJackThis to remove media player from startup.

Now let's go into office. Click word. Word is corrupted (so soon?) and asks for CD. Crash, reboot. Click word insert CD, error again. Error message is really useful in helping me find out what's wrong. So I go to the M$ site. My profile was corrupt and the idea was to just use another profile (yeah right). Conclusion: registry is screwed up badly. Did I mention a registry is a stupid thing anyway no need for it at all.

So what to do now, scanreg /fix should do it. Hoping that this program would work was to much to ask, it didn't do anything. So I decided to put windows over my installation. During the short period of one day it had managed to create a lot of bad files already seeing scandisk. Now I choose to just delete the backup and install it over the old installation. Hell yeah, windows can't even overwrite it's own files. Crash reboot. Try again, same error.

Format C:. Install windows. OMG it works

Great fun again. Installing drivers for network card. Windows screws up driver. Have to install it again. Downloaded security fixes and some extra anti-spyware programs.

I still needed new video drivers. So I downloaded the newest drivers for my card. Windows crashes, have to delete the driver and install an old version. (Note that this driver works great in linux) Video driver finally works.

The office installation went OK, I hate the constant rebooting though.

So after a few hours I can finally start in Access and what is most beautiful is that I can use SQL so no m$. So I type in my first SQL stuff. Error and guess what, m$ has been screwing around with syntax :/ Besides annoying error messages it all goes pretty well.

And then suddenly my documents go all scrolling. Yay, close document 1, document 2 starts to scroll, close this one too, access starts to do strange stuff close access. Open HiJackThis, loads like 100s of times get an error message about full memory (no kidding). Virus scan nothing found. Somehow it changed hotkeys or something cause when I press f it opens search.

Reboot.

Everything is pretty normal. I open my documents and see the stupid thing has saved them scrolled down (did I ask for this, no why does the f&&*&*ing thing insists on doing stupid stuff)

Time busy with windows total: 12 hours
Useful time in windows : 2 hours

I hate windows... I hate how it tells me I want anything and insists that I do it the windows way. Let me decide what I do with my PC and in my programs just warn me if I want to do something stupid but let me do it if I want to.

Maybe I should just drop the subject and do a good old format c: and just learn real SQL myself...

(/rant)

[Dave_the_quack]

Yegods. I can think of nothing further to say man. That is the WORST experience dealing with computers I've ever heard.

I feel for you man. Hope you have better experiences with it in the future.....

[Harkoliar]

you reminded me of this flash which i posted a while back. i never expected it to happen to a person. hope your computer is doing ok now.

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/176198

[LennonCook]

What is in the assignment that causes you to need Windows? It sounds like a database thing, and there is a cross-engine GUI at Sourceforge if you don't want to use a command line one.

[philip]

Dave I try to use windows as few times as possible but I think I got too used to the stability and control I have in linux.

LOL that flash movie is awesome. Thanks harkoliar. BTW the end of that movie was just my solution.

Well I would have done it in linux if there was a program that could do everything you can do in access. The idea is to build a data system with forms and nice reports and stuff. But I saw it would come down to either a command line tool or loading it in another database program so it's a no go since it's a group project as well. I could do the queries in linux with SQL but the problem is that m$ has been changing the codes so what they label as SQL is just some sort of m$ SQL.

Everything was running yesterday when I quit so I hope it's still in a few minutes. Though I think I'll wait with installing more till the project's finished.

Good thing is that if it doesn't go bad again I think I might start playing some other games than nwn again.

[LennonCook]

More games than NWN can run on Linux WINE supports most decent RPGs, including the BGs, the IWDs, and PS:T. Doom 3 and Halflife both run natively, I think ( I know Doom 3 does - the Linux-compatable release was mentioned on #linux on gamesurge - or maybe it was slashdot, or freenode. One of them).

[philip]

I've just been too lazy last time to do BG with wine. Though by now I think I might have too little space to copy the CDs to my HD (was needed in some tutorial) cause I ripped my CDs in .wav format

Did you do that in wine? Did it take a long time to figure out. I've got wine downloaded already.

[LennonCook]

Unfortunately, the only computer my over-restrictive mother has let me put Linux on is my laptop. It has a 6GB harddrive, so BG2 takes up half the harddrive. Plus a file system, OS, Open Office, and I don't have enough space to do anything... so, I haven't tried. It also doesn't help much that I only have three Linux distros at hand: an old version of Mandrake that refuses to update GLIBC - RPM reports conficts with older versions of things that are being installed simulataneously, and I regretted it sorely when I took the advice someone on Mozillazine gave me and used --force...
Another is a recent version of Lycorus, which refuses to run. I run the shellscript on it, and it generates errors... probably needs a newer GLIBC.
And the third is Fedora Core on DVD. I don't have a DVD drive...

[Har'oloth]

man, that's just so unfair for one person!
you see they even want you to use windows.
they teach you to use it an buy it! brainwash complete .......

[Hivetyrant]

Originally posted by LennonCook: my over-restrictive mother

Your just stubborn, len, Your mother has perfectly legitemate reasons and you argue with everything she has to say. And you only argue because for some reason you think a few "security holes" makes windows useless.

so BG2 takes up half the harddrive.

Uhh, seeing as your king of Baldurs Gate, I would have thought that you would know that it is possible to NOT do a full install, even your not so unfit that you cant change a cd.