Yes, I'm alive...
Dec. 29th, 2003 01:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
calic0cat...despite the long and unintended silence.
I live with my parents - can't really afford to do anything else while I'm paying off student loans and making car payments, etc. We have one DSL connection and about a year and a half/two years ago my brother and I pulled CAT-5 cable to wire the livingroom/kitchen and the TV/computer room (my parents' computer room, that is, mine's downstairs where the DSL connection is). A couple of months ago, the connection to my parents' computer went flaky. I cut off and redid the connectors on it, etc. but it still didn't work. Running a long cable down the hall to connect to the spare jack by the livingroom/kitchen doorway confirmed that the problem wasn't the computer, it was definitely the cable that we'd pulled. I really didn't want to yank the cabling and redo it again so I decided to give my parents a wireless connection for Christmas and incidentally make it so that I could use my laptop in my upstairs bedroom when it's too chill and damp in the basement. Great idea, right?
*hah*
Bought the gear on Monday - an SMC Barricade 802.11g Wireless Router w/USB printer connection so that my parents can use my laser printer downstairs instead of buying more ink cartridges for their inkjet only to have them dry up before they use them up, a Linksys card for the laptop (open box so it was a good deal), and an SMC USB Wireless device for my parents PC. Got the router up and running easily, got the laptop wireless card working (though I've discovered that for some unknown reason, I always have to do an "ipconfig /renew_all" to get it to pick up the DHCP settings after a reboot - dunno why and I'm tired of trying to figure it out). Then I started working on my parents computer.
Urg.
After a couple of days of fighting with the stupid thing - and taking the entire network down repeatedly because I'd tweaked something on the router that mucked *everything* up - I finally decided that maybe picking a USB connector was a dumb idea. So when I went on Wednesday morning to see ROTK with my brother and his wife, I ran in to Best Buy and picked up a PCI card instead (SMC again). Well, by the time we got home from the movie (which was good and I *want* Gandalf's horse...), it was time to go for the family Christmas Eve party so I didn't get around to doing anything further. Christmas Day - family brunch, then gifts, then pulled the old wired networking card from my parents' PC and installed the wireless one. Then spent the rest of the afternoon (until time for more relatives to arrive for Christmas dinner) fighting to get the new card to work. It would be working just fine one minute, then lose its settings the next. All with a 60%-90% connection to the wireless network.
I shall skip the hair pulling and swearing and Google searches that ensued. For the next few *days*.
Saturday PM - *late* Saturday PM - I finally, *finally* got it working. Was it the card? No. Was it the router? No.
The laptop was running Win98.
My parents' PC was running Windows XP.
Windows XP likes to be "helpful".
Note to anyone having trouble with XP and wireless networking - stop and disable the stupid "Wireless Zero" service. Your problems will, in all likelihood, magically vanish.
So - network back up and hopefully all is now well. Except for that weird DHCP issue on the laptop but since it takes like two seconds to force it to get the settings, I really don't care at this point in time.
Now if I could just get the tower computer that I upgraded to actually install Win2K without bluescreening, I'd be happy... Hopefully the new power supply that's on the way will fix that problem since that's the machine that has the scanner on it and the DVD-burner and video capture equipment... *sigh*
It does not help matters that I had a nasty cold almost all week last week and therefore slept in and took naps which wasted a lot of time. Plus I couldn't retreat to the privacy of my computer room in the basement because it felt too damp and chilly down there. Thanks to the wireless, I *could* work upstairs in the kitchen - but knowing that someone could come along and peek over my shoulder at any time kind of scared off the muse. And my bedroom didn't have space to set up the computer because part of the livingroom furniture (stuff that was moved to make space for the tree) was in there so I couldn't hide out in there either.
So - hopefully I'll get a site update out tonight now that things are working properly and my cold is pretty much gone. Assuming that I don't get dragged into preparations for the family New Year's Day party that we're supposed to be hosting...
Fics will hopefully get updates before too long as well...
Currently working on:
LWH
Kindergarten Heero
Holiday Series (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years fics are all semi-related so I can't post one till the others are done and I'm sure I don't need to make any changes...)
couple of oneshots
(If there's missing "c"s in here, sorry - I'm posting from work during lunch and my keyboard apparently has decided to slowly die - so far the "c" works about 40% of the time and I don't always notice when it doesn't - but I didn't want to waste the time to stop and shut down so I could replace it...)
I live with my parents - can't really afford to do anything else while I'm paying off student loans and making car payments, etc. We have one DSL connection and about a year and a half/two years ago my brother and I pulled CAT-5 cable to wire the livingroom/kitchen and the TV/computer room (my parents' computer room, that is, mine's downstairs where the DSL connection is). A couple of months ago, the connection to my parents' computer went flaky. I cut off and redid the connectors on it, etc. but it still didn't work. Running a long cable down the hall to connect to the spare jack by the livingroom/kitchen doorway confirmed that the problem wasn't the computer, it was definitely the cable that we'd pulled. I really didn't want to yank the cabling and redo it again so I decided to give my parents a wireless connection for Christmas and incidentally make it so that I could use my laptop in my upstairs bedroom when it's too chill and damp in the basement. Great idea, right?
*hah*
Bought the gear on Monday - an SMC Barricade 802.11g Wireless Router w/USB printer connection so that my parents can use my laser printer downstairs instead of buying more ink cartridges for their inkjet only to have them dry up before they use them up, a Linksys card for the laptop (open box so it was a good deal), and an SMC USB Wireless device for my parents PC. Got the router up and running easily, got the laptop wireless card working (though I've discovered that for some unknown reason, I always have to do an "ipconfig /renew_all" to get it to pick up the DHCP settings after a reboot - dunno why and I'm tired of trying to figure it out). Then I started working on my parents computer.
Urg.
After a couple of days of fighting with the stupid thing - and taking the entire network down repeatedly because I'd tweaked something on the router that mucked *everything* up - I finally decided that maybe picking a USB connector was a dumb idea. So when I went on Wednesday morning to see ROTK with my brother and his wife, I ran in to Best Buy and picked up a PCI card instead (SMC again). Well, by the time we got home from the movie (which was good and I *want* Gandalf's horse...), it was time to go for the family Christmas Eve party so I didn't get around to doing anything further. Christmas Day - family brunch, then gifts, then pulled the old wired networking card from my parents' PC and installed the wireless one. Then spent the rest of the afternoon (until time for more relatives to arrive for Christmas dinner) fighting to get the new card to work. It would be working just fine one minute, then lose its settings the next. All with a 60%-90% connection to the wireless network.
I shall skip the hair pulling and swearing and Google searches that ensued. For the next few *days*.
Saturday PM - *late* Saturday PM - I finally, *finally* got it working. Was it the card? No. Was it the router? No.
The laptop was running Win98.
My parents' PC was running Windows XP.
Windows XP likes to be "helpful".
Note to anyone having trouble with XP and wireless networking - stop and disable the stupid "Wireless Zero" service. Your problems will, in all likelihood, magically vanish.
So - network back up and hopefully all is now well. Except for that weird DHCP issue on the laptop but since it takes like two seconds to force it to get the settings, I really don't care at this point in time.
Now if I could just get the tower computer that I upgraded to actually install Win2K without bluescreening, I'd be happy... Hopefully the new power supply that's on the way will fix that problem since that's the machine that has the scanner on it and the DVD-burner and video capture equipment... *sigh*
It does not help matters that I had a nasty cold almost all week last week and therefore slept in and took naps which wasted a lot of time. Plus I couldn't retreat to the privacy of my computer room in the basement because it felt too damp and chilly down there. Thanks to the wireless, I *could* work upstairs in the kitchen - but knowing that someone could come along and peek over my shoulder at any time kind of scared off the muse. And my bedroom didn't have space to set up the computer because part of the livingroom furniture (stuff that was moved to make space for the tree) was in there so I couldn't hide out in there either.
So - hopefully I'll get a site update out tonight now that things are working properly and my cold is pretty much gone. Assuming that I don't get dragged into preparations for the family New Year's Day party that we're supposed to be hosting...
Fics will hopefully get updates before too long as well...
Currently working on:
LWH
Kindergarten Heero
Holiday Series (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years fics are all semi-related so I can't post one till the others are done and I'm sure I don't need to make any changes...)
couple of oneshots
(If there's missing "c"s in here, sorry - I'm posting from work during lunch and my keyboard apparently has decided to slowly die - so far the "c" works about 40% of the time and I don't always notice when it doesn't - but I didn't want to waste the time to stop and shut down so I could replace it...)
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no subject
Date: 2003-12-29 07:34 pm (UTC)Your story reminds me why I dumb the networking crap on the husband and let him do his thing. I so do not want to deal with it. I have enough complaints about computers working Help Desk.
Devilkitty
no subject
Date: 2004-01-02 02:54 am (UTC)I basically *am* the IT department at work so I really hate having to deal with it again when I get home. Unfortunately, I either do it myself or it doesn't get done. It would be nice to dump it on someone else for a change...
no subject
Date: 2003-12-29 08:04 pm (UTC)I wondered why you were being so quiet. I just chalked it up to you being tired out from work and the holidays. I'm sorry to hear that you're not feeling well.
I'm behind in reading right now, myself. I'm halfway through the gift fic you gave me, and I still have your last one shot to read. I seem to mostly do reading on weekends. I'm saving up a supply for New Year's. ^_____^
You just take care of yourself, and don't worry about updating.
no subject
Date: 2004-01-02 03:01 am (UTC)I haven't been reading much of anyone else's GW stuff lately. Too many things in progress that don't state the pairings or have pairings I don't like or just aren't getting even remotely regular updates. Though I've been slowly making my way through the MOR contest entries - geesh, it's going to be tough to vote on this one... Lots of really good stories.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-29 09:02 pm (UTC)Though... it sounds like that might have been more pleasant than the wireless network war. Glad you came out on top!
no subject
Date: 2004-01-02 03:03 am (UTC)I'm just glad that the wireless thing seems to be working okay now. *knocks on wood* Let's hope it stays that way...
::huggles tight::
Date: 2003-12-29 11:21 pm (UTC)Also...God, I hate to bother you, but you sound like you're EXTREMELY knowledgeable with computers and mine has been just...really hating me. ;_; If you could maybe give me a few pointers on how to FIX the damn thing, I'd be most grateful. ^^;; If you want to know what's wrong, just look at my lj, I ranted about it...hehehe...
So yes. And good luck with the New Years party, if you're roped into it. Hope it goes smoothly. ^^ ::huggles:: Welcome back to the digital world! We've missed you!
Re: ::huggles tight::
Date: 2004-01-02 03:54 am (UTC)Yep, got roped into helping with the New Year's party so wasted yesterday and today house cleaning, etc. Party's over with now though as well as clean up so I'm hoping to start getting caught up on the correspondence I'm behind on. Plus finish up a fic part or three and get some things posted... *cringe*
As for the computer - start with a thorough scandisk. Empty your Internet Cache files. Check your Windows Temp directory (on Win98, it's under c:/windows/temp) and delete any files with old dates (prior to the day you do this). Empty your Recycle Bin.
Defrag the hard drives. You can use the built-in Windows defrag but the free version of Diskeeper is faster and better - just Google for Diskeeper Lite, it should be version 7. If you want it but can't find it, email me, I can send you the install file or put it up on my website so you can download it but it's about 10Mb.
After defragging, go to http://www.spywareguide.com/ and read up on spyware. You can run the free spyware checker there or download the free version of Ad-aware at http://www.lavasoftusa.com/ and install and run it. If you're running an antivirus program, make sure that the virus definition files are up to date and run a scan of the hard drive. If you aren't running one (or if you're running Norton which I have serious issues with the effectiveness of), go to http://housecall.trendmicro.com/ and run the free online virus scanner. If you don't have an antivirus program, run the online scanner then go download a good antivirus program and install it (I recommend AVG anti-virus available free for home use from http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_dwnl_free.php - it's free, works well, and plays nicely with other software, unlike the "big name" antivirus programs).
You may also be interested in a personal firewall - I like Kerio from http://www.kerio.com/kpf_price.html myself (there is a free edition with slightly limited features) though Zone Alarm is usually considered a bit more user-friendly (but often causes conflicts with other programs). I've also heard good things about Outpost Firewall from http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpost/ (both the free and Pro editions).
So - that's where I would at least start for checking problems. If none of that helped, I'd probably update video and sound drivers (especially if you've installed anything new recently, either software or hardware) then use Windows Update as a last resort (since sometimes "updates" cause more problems than they fix, I usually leave those till last when I've exhausted all other options). Good luck...
no subject
Date: 2003-12-30 05:01 am (UTC)*hugs* Good luck with everything. Please remember to breathe.
-Junebug = )
no subject
Date: 2004-01-02 03:55 am (UTC)Hopefully I'm starting to get things back on track now...