OT: CLOCKERTERRY's computer repair service

[CLOCKERTERRY]

Last week I decided my older computer needed a USB 2.0 controller and ports. I might have thought that's what it needed, but that is sure not what it wanted.

As a result, after six days of intensive training, I am now a newly certified expert in such computer skills as:

- Restoring your computer from its factory restore disks, after a frantic search for those. Multiple times.

- Installing drivers for those new boards you bought since you bought the computer - after frantic searches for the CD's and diskettes those were on. Multiple times, with accompanying total restores from factory restore disks. Bonus skills learned, how to thoroughly read instructions on installing drivers before charging forward, troubleshooting the always pesky "Windows Protection error", intimate knowledge of the "Safe Mode", and "getting a friend to download drivers from the Internet". How to restore your computer from its factory disks many times.

-Installing MicroSoft Office products all in the proper order since you have been buying the cheaper "upgrade editions" all these years. After frantic searches for the CD's and diskettes those were on. How to cheat thew old Windows installer when it turns out one of those diskettes is bad. How not to install Works before old Microsoft products as it somehow screws things up and won't let you install those - and how to start from scratch yet again. How to restore your computer from its factory disks, and reinstall drivers again, when it turns out you cannot upgrade directly from Microsoft Access 2.0 or Excel 5.0 to those 2002 versions, but must put that 2000 version on as a bridge. Bonus skill: How to get your really, really old previous computer running again to get some of those really old programs off, or at least a few critical files, and how to screw it up, too, by realizing too late it was never the SE version of Windows 98. How to get it running again.

- Finding and installing all the other programs you had on your computer, be they store bought on CD's or downloaded.

- How to reconfigure Windows networking. How to troubleshoot yet another "Windows Protection error".

Skills I will soon be learning: How to use Norton Ghost to make a system image for the future, instead of just backing up data and thinking that's okay, and how to keep all your software in one place. Making a comprehensive step-by-step checklist how to restore your computer.

So, next time you totally screw up your computer, and this includes you John Frank, just call CLOCKERTERRY's computer repair service for help. A low, low $150 per hour. Results guaranteed or your money back.

[jrstark]

Why did you need a new USB 2.0 controller and ports?  My USB 2.0 peripherals worked fine with my old USB 1.0 computer.

Step back from Office and Works.  There is a new world order, it is called OpenOffice:

http://www.openoffice.org/

It is free, people, free, and includes everything the high-end super-duper mega-Office program you use at work does.  Including database.  Plus more, because you can save anything to PDF.  It opens Office files, saves to Office Files, and in three months of using it in a corporate environment and not telling anyone, I have not seen any compatibility problems.  Well maybe with PowerPoint, or maybe that file was just created with an older version.

Become an Open Source evangelist and spread the word, lots of programs can be found here:
http://sourceforge.net/index.php

Don't worry too much about beta but look for high activity, over 90%.

And get rid of Internet Explorer.  If you want hand-holding go with Firefox, or spring for the full Mozilla Suite:
http://www.mozilla.org/

For antivirus I've only been using AVG free for about two weeks, but I didn't get the dreaded "low on virtual resources" for almost a week!  We'll see if Norton withdrawal happens, but so far so good.

[CLOCKERTERRY]

Why did you need a new USB 2.0 controller and ports?  My USB 2.0 peripherals worked fine with my old USB 1.0 computer.

Greed for speed. And the controllers were on sale. I'm over that now.

Step back from Office and Works.  There is a new world order, it is called OpenOffice:

I will look into it, thanks. I'm not going to invest a ton on standalone versions of MSAccess and Excel and Word when I finally do get a new computer. Don't use them enough, and they have become god awful ridiculous expensive.