PCs Suck 101

Posted on December 9, 2001

Rant by Tiptonium

Argh!!!! Sorry for the delays in getting the site updated folks. Tiptonium became entangled in a lose - lose war with his computer last week or so and is now just getting it back into a stable state.

It all started with a "simple" installation of a popular 3D software package. After installation, I attempted to give the software a bit of a workout. Well, this did not happen due to the constant crashes that occurred anytime I tried to resize a window, edit, you name it. A quick trip to the publisher's website pointed to a graphics card that was not fully OpenGL 1.3 compliant. The card in my system was an Nvidia GeForce 2 MX200 card. I installed the latest drivers and it was still a no go. However, a new, more terrifying thing happened after installing the updated driver. Oh, I forgot to mention that I was running Windows ME . long story, maybe I'll talk that one up later. Anyway, Windows ME now reported that I had TWINVIEW enabled. Yet I only have one video card installed. I could not turn the feature off. So, I just ignored it and went on with my daily grind.

Later that night I needed to grab some screen shots for a game review that I was planning for SSX Tricky. Guess what, the capture software failed. So, I tried to capture the content using the less capable TV tuner card. Nope, that card failed. Next up, my old USB Dazzle capture device. No deal. That one failed two. Ahhhhhh!!!!!

It gets worse.

I uninstalled the GeForce 2 drivers and reinstalled the older rev. Still, the TwinView was still enabled and could not be turned off. None of my capture devices would work. I booted the system up in "safe mode" and proceeded to remove anything in the registry with the name Nvidia or geforce in the name. I set the display to generic VGA and then shut the computer off. I removed the Nvidia card and installed an old Diamond video card into the computer and fired it back up. Windows ME found the card and installed the driver. TwinView was still enabled. My capture cards did not work.

And then something really bad happened.

I noticed that the Plexor CD icon in the CD tray had one of those evil "not" signs over it. I checked and sure enough the system reported that I had never a DVD nor CDRW installed. I "commanded" Windows ME to find these devices and it asked me to insert a CD. How can I insert a CD!?!?!?!

I returned to safe mode, set the VGA to the generic adaptor and powered off the computer. I removed the TV tuner card and the Diamond card. I reinstalled the Nvidia card and powered up the system. Windows ME found Nvidia the card and "it" still thinks that there are two cards. None of my capture devices work. Oh yeah, the CD drives are still missing in action according to the software. (Note: On boot, they show up).

Back to safe mode I go. I remove every driver that shows up in the system tab. I boot the PC again and it starts finding everything again. This required 7 reboots. The DVD and CDRW drives are available. Yippie!!!! The capture devices do not work. I'm still in Twinview mode. My 3D software still does not work.

Off to the store I go for a new video card. I opted for a GeForce 2 MX 400. I installed this card and the 3D software performed flawlessly. The capture devices still failed... must be the TWINVIEW thing that's getting them confused do to the way overlays are implemented. I decide it is time to bite the bullet and upgrade my system to ..

WINDOWS XP

I ran the XP compatibility software. It gave me the green light .. All systems go for the migration!

But first, I decided to back anything important to CD. So I spent 3 nights doing that. Then I decided to go ahead to do a fresh install instead of an upgrade. I went ahead and splurged by installing a new Western Digital hard drive.. They are so cheap now and I could use another 80 gigs anyway.

I set my bios to boot from CD. I put the XP CD into the tray. XP started doing its thing, analyzing, installing drivers, etc. About two minutes later it freezes on me. I'm still in the non-gui portion of the install. Right before it froze the keyboard lights flashed... I tried formatting the hard rive for XP using the Western Digital Software. I attempted the XP install again.. Same result. El-lock-o.

In desperation I installed my old 3DFX Voodoo 5500 card (old?!?!) . Guess what? XP installed without a hitch. My capture devices worked. The 3D Software did not.. Open GL problems.

So I powered down and put the GeForce 2 MX 400 back in the system. I booted up XP and it found the card and installed the drivers. My capture devices worked --- sometimes. The 3D software worked.

I decided to try another card . the ATI Radeon 7500. I hopped over to EB for the card. I was informed that I could NOT return the card if the box was opened. This is a fairly new policy at the store. I bought it anyway. I then did a bit of "web-search" on the card. It seems that that one has issues relating to compatibly under XP and is not as fast as the NVIDEA offerings. I decided to return the card unopened. The risk was to great.

Upon returning the card and explaining to the manager my I was returning the card he said that he'd make an exception if the card failed, just for me. I said I'd rather just get my money. I then proceeded to the store where I purchased the GeForce 2 MX 400. They allowed me to upgrade to the GeForce 3 TI line from PNY. To my delight, everything is now up and running using the PNY drivers. As an added bonus, PNY included a free 128MB DIMM and the game Giants as part of the deal. Plus they were offering a $20 rebate. Not a bad deal at all.

And this my friend, is why I prefer playing Video Games over Computer games for the most part. No compatibility issues! I may not even install Giants. And don't get me started about all of the software re-registration that I've now got to do since my computer ID has changed since upgrading the OS and hardware.

And to think that I have a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science! Oh, yeah... Windows XP appears rock solid thus far.