Saturday afternoon, 2 weeks before Christmas.
This turns out to not be a very good time to do the update if you run into problems.
I decided it was about time to update my primary PC to SP2. The machine had passed sweeps for adware and viruses. So I went ahead and did the update. Then, of course, my computer entered a continuous restart cycle. I could enter safe mode, but couldn't do anything to repair it. After a few cycles of trying to figure something out, it decided it wouldn't even boot into safe mode.
So, I decided that I might as well start over with a new install of XP. I didn't want to overwrite the hard drive in case I need to pull something off it. I have recent backups of most data, but I didn't make a recent email backup. And, I'm sure there's other stuff I will be pulling off it.
It's really been time to clean things up for a while now, so I decided to go buy a new hard drive. Best Buy had an 80G Seagate with a 5 year warranty on sale (through yesterday) for $40 after rebate. So off I go to Best Buy. This is why it was the wrong time - Best Buy on a Saturday 2 weeks before Christmas is not really the place I want to be.
Actually, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I parked nowhere near the entrance so I didn't have to fight too much parking lot traffic (just the traffic to get into the parking lot). I was able to locate the drive easily enough and get into the single long line to checkout. I actually like the way Best Buy handles their lines at Christmas - a single line with someone assigning you to a register when you get to the head of the line. It works better than trying to find the best line. Of course, when I finally got to the register, the guy ahead of me was paying with a check. The clerk ID'd him for the check. Then the clerk ID'd him to prove he was over 17 (to buy Grand Theft Auto), after he had already put his driver's license away. And the guy was obviously over 17 - you need to lead a pretty hard life to look that grizzled at 17. Then, the tool the clerk used to remove the security box from the game wouldn't work. He needed to wander to several other registers to find one.
After that, it was quick to pay and get out. Until I got stuck in traffic taking the secret back exit from Best Buy. Still faster than going out the front, though.
After that, it was uneventful. The drive went in. I reinstalled XP Pro. I downloaded all updates (through SP2). Now it's just the fun of installing all the software that was on it. At least I can install all new versions of some of the stuff (without leaving bits and pieces of old versions around).
I've got the old hardrive connected through USB so I can use it as a reference.
Eventually, maybe, I'll get to work on something I want to work on.
This turns out to not be a very good time to do the update if you run into problems.
I decided it was about time to update my primary PC to SP2. The machine had passed sweeps for adware and viruses. So I went ahead and did the update. Then, of course, my computer entered a continuous restart cycle. I could enter safe mode, but couldn't do anything to repair it. After a few cycles of trying to figure something out, it decided it wouldn't even boot into safe mode.
So, I decided that I might as well start over with a new install of XP. I didn't want to overwrite the hard drive in case I need to pull something off it. I have recent backups of most data, but I didn't make a recent email backup. And, I'm sure there's other stuff I will be pulling off it.
It's really been time to clean things up for a while now, so I decided to go buy a new hard drive. Best Buy had an 80G Seagate with a 5 year warranty on sale (through yesterday) for $40 after rebate. So off I go to Best Buy. This is why it was the wrong time - Best Buy on a Saturday 2 weeks before Christmas is not really the place I want to be.
Actually, it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I parked nowhere near the entrance so I didn't have to fight too much parking lot traffic (just the traffic to get into the parking lot). I was able to locate the drive easily enough and get into the single long line to checkout. I actually like the way Best Buy handles their lines at Christmas - a single line with someone assigning you to a register when you get to the head of the line. It works better than trying to find the best line. Of course, when I finally got to the register, the guy ahead of me was paying with a check. The clerk ID'd him for the check. Then the clerk ID'd him to prove he was over 17 (to buy Grand Theft Auto), after he had already put his driver's license away. And the guy was obviously over 17 - you need to lead a pretty hard life to look that grizzled at 17. Then, the tool the clerk used to remove the security box from the game wouldn't work. He needed to wander to several other registers to find one.
After that, it was quick to pay and get out. Until I got stuck in traffic taking the secret back exit from Best Buy. Still faster than going out the front, though.
After that, it was uneventful. The drive went in. I reinstalled XP Pro. I downloaded all updates (through SP2). Now it's just the fun of installing all the software that was on it. At least I can install all new versions of some of the stuff (without leaving bits and pieces of old versions around).
I've got the old hardrive connected through USB so I can use it as a reference.
Eventually, maybe, I'll get to work on something I want to work on.