#@%^&*##* WINDOWS UPDATE

ME | 08/02/05 | swampsniper

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I just ran through the Windows OS validation download update deal. Upon restart, my mouse driver was gone, my pages no longer open full screen, the way I want them to, and no telling what else it overrode and messed with. I am afraid of what I'll find next. I don't recall doing anything special to get pages to open, big enough to see, when I installed the OS on the new drive, in December, does anyone know what I need to do now? It is only an extra click involved, but not the way I want to do things. Also, once you finish this download, system restore points prior the the download are gone, you can't just dump it and forget it.

[Michael Goldsberry]

http://www.redhat.com/

[theFIRMbss]

[Bacon Man]

Microsoft: What do you want to @#$% up today?

Don't have a clue. I've run that stupid tool on three of my machines so far and haven't experienced that yet. Got two more to go though.

[MikefromOhio]

Ok...

which smart@$$ wrote "shiftkeystillworks" in the keywords?

LOL

I hate Windows, but I have to work with them.

Any chance you could convert to MAC?

[chapin2500]

Ctrl, Alt, Delete

[isthisnickcool]

What are you complaining about? Those are Microsoft OS features! Don't worry! Your problems will be solved with the next upgrade, or maybe the next one, or the next one.......

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I think I know what it feels like to be molested. Does anyone have Bill Gates' phone number?

[Bacon Man]

Does anyone have Bill Gates' phone number?

Oh I wish!

[chapin2500]

Does anyone have Bill Gates' phone number?

No, but I think he is smiling at you here.

Microsoft does suck sometimes.

[big'ol_freeper]

Switch and you will never go back!

[Brainhose]

You can't have been using windows too long to not know that Windows Update performs more abortions per day than Planned-Parenthood.
Just a couple of tips:

1. First off. DO NOT download XP-SP2 unless you are a masochist.
2. Get driver updates from hardware mfg'r only if absolutely needed
3. Keep your OS on a different partition from your data.
4. Buy Norton Ghost so you can make an image of your OS so that you can restore it in case of a major problem such as this.
5. Next Time you run Windows Update follow these steps
   1. Push yourself away from the desk.
   2. Have plenty of lubricant handy
   3. Bend over and grab your ankles.
   4. Grit your teeth.
   5. Re-install Windows and all your applications.
   6. Have several Rum and Cokes and go to bed.
6. Repeat above steps until lesson is learned.

I only know this from 15 years of windows.
Norton Ghost is probably the best damned utility ever created. It has saved my a$$ several times.
Just my 2¢ worth. That and $14.98 will get you a Grande Latte at the local Starbucks.
Good Luck!

[Brainhose]

All kidding aside. When you say "Pages" do you mean web pages in IE?
I don't know if this will help but there is a Registry Tweak fom Win2K that addressed a similar problem. There is a link to it here: IE Registry Error
Either way it sounds like you may have to install windows from scratch or dig deep into the registry. As far as the mouse goes you'll probably have to reinstall the driver from the original disk.
Is it a M$ mouse or a Logitech?
If it is USB I'd unplug it then uninstall the driver thru the Device manager an turn off the computer plug the mouse in and let the "Hardware wizard" detect it. and point it to the original disk.
Good luck dude, my prayers are with you.

[big'ol_freeper]

I do not understand why people put up with that crap when there are alternatives to Windows.

[backhoe]

Crosslinked to my general-tech interest, browser, OS, and malware post:

Browser Wars, take two

[A CA Guy]

F-Disk and reinstall Windows 3.1?

[JerseyHighlander]

From http://www.boingboing.net

Microsoft "Genuine Advantage" cracked in 24h: window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all'
AV sez, "This week, Microsoft started requiring users to verifiy their serial number before using Windows Update. This effort to force users to either buy XP or tell them where you got the illegal copy is called 'Genuine Advantage.' It was cracked within 24 hours."

Before pressing 'Custom' or 'Express' buttons paste this text to the address bar and press enter:

javascript:void(window.g_sDisableWGACheck='all')

It turns off the trigger for the key check.

---

As for your problem, stop using Internet Explorer, and download Firefox. For your mouse, d/l directly from manufacturer. I'm very afraid to d/l windows updates as of late, I lost two days of work last time registry reset my windows update key after a winxp crash recovery to automatic update and auto install.

And I second buying Norton Ghost.

[Brainhose]

Sometimes for business reasons you have to. All my clients use windows. As long as you don't do rash things and se Windows Update and if you wait to upgrade to the new OS until after the 1st SP comes out you'll have less problems. :) You should have seen the beta of NT4!
I learned my lesson on that one.

[hattend]

1. Did it (not a masochist)
2. Do that
3. Don't Do that (no partitions)
4. Don't have it
5. Do it once a month
6. I must not be a power user because I have never had a problem so no lesson taken, never learned.

Yeah, I'll have to have a total failure on my desktop and laptop before I learn something, it just hasn't happened yet.

[SWAMPSNIPER]

I unplugged the mouse, hooked it up again, and the system found it, evidently I don't need the Logitech driver. Before the download I could double click on the FR shortcut, and the forum would open right up. Now, it opens, but in a little separate window that I have to click on to enlarge. It ain't a big deal, but it is my computer, and I preferred it the way it was.
Once you install SP2 it gets overly complicated to run the XP disc for repair, you either have to create a "slick" version of XP, or dump SP2, repair XP, and reinstall SP2. I can't really afford a new OS right now, and for photography windows still seems better, anyway.
I am turning off auto update, for damn sure, before things stop working at all. The whole computer desk is beginning to smell like burning duct tape!
Thanks for listening, I feel better!