I had fun today fuxxoring up my computer yay! I booted and for some reason my monitor didn't work. Actually it did work, but since I installed a new video card the other day, it now thinks I have two monitors, and defaults the first one to the onboard video. So I'm like k, hmmm ... lemme just type some keys and see what happens. In other words, I was running Windows blind. Fortunately I know the menus well enough I can do that. So I typed in my password, waited till all the meows stopped (meow = program starting up, let's me catch those annoying spyware programs when they try to phone home) and then shutdown the computer using the windows key. Then I rebooted, just outta curiosity. This time it worked. Hmmm ... k. Whatever. Then I went into the hardware manager dealie and looked and voila, it showed 2 monitors. Lame. Then I went into the stupid little program the new video card installed and disabled the second monitor and the auto-detect monitors on boot, which is apparently how the problem occurred, it installed the monitor without asking me grrrr. Then I removed one of the 2 identical monitor entries hoping I got the right one. Rebooted. Seemed to work ok.

Then I decided, hey, since my computer doesn't seem to like me today, why not try to configure my new video card in Linux! That will be fun! So, I boot to Linux and it goes all wacky bonkers flashing the terminal login screen (I had it set to auto-boot to X, bad idea hehe I shoulda removed that before installing new card.) After about 30 seconds it informs me it has spawned 50 billion instances of X and is tired so it will not do it anymore, which gives me the text-based login dealie. So, I, being a GUI kinda person, am totally stupefied on what to do now. I can't even remember how to start X manually, which I'm pretty sure I don't wanna do anyway. So, I dig out my Linux book and look up how to shut down from the console. Yes, I am lame. Hehe. So, I do a shutdown -h now and there it goes. Whee!

Now I'm like huh how can I install this card? I know! I'll reinstall Linux! I get out my trusty CD set and pop the first install CD into the drive, and run it. Everything goes perfectly, except I gotta go thru all the steps again, it won't let me just skip stuff. So, ok whatever. I get to the LILO part and I'm like uhm ... damn I forget how I had it set. So I think, well, windows is on /dev/hda so I don't wanna set LILO there or it'll toast my windows boot sector. Linux is installed on /dev/hdb so I choose that. I shut it down, and reboot to make sure it works.

I start up, get LILO, choose Linux. Nothing happens. Hmmm ... k. Shut down computer, try again. This time I try to boot to Windows instead of Linux. Same thing, only it makes it to the "starting windows" thing but hangs. Put in linux CD, shut down computer, try again to install. This time I set LILO on /dev/hda. Smart choice! Hehe. We all know what that does! Yes, I must be a masochist. This time, of course, not even the little LILO thing appears. Not only that, I have just toasted my Windows boot sector, yay! So, I'm thinkin', well, yannow I have about 20 windows startup disks, let's try one of those. I put one in. Nothin'. (Can't find some file or something, gee, I wonder why?) I put in a Norton Rescue Zip. That works, but gets me to a useless version of Windows with not even internet access. Oh, well, I decide, there's always that last resort rescue: FDISK! Yay! Fortunately, having been a former computer student in college I know that program well. I poke around the windows directory to find FDISK and finally find it. I poke around again tryin' to find the DOS prompt window cuz Norton's rescue menus don't have anything on them. I find it. I go to the proper directory, and type my favorite DOS command: FDISK /mbr

Just then I remember this rescue disk set was made before I installed my new video card. Ooopsie! Oh well. Hehe.

Anyway, after reinstalling the video drivers, this time making sure to have that stupid second monitor disabled, I create a new Norton rescue zip and a new Windows boot disk. I have not yet re-installed Linux again. I am not in the mood. Windows boots fine, for now. I do know that it should work ok, since I've done the fdisk /mbr thing a few times before then re-installed linux. But before I do, I will check where LILO needs to boot from cuz I forget. I'll also probably do a full re-install of Linux just in case. I'm glad I got it workin' though, cuz I can't re-install windows cuz my PC manufacturer doesn't let you, no, they force you to install from some lame restore thingie that pulls the .cabs outta a hidden partition on your hard drive. But if you cannot access your hard drive, it's useless, no? And there is no way in the Kingdom of Microsoft™ I'm gonna go out and buy a copy of "Hackers Wub It!" Windows XP™. I would rather use Lindows. <grin> Speaking of Lindows, I have a sneaky feeling it's really a Microsoft product. But what do I know? It would be hilarious, though ... MS creates a windows-compatible version of linux, markets it to Walmart, tries to convince newbies and seasoned linux users it's the next best thing, sues itself, loses, then ends up controlling both the windows market and the linux market.

[ 3:20:00 PM ]   Posted at the speed of blight by NONOBADKITTY!