Warning! Do NOT apply XP SP 3!

[Atrocities]

"At this point, I want to clarify that the endless rebooting is not at all related to SP3 per se," Johansson wrote. "The problem is that with some configurations, SP3 causes the computer to crash during boot, and Windows XP, by default, is set up to automatically reboot when it crashes. That is why you end up in the endless rebooting scenario."

Well thats just peachy.

[Azselendor]

Didn't microsoft make a statement saying this is related computers with a certain piece of software installed?

[Xrati]

Yes, they did. I beleive that Micro$oft blamed it on SE5!

Always turn off your auto update. I have mine set on notify me and I'll choose what and when.
I too learned the hard way, after updating to IE7 [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/Grenade.gif[/img]
and happily getting the "BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH"
and the inability to ever recover the system to where it ran right, [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/Hammer.gif[/img]
causing a complete reinstall of Windows.........

Could we use that for a new syndrome name? [img]/threads/images/Graemlins/icon45.gif[/img]

[AgentZero]

I tried updating to SP3 a few days ago. Didn't get too far. I created a nice little screenshot compilation of the joys of Windows update, I'll throw it up here when I get home.

Then of course there's my classmate who tried to apply SP1 for Vista, and it took three days for it to reach 100% complete, another 4 hours before it told him that the update had failed and it was reverting it's changes, and then another two hours for it to crash and for him to find out that his Vista installation was completely borked and would require a full format & reinstall.

[Jack Simth]

Me, I'm thinking it's a new Microsoft advertisement in favor of Linux.

[MrToxin]

Easiest way to deal with something like this is to install Windows on a separate harddrive and keep your paging somewhere other than where Windows installs. You know...install Windows on a small partition that you put nothing else on. Ever. That way, when something breaks (even Linux isn't perfect, kids) you can just reinstall it without too much worry. Yes, it's a bit of a pain but, for the best computer results, you should format and reinstall like once a year anyway.

[Jack Simth]

No, Linux isn't perfect. It is, however, considerably more stable than any MS box I've worked with. Software can't really deal with a hard disk crash - you pretty much need some amount of hardware redundancy to deal with that. Hard disk crashes are inevitable - they're physical devices that wear out. Back up all important data and settings, keep an OS disk on hand, and you're set.

[Atrocities]

Jack Simth said:
Me, I'm thinking it's a new Microsoft advertisement in favor of Linux.

Micro$oft, we design the bugs into every OS so you don't have to worry whether or not you'll get the blue screen of death, its pretty much guaranteed.

[AgentZero]

I do have to say though, that other than Windows Update, I've never had any serious problems with any of my Windows machines. I think part of the problem is, and I don't mean to sound like more of an elitist d-bag than usual, but I know how to take care of my computer. I don't mean things like defragging, AV (haven't had a resident AV in 4 years ), or firewalls, but rather I avoid doing things that I know will cause problems down the road.

I've been asked to have a look at plenty of computers that are fumtu, and the vast majority of the time I find things like multiple different AV programs, a few firewalls, a dozen different music players, a plethora of CD/DVD creation software, and a multitude of programs the user doesn't even know the purpose of. And then these same people blame Windows and/or Microsoft for all of their woes. Yet strangely enough, if I ask them if they think a car with 4 different tires and a V6 engine with an extra three pistons welded on and the exhaust manifold piped into the turbo charger would run very well. Inevitably I get an answer along the lines of "Of course not, what kind of stupid question is that?" And when I follow up by asking whether they'd blame the manufacturer if they'd performed those modifications themselves, I usually get the same answer.

I find it a bit funny that the same people who would never dream of putting oil in the gas tank or KY Jelly to lubricate their engine seem to have no compunctions about performing equally damaging acts to their software, and then blaming Microsoft when it goes pearshaped. Although I suppose one great advantage I have is that I'm the only one who uses my computer. If more than one person is using the computer, one might as well consign themselves to a format/re-install every six months, at least.

I suppose another part of it is that the hardware in the vast majority of home computers is ****e. I know most people on this forum are quite happy building their own machines, but most people just go out to Best Buy and get the cheapest machine that'll do the job they want. Of course, such machine's specs are designed purely to answer the 3 Big Questions most people have when buying a computer: What kind of processor is it? How big is the hard drive does it have? How much RAM does it have? And sometimes: What kind of graphics card does it have? People rarely ask who made the hard drive or the RAM, what type of motherboard is in there, and more importantly, what type and who made the power supply. Which means that these tend to be where the people who build the computers cut corners.

Then you have people coming back to the store a few months later claiming (and I've heard these all myself), "Windows burnt out my power supply", "Windows corrupted my RAM", "Stupid Microsoft fried my hard drive". Could the problem be that you have a $30 power supply, 2GB of RAM that didn't cost more than $10, and a 500GB hard drive that only added $20 to the price tag? No! It must be Microsoft!

No, Windows isn't perfect, and sometimes Microsoft can be a bit of a collective douchebag but there's still a pretty hefty list of things they not only get right, but get right better than Linux and/or Macs.

Hmm... I suppose an /endrant is appropriate here.

[Jack Simth]

AgentZero said:
I do have to say though, that other than Windows Update, I've never had any serious problems with any of my Windows machines. I think part of the problem is, and I don't mean to sound like more of an elitist d-bag than usual, but I know how to take care of my computer. I don't mean things like defragging, AV (haven't had a resident AV in 4 years ), or firewalls, but rather I avoid doing things that I know will cause problems down the road.

I've been asked to have a look at plenty of computers that are fumtu, and the vast majority of the time I find things like multiple different AV programs, a few firewalls, a dozen different music players, a plethora of CD/DVD creation software, and a multitude of programs the user doesn't even know the purpose of. And then these same people blame Windows and/or Microsoft for all of their woes. Yet strangely enough, if I ask them if they think a car with 4 different tires and a V6 engine with an extra three pistons welded on and the exhaust manifold piped into the turbo charger would run very well. Inevitably I get an answer along the lines of "Of course not, what kind of stupid question is that?" And when I follow up by asking whether they'd blame the manufacturer if they'd performed those modifications themselves, I usually get the same answer.

I find it a bit funny that the same people who would never dream of putting oil in the gas tank or KY Jelly to lubricate their engine seem to have no compunctions about performing equally damaging acts to their software, and then blaming Microsoft when it goes pearshaped. Although I suppose one great advantage I have is that I'm the only one who uses my computer. If more than one person is using the computer, one might as well consign themselves to a format/re-install every six months, at least.

I suppose another part of it is that the hardware in the vast majority of home computers is ****e. I know most people on this forum are quite happy building their own machines, but most people just go out to Best Buy and get the cheapest machine that'll do the job they want. Of course, such machine's specs are designed purely to answer the 3 Big Questions most people have when buying a computer: What kind of processor is it? How big is the hard drive does it have? How much RAM does it have? And sometimes: What kind of graphics card does it have? People rarely ask who made the hard drive or the RAM, what type of motherboard is in there, and more importantly, what type and who made the power supply. Which means that these tend to be where the people who build the computers cut corners.

Then you have people coming back to the store a few months later claiming (and I've heard these all myself), "Windows burnt out my power supply", "Windows corrupted my RAM", "Stupid Microsoft fried my hard drive". Could the problem be that you have a $30 power supply, 2GB of RAM that didn't cost more than $10, and a 500GB hard drive that only added $20 to the price tag? No! It must be Microsoft!

Do note:
You can install several music players and sets of CD/DVD creation software just fine on a Linux box. For that matter, a Knoppix CD comes with several sets of both pre-installed and linked in the start menu. A few different internet browsers, too.

The computer I'm working on was previously a Vista box. The second time I had to do a factory restore in a month (and I seriously installed exactly two piece of software - Firefox and (the second time around) a CD burner) I was basically just using it to browse the net. Otherwise, all software was factory installed.) I installed Linux, instead.

Haven't had a problem since. I've even got a copy of the OS on a second drive, all ready to go, in case my hard disk crashes.

Now, granted, the thread's primarily about XP... but still...

AgentZero said:

No, Windows isn't perfect, and sometimes Microsoft can be a bit of a collective douchebag but there's still a pretty hefty list of things they not only get right, but get right better than Linux and/or Macs.

Hmm... I suppose an /endrant is appropriate here.

A hefty list of things they get right better than Linux or Mac?
Other than marketing, and as a consequence, software market share, can you actually name three of significance?