DOS Doctor Tales

A common talking point amongst Computers users is how unreliable Computers are. Is this really true? People who make this complaint fail to understand that their Computer is just a another machine. If they do not purchase the correct machine (Computer) for their needs or look after it then like their other machines, such as their Motor Car, problems can, and will occur. Regular servicing by a trained person is now more than ever necessary as many users need their machines operating correctly on a daily basis.

The notion that a Computer is something special that should never ever need any maintenance or that all software and service should be for free is unfortunate and continues to contribute to the notion of a product that is unreliable. A Computer is just a machine, a very sophisticated machine which allows far more user configuration and modifications than any other machine the consumer owns.

Looking back over some recent jobs has caused me to realise how naive and gullible some Computer users are, preferring to take the advice of friends and others rather than researching the subject and taking a more reasoned approach or seeking professional help at the first sign of troubles.

*****

A client for whom I had custom built a powerful Pentium 4 was in all sorts of trouble within six months. Part of the package I provided was a Broadband Router for sharing the high speed Optus cable Internet between two laptops and a desktop machine. His children had used the generous allowance and very high speed to download massive amounts of music files plus sundry other useless software however the real problem came when the Internet connection to the desktop finally stopped working.

The client was unaware of any problems even though his children must have experienced difficulties with some software but chose to ignore them until their "vital tool", The Internet ceased to function bought on by massive software corruption from useless Internet downloads of software.

*****

An existing client whom I had lost track of moved to new premises and through circumstances engaged an "expert" to provide two new Computers, Network them and connect to Broadband ADSL. When I got involved the whole situation had got to the total mess stage and the only course of action was to start from fresh. A pirate copy of Windows 2000 had been installed on both machines because the expert could not get the Windows XP to work correctly.

The client had in fact originally paid for Windows XP which was installed as an OEM copy but had been deleted by the experts Windows 2000 installation and there were no Microsoft Windows XP CD ROM's in evidence. Two new Windows XP licenses had to be purchases and the Network and Internet correctly configured. This whole mess cost the client double the amount normally necessary to get setup and connected.

*****

A new client was having many problems with her "brand name" Computer. The main problem was the difficulty in connecting to the Internet. Her ISP had advised her to uninstall the modem and re-install which she was doing on a regular basis. How anyone could heed such advice and daily re-install the modem is beyond me. Constantly "adjusting" the Modem and the other "adjustments" the ISP recommended had caused the whole system to become unstable.

A complete reformat and reinstallation of Windows ME plus correct setup of Internet and all the other devices resulted in almost 100% satisfaction. I say this because it was subsequently discovered the trouble with the Internet connection was not the modem but the telephone system in the apartment failing to give a dial tone when requested by the modem and dialup Networking. Once that was rectified the client was 100% happy.

*****

An interesting problem which took some time to diagnose was a client whose Computer would "reboot" immediately after it connected to the Internet. This Computer like so many others I see was loaded up with all sorts of utility software which the owner assumed was helping to provide a better environment but really was slowing down the whole system.

The Internet is flooded with utility software which promises to fix all the users problems. Because this software can give the user powers many times far in advance of their knowledge they take decisions and risks which often cause serious problems further down the track.

One of the items installed was Zone Alarm which turned out to be corrupted and was causing the reboot. This took some time to diagnose as Zone Alarm ( a good Firewall product) was actually not listed as installed on the Computer but obviously had been at some stage in the past. A re-installation of Zone Alarm ( the latest version) corrected the problem however there were other underlying problems which the owner wanted to leave for another time.

No doubt the owner is hoping some utility software located on the Internet will correct the rest of the problems which many times can only be fixed by an expert seated at the Computer.

*****

The failure of a particular CD ROM to play correctly in one Computer when it played without problems in another plus the suspicion surrounding the Microsoft Windows XP Operating system caused one new client to consider reverting to Windows ME or a "dual boot" with Windows ME.

The real problem was twofold:

The CD ROM drive was marginal in the second Computer and was having difficulty in reading and loading the start-up screen for the software. A new copy of the CD ROM using the CD Writer (which struggled a little during the burn) proved to be the answer and the CD ROM drive was able to read the copy OK.

The Software was an Encyclopaedia type product which also failed to "run" correctly and this was traced to the "Java" default settings within MS Internet Explorer as the product used IE to display its information..



		"Computers are just Machines"


	A common talking point amongst Computers users is how unreliable Computers are. Is this really true? People who make this complaint fail to understand that their Computer is just a another machine. If they do not purchase the correct machine (Computer) for their needs or look after it then like their other machines, such as their Motor Car, problems can, and will occur. Regular servicing by a trained person is now more than ever necessary as many users need their machines operating correctly on a daily basis. The notion that a Computer is something special that should never ever need any maintenance or that all software and service should be for free is unfortunate and continues to contribute to the notion of a product that is unreliable. A Computer is just a machine, a very sophisticated machine which allows far more user configuration and modifications than any other machine the consumer owns. Looking back over some recent jobs has caused me to realise how naive and gullible some Computer users are, preferring to take the advice of friends and others rather than researching the subject and taking a more reasoned approach or seeking professional help at the first sign of troubles. *** A client for whom I had custom built a powerful Pentium 4 was in all sorts of trouble within six months. Part of the package I provided was a Broadband Router for sharing the high speed Optus cable Internet between two laptops and a desktop machine. His children had used the generous allowance and very high speed to download massive amounts of music files plus sundry other useless software however the real problem came when the Internet connection to the desktop finally stopped working. The client was unaware of any problems even though his children must have experienced difficulties with some software but chose to ignore them until their "vital tool", The Internet ceased to function bought on by massive software corruption from useless Internet downloads of software. * An existing client whom I had lost track of moved to new premises and through circumstances engaged an "expert" to provide two new Computers, Network them and connect to Broadband ADSL. When I got involved the whole situation had got to the total mess stage and the only course of action was to start from fresh. A pirate copy of Windows 2000 had been installed on both machines because the expert could not get the Windows XP to work correctly. The client had in fact originally paid for Windows XP which was installed as an OEM copy but had been deleted by the experts Windows 2000 installation and there were no Microsoft Windows XP CD ROM's in evidence. Two new Windows XP licenses had to be purchases and the Network and Internet correctly configured. This whole mess cost the client double the amount normally necessary to get setup and connected. * A new client was having many problems with her "brand name" Computer. The main problem was the difficulty in connecting to the Internet. Her ISP had advised her to uninstall the modem and re-install which she was doing on a regular basis. How anyone could heed such advice and daily re-install the modem is beyond me. Constantly "adjusting" the Modem and the other "adjustments" the ISP recommended had caused the whole system to become unstable. A complete reformat and reinstallation of Windows ME plus correct setup of Internet and all the other devices resulted in almost 100% satisfaction. I say this because it was subsequently discovered the trouble with the Internet connection was not the modem but the telephone system in the apartment failing to give a dial tone when requested by the modem and dialup Networking. Once that was rectified the client was 100% happy. * An interesting problem which took some time to diagnose was a client whose Computer would "reboot" immediately after it connected to the Internet. This Computer like so many others I see was loaded up with all sorts of utility software which the owner assumed was helping to provide a better environment but really was slowing down the whole system. The Internet is flooded with utility software which promises to fix all the users problems. Because this software can give the user powers many times far in advance of their knowledge they take decisions and risks which often cause serious problems further down the track. One of the items installed was Zone Alarm which turned out to be corrupted and was causing the reboot. This took some time to diagnose as Zone Alarm ( a good Firewall product) was actually not listed as installed on the Computer but obviously had been at some stage in the past. A re-installation of Zone Alarm ( the latest version) corrected the problem however there were other underlying problems which the owner wanted to leave for another time. No doubt the owner is hoping some utility software located on the Internet will correct the rest of the problems which many times can only be fixed by an expert seated at the Computer. *** The failure of a particular CD ROM to play correctly in one Computer when it played without problems in another plus the suspicion surrounding the Microsoft Windows XP Operating system caused one new client to consider reverting to Windows ME or a "dual boot" with Windows ME. The real problem was twofold: The CD ROM drive was marginal in the second Computer and was having difficulty in reading and loading the start-up screen for the software. A new copy of the CD ROM using the CD Writer (which struggled a little during the burn) proved to be the answer and the CD ROM drive was able to read the copy OK. The Software was an Encyclopaedia type product which also failed to "run" correctly and this was traced to the "Java" default settings within MS Internet Explorer as the product used IE to display its information..