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Obligatory "Windows XP is a Giant Turd of an OS" Thread


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Moogs
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Join Date: May 2004
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2004-07-24, 12:18

This might have some cross-over applicability to the Rants and Raves thread but since it is technical in nature, and since I have actual questions to ask at the end of my rant, I posted here....

Background: After 12 years of upgrading RAM, installing new drives, new video cards, PCI cards and even optical drives on a wide variety of machines ranging from a Mac IIsi and POS Compaq pizza box circa '94, to Mac 7000-series machines and God-awful Mac 8500s, to G4 towers the wondrously simple G5... I have finally met my match. Installing a second 3.5" hard drive on combination of Windows XP (Home Edition?) and a Dell Dimension XPS (circa 2000).

Holy Mother of God, what a complete and utter NIGHTMARE! Bad enough you can't just look inside the case and visually see where the secondary drive should go right away, but there are spare power plugs galore floating all over the place, and of course, the place most likely to bracket a new drive, has no screw holes. "Dude, you're gonna rot in HELL!"

So onward I toil. I dig up TFM and skim through it until I find the chapter about adding storage. It seems that the spot inside the computer which is least accessible and least logical, is the place for the second drive. So, not only do I have to remove the side cover of the machine, but also the front bezel and a metal plate that holds this stupid 3.5" drive socket thing in place.

Having disassembled half the damn machine, I get the drive plate out and try the logical thing: slide the drive into place and screw them together. You know, like the G4 towers and their little drive cage thingy? No no. Not in Dellville. In Dellville you have to figure out that instead of two or four screw holes to secure the drive, you have ONE, and the rest of the screw holes fit into what look like little bent edges of metal. So, according to Dell Logic ™, it's designed that you take one side of the drive and press the two screw holes into the little metal spikes, THEN on the other side, you screw one screw in to secure things. P-O-S!

So I get the drive and bracket back into place and secure it back into the chassis. Now the fun part: I discover that the ATA drive cable was installed upside down into the main (C) drive, and said drive is completely and utterly inaccessible. I would've had to remove the entire front metal face-plate of the machine to get at it and even then it wouldn't have been simple. So screw that, I'm going to smush and twist the cable so that it can actually plug into the secondary drive. And of course, the secondary power cable was twisted around incorrectly too, so I end up using a spare that's floating out of the power supply.

I set the jumper to "Dual - Slave" (one can only assume the dickheads at Dell are smart enough to set the original drive to "Master" right?), close up this contraption of evil and had back to the desk. Plug everything in, start up and wait to find a dialog, asking me to format my new drive. No such luck. First I get what can only be the Blue Screen of Doom, with little DOS messages saying something about Fat32 and do I was to do something or other to the drive and "Saying Yes is highly recommneded". Not "This drive needs to be formatted for Windows, would you like to continue?" No. Instead I get a bunch of cryptic shit which even after 12 years of heavy computer use, consulting and maintenance, in both home, small office and corporate environments, I can't even figure it out.

If a computer gives me a maintenance message, and I cannot figure out right away what it's asking of me, be afraid. I'm usually good at deciphering obscure computer language and putting it into context but this was a new one on me. So anyway, I choose to continue, it does its thing and eventually XP starts to boot. Before I head to "My Computer" I get a little pop-up from the Start Bar that says "a new device has been added". OK great. Progress! I go to My Computer, check the menu... there's nothing there.

"Oh, I have to go to 'Add hardware' in the Control Panel" I say to myself (I use XP about once a year but still I remember these things right off)... so I go to add the new drive, and in the Wizard thingy, there it is WD250... already present and accounted for. OK. So I say to myself "well, it sees the drive and says the drive is working properly; maybe I need to restart to see it in 'My Computer'". So I restart.

Note: by this time on even an old G3 running OS 9, I could've installed TWO drives, formatted them both and gone to bed. But no, this is Windows XP and the wonderful world of Dellville. DUDE!

So of course, XP restarts, I go into the account and there's nothing in My Computer. No "F" drive, no "G" drive... nothing. Hmm. Time to go to the Diagnostic thiny according to XP Help. So I go to the Devices Manager thing and I click "Drives". And wouldn't you know it... there it is. Just like I was hoping to see in the Explorer Menu pop-out thing. Properties indicate everything is A-OK. Good driver, drive itself is operating, etc.

SO WHAT THE FUCK?!! Why, in this convoluted bullshit world of Microsoft "Operating"(HA!) Systems, can the Device Manager cleary see, make a graphical representation of and communicate with the drive, but the Windows Explorer and My Computer can't? Why isn't there a simple way to just format the fucking drive, assign it a letter or a name (IMAGINE THAT!) and start using it?

(Here comes the question part)

1) Please don't tell me I have to go back and use that stupid-ass "Cable Select" setup, wherein I have to take the whole damned computer apart, switch ATA cables for both drives, set the jumpers again, etc. I presume that if XP can see the drive, determine the drive is working, and show a representation of it in the Devices Manager... that I MUST be close... right?

2) Is there a Control Panel or something that has as one of its purposes, to select new drives and assign it a letter so that it shows up in the menus everywhere?

3) If Steve Jobs is such a marketing genius, how come the whole frickin world is using this POS XP system and not a Mac? How come, way back when, when there was a chance to get everyone hooked, he didn't. Why no RDF back then.... HUH? Do you know how many strokes, heart attacks, fatal arguments and general treachery could be avoided each year if no one had to use fucking WINDOWS?

OK. I'm going to calm down and finish my OJ now. Any help would be appreciated.

...into the light of a dark black night.

Last edited by Moogs : 2004-07-24 at 12:29.
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trailmaster308
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Join Date: Jun 2004
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2004-07-24, 12:30

Did you go into the bios and select the HD first?

New hard drives need to be prepared before they will work. You will need to configure it and set the CMOS. When you turn the system on, immediately hit the Hot Key sequence necessary to enter CMOS setup. A lot of times, this is Delete. Go to the section on IDE auto-detection, if your BIOS has this option. Follow the prompt under this section and it will auto-detect the drive. If your BIOS does not support this, then you will need to manually plug the necessary information into setup for the drive. When this is done, exit CMOS and save your changes. The system will reboot.
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Moogs
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Join Date: May 2004
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2004-07-24, 12:40

I rest my case.


Ok. Seriously. Thank you for your help... so I understand correctly. I have to find out what the "CMOS Hot Key Sequence" is (probably Delete)? Is it basically one or two keys that I hold down when starting up (sort of like holding down the C key on a Mac to boot from a CD)? Or do I have to press combinations of things as it boots (God help me if "yes"). Is this key sequence basically the same for all machines from the same manufacturer, or is it based on your version of Windows?

Assuming I get to this CMOS thing, but have no Drive Autodetection under the list of options, how do I "manually plug the information in" exactly?

I swear, I don't know how people who use this system keep from ripping their hair out on a weekly basis. What a convoluted POS.

...into the light of a dark black night.
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trailmaster308
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Join Date: Jun 2004
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2004-07-24, 13:50

It all depends on the manufacture of the system board. Most systems are either delete or F1, sometimes F2. Shut the system all the way down. Power it back on, don't just do a restart, and start banging on one of those keys. You will enter the BIOS. Its only one key. From there you can navigate your way around. Luck!
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Moogs
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2004-07-24, 14:35

According to Dell, all of their Dimensions except for the 4200, 8100 and 8200 models use the Delete key. Doesn't say whether I have to hold it down but I guess technically that doesn't matter.

If it's any of the above three models - get this - I have to hit F2 every three seconds until the screen changes. That has got to be the most unbelievably stupid thing I have EVER heard in computer-land. I mean, why not just make them type a long sentence in under six seconds or it won't enter the BIOS mode?



Anyway, I'll give that a shot. Thanks.

Dell also said that their systems ship with Cable Select jumpered on their drives, though of course they don't say ALL Dell systems do. I guess I might want to try jumpering to cable select before going into CMOS / BIOS mode?

Is Longhorn going to finally remove all this DOS bullshit from Windows and make the system actually semi-user-friendly without spewing dialogs and hyperlinks everywhere?

Crikey!

...into the light of a dark black night.
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wyvern
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2004-07-24, 14:38

In addition to F1 and F2, the Del key (the one in the page up/down key group) is also common.
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MCQ
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2004-07-24, 14:48

This thread sounds vaguely similar to your problem:
http://www.techimo.com/forum/archive.../t-114293.html

If it's some BIOS config needed, then CHS for it according to newegg's page for WD2500JB drive:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...144-309&DEPA=0

Logical CHS: 16383 x 16 x 63

HTH
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Moogs
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2004-07-24, 15:11

Thanks for the info. Yes the guy's problem sounds exactly like mine, but I don't recall seeing the "raw" drive icon anywhere in the My Computer menu. Maybe I just missed it but I don't think so. As far as the "Admin Tools" he eventually refers to, which one is used for formatting drives (I refuse to go by perceived logic anymore since nothing XP does is logical, technically speaking).

What is CHS, btw? Another obscure Windows / DOS term strikes fear into my now damaged ego. Is that a subsection within the CMOS / BIOS thing?

Also, if the original drive IS jumpered for Cable Select, and i have the second drive in the chain jumpered as Slave, can that still work? Or do they both have to be jumpered to Cable Select?

...into the light of a dark black night.
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MCQ
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2004-07-24, 15:45

CHS = Cylinders, Heads, Sectors. I think it has to do with the physical layout of the hard drive.

Not sure on Cable Select... I'm guessing that you'd want both of them set to Cable Select.
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Moogs
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2004-07-24, 15:55

OK. I'll keep that in mind. So you're saying under the BIOS / CMOS (same thing) menu, I might have to manually enter the CHS numbers?

You see? This is the beauty of a Mac: even as a power user, not only do I not have to know what CHS stands for, it would serve no purpose on my system even if I did know... because the OS just takes care of minutia like this at almost every turn. Amazing how long MS has been copying Apple's concepts and yet still have done such a horrible job at it in the end analysis (because the system is only marginally easier to use than earlier versions like 95 or 98).

...into the light of a dark black night.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2004-07-24, 16:06

I feel for you, moogs. All the more reason to never use the shifty, offensive bastard of an OS.

Trailmaster's first response to you was classic (followed by your "I rest my case"). This kind of thing shouldn't be that hard, or require that much effort.

Yes, a giant turd of an OS. Makes me sad that it's all some people know, or will ever know. It's solely the reason computers have a bad reputation in many quarters. I've got relatives who will never buy a computer because of the horror stories they've heard OR the pain-in-the-ass they've experienced over and over again at their job, using one.

There's irony for you: the King Daddy company with this commanding presence and marketshare is ALSO - at the same exact time - the biggest roadblock for so many people opting to never buy or use a computer.



Chew on THAT little nugget and see if it doesn't make your head spin.

I'm sorry, but this kind of nonsense just doesn't happen on Macs. And if it DOES, it's an isolated, random freak-ass scenario that can't even begin to compare to the frequency and intensity it occurs on the "other side".

In my entire circle of friends and family - lots of people - who use computers, the ONLY ones I ever hear bitching, cursing, calling tech support, up at 2am pulling their hair out, calling me as if I have some sort of insight, etc. are the PC users.

If I hear from a Mac buddy, it's only to invite me out for drinks or dinner or to talk about movies or whatnot.



Never "OHMIGOD, iTunes just deleted my System and now the hard drive is eating itself and I can't understand the message on screen!!!!!
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Moogs
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2004-07-24, 16:27



Yep. Both my sister and my parents and my fianeé's parents use Windows and it never fails. Something goes haywire during their normal, timid usage, and the "support" people they call end up denying there is anything wrong / saying they can't help - which pisses them off no end - then they call me, as if I'm some sort of computer savior.

And the funniest and most maddening part is, when I tell them things like "Hmm, sounds like it could be a problem with ____, but I'm really not sure what to tell you." They think I'm DODGING THEM. Like I know the answer but just don't want to help.

It's as if, because I never have problems with my Mac and have spent time as a consultant installing Mac hardware and software for all sorts of people, then I MUST ALSO know lot's and lot's about solving every bass-akwards Windows problem that crops up on their systems.

Survey SAYS? XXXXXXX!


...into the light of a dark black night.
  quote
MCQ
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2004-07-24, 16:35

Hehe. To be honest I don't think I've ran into this problem adding hard drives to an XP box... as far as I remember I've just popped them in and it shows up.

I'm guessing that since it shows up in device manager in Windows it should be configured in the BIOS, but I could be wrong on that.
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Moogs
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Join Date: May 2004
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2004-07-24, 16:41

Whatever the case; I'm going into battle prepared for the worst this time. Printed out several Tech documents from Dell, and wrote down some of the stuff gleaned from this thread on the front sheet. I'll be sure to post back here Monday with a casualty / status report.


...into the light of a dark black night.
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Luca
ಠ_ರೃ
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Minnesota
 
2004-07-24, 16:51

Um, it probably would have worked if you had just double-checked the jumper settings first. This is of course a pain in the ass because it's a Dell, but that's because Dell makes awful cases. If you were working in a standard ATX case, things would be much easier (though not nearly as nice has having a PowerMac G4 with the drop-down door).

FWIW, I've had my G4 not recognize my hard drives before, and it was due to the jumpers being set improperly based on the drives' locations on the cable. The middle connector goes to the slave drive, and the one at the opposite end from where the IDE cable connects to the motherboard is for the master drive. Then you have to jumper them properly. Once that's done, you're good. If you haven't checked your jumpers yet, you should.

If you have... well then, allow me to begin working on extracting my foot from my mouth...
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Moogs
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2004-07-24, 17:13

I did indeed end up verifying that the second drive (middle cable adapter) was set to Slave. The problem I did not anticipate is that Dell evidently doesn't default their OEM drives to Master... they default it to Cable Select. So this may be part of the problem. I think my plan of attack will flow thusly:

1) Boot as-is, see if I can see a nameless drive in the My Computer menu (99.8% sure it's not there; I looked several times across two different sessions, and three logins). If it's not there, see if I can use something analgous to Disk Utility (is there a counterpart in XP among the Admin Tools?) and see if I can format it from the wonder-GUI that is XP.

2) If those fail, try the BIOS/CMOS method.

3) If that fails, open the case, move the jumper to Cable Select and see if it shows up as a raw drive in My Computer. If not, repeat steps 1 and 2.

4) If that fails, I'm going to throw my sister's computer out the window and let it plummet 15 feet or so to its untimely death on her driveway.

...into the light of a dark black night.
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Luca
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2004-07-24, 17:20

Why not just move the primary drive's jumper from Cable Select to Master? Am I missing something?
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Moogs
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Join Date: May 2004
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2004-07-24, 17:43

I can't even see or get at the OEM drive's jumper settings without seriously disassembling several components inside the case; it's nuts man. So making the secondary drive's jumper settings jive with the cable select thing (IF that's in fact Dell's OEM setting for this machine), would be a lot easier than changing the jumper on the OEM drive.

Frankly though, since the system can see and query the drive, I don't think I'm being unreasonable in questioning why I cannot format and assign a letter to the damn thing right from XP. Makes zero sense.

...into the light of a dark black night.
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InactionMan
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2004-07-24, 18:03

Moogs, please jump to your fourth option immediately. And for the love of god, take pictures.

I've officially stopped helping friends/family fix their PCs. Whenever they call with a problem I just keep repeating, "Get a Mac" until they hang up.
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FFL
Fishhead Family Reunited
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Slightly Off Center
 
2004-07-24, 18:21

Just do what I do.
Say "Get a Mac, then call me back" and hang up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Moogs


Yep. Both my sister and my parents and my fianeé's parents use Windows and it never fails. Something goes haywire during their normal, timid usage, and the "support" people they call end up denying there is anything wrong / saying they can't help - which pisses them off no end - then they call me, as if I'm some sort of computer savior.

And the funniest and most maddening part is, when I tell them things like "Hmm, sounds like it could be a problem with ____, but I'm really not sure what to tell you." They think I'm DODGING THEM. Like I know the answer but just don't want to help.

It's as if, because I never have problems with my Mac and have spent time as a consultant installing Mac hardware and software for all sorts of people, then I MUST ALSO know lot's and lot's about solving every bass-akwards Windows problem that crops up on their systems.

Survey SAYS? XXXXXXX!

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Vincey37
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Join Date: Jul 2004
 
2004-07-24, 18:41

This is by far one of the worst rants I have ever seen.

Look, performing hardware upgrades on your computer isn't something you're supposed to be doing. Its not something Dell plans for when designing their PCs, and its not something they're going to support. My friend has a 2000 Porsche and the engine compartment is completely inaccessable. The only things you can get to without taking it to a shop are the oil/coolant/windshield fluid. Are you going to say Porsche makes crappy cars because its easier to change the belts on a Daewoo?

With that said, its still a piece of cake to install a new hard drive. Hint #1 - master and slave configurations as well as *gasp* IDE cables are a part of all hard drives, whether they run Windows, Unix, or Mac OS. I would think someone that has as much experience as you would know about cable select by now. Hint $2 - RTFM! (Read the fvcking manual) - new hard drives come with CDs. You're supposed to put the CD in first, which will prepare the drive. Then you start Windows and its there! Complicated concept, I know. Honestly, you're damn lucky you didn't fry the drive with all the random messing you did. If you can't take your time and know what you're doing before you do it, you shouldn't be working on anything more complicated than a toaster.
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DMBand0026
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2004-07-24, 18:57

Oh geez...
Will you quit ragging on Moogs? He didn't do anything wrong, the worthless sack of crap OS and the computer are frustrating. Heck, when he opened up the case he probably got something like this:



You open up a G5 and get this:


Which would you rather deal with?

Don't friggin call his intellect into question because he wanted to do something that ANY consumer in the world should be able to do. Replacing a HDD absolutely should not be rocket science, but Windows and that Dell made it just that. No excuse for that.

Come waste your time with me
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Vincey37
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Join Date: Jul 2004
 
2004-07-24, 19:01

Quote:
Originally Posted by DMBand0026
Oh geez...
Will you quit ragging on Moogs? He didn't do anything wrong, the worthless sack of crap OS and the computer are frustrating. Heck, when he opened up the case he probably got something like this:



You open up a G5 and get this:


Which would you rather deal with?

Don't friggin call his intellect into question because he wanted to do something that ANY consumer in the world should be able to do. Replacing a HDD absolutely should not be rocket science, but Windows and that Dell made it just that. No excuse for that.
Its not rocket science by any means. Sure you can install a hard drive in a Mac in what, 10 minutes? You can install a hard drive in a Dell in 20 minutes. Kudos to Apple for the design that allows a 10 minute time savings. But writing a huge rant about a task as simple as following directions a fourth grader could complete is just sad. If moogs had read the directions, he could have installed the drive in the time it took him to write up that post. What are we going to do next, bust on Ikea because you have to look at the diagrams to assemble their furniture?
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DMBand0026
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2004-07-24, 19:31

You look into a case like that and tell me that installing an HD is an easy task. And that's just the physical instillation of it. Dealing with XP is an even bigger pain in the butt. I installed an HD in my G4 in 30 seconds.

Steps:
1. Open case
2. Mount drive
3. Plug in power and IDE cables
4. Close case and boot

No dealing with huge amounts of wires, strange places to put the drive, or reversed/upside down IDE cables. With the Mac it is as it has always been and always should have been, "It just works." The fact that your average consumer (and even your typical semi-computer savvy consumer) couldn't even instal their own HDD is utterly ridiculous. There is absolutely no excuse for that. Computers should make our lives easier, and all I ever hear about from the Wintell world is problems.

Here is my call for MS to get its head out of its worthless butt and actually make a system that works for the user, not against it. And for the love of pete...will someone else actually design a case...I almost puke every time I open up my brothers VIAO and have to deal with the mountains of wires, cables, and other crap running around the machine. Why is it that Apple is the only company in the world that gets it?

Come waste your time with me
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2004-07-24, 20:02

Looks that way.
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Moogs
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2004-07-24, 21:57

DMB: thank you.


Vinney: for a new member you've got some balls (and also a short in the part of your brain that makes judgement calls). I almost stopped reading your post at "performing hardware upgrades on your computer isn't something you're supposed to be doing."

Talk about one of the most ignorant things anyone here has ever read. You are aware of course, that there is a multi-billion dollar market out there which has as its sole purpose to sell computer components to individuals and companies who upgrade and manufacture computers, right?

But seriously, let me do you the service of responding to each of your points so you don't feel cheated. I hate to cheat people out of a good response....


Quote:
This is by far one of the worst rants I have ever seen.
You obviously don't read too many rants then. I provided several legitimate reasons for my anger / dismay, none of which were questioned by anyone else as being unreasonable. I think DMB's picture pretty much says it all....


Quote:
Look, performing hardware upgrades on your computer isn't something you're supposed to be doing.
Based on what? Dozens of huge mail-order retailers which, as a percentage of inventory, probably make 60% of their living off of upgrade components of varying types? Or maybe all the available RAM slots, PCI slots and hard drive brackets which are specifically DESIGNED to allow the computer to be upgraded, so it can maintain its value over time? All of which are used as MARKETING POINTS in product literature and advertisements?

Or maybe, you're just referring to the manuals that come with nearly every computer, describing to the user how they can safely UPGRADE their machine? Maybe you saw a chapter in the manual that indicates who is supposed to upgrade a hard drive and who isn't?


Quote:
Its not something Dell plans for when designing their PCs, and its not something they're going to support.
Yes they do annnd... yes they do.

The fact that there are empty drive brackets, spare power cables, RAM slots - all of which are used as selling points - tells me they DO plan for it, regardless of WHO might do the upgrading.

Also, have you visited Dell's Knowledgebase lately?? I have. Seems they support MANY hardware upgrade tasks and questions. Funny that, it seems I've done more homework than you, even though you've clearly got it all figured out. At any rate, I have NO DESIRE for Dell to tell me how to get it done (did you see me complain about not getting support somewhere?)If you bothered to read the background, I've been upgrading computer hardware and software for both platforms for about 12 years now.

I may not be MS certified or Dell-recommended, but I've done PLENTY of hardware installs on both platforms, OK?


Quote:
My friend has a 2000 Porsche and the engine compartment is completely inaccessable. The only things you can get to without taking it to a shop are the oil/coolant/windshield fluid. Are you going to say Porsche makes crappy cars because its easier to change the belts on a Daewoo
Uh, no. [Before I get to the shortsighted car example, I'm curious: do you think it's good policy to join a forum, immediately patronize a member of that forum whom you know nothing about, and expect to be treated well?]

Are you going to tell me repairing the AC, or transmission or fuel injection system in a Porsche (which are obscured intentionally), and installing an IDE device into a spare drive bay are even REMOTELY analogous? Are you going to further argue that because your friend's Porsche warranty may be voided if he screws around with a highly complicated engine, that I might also void the warranty of most computers by installing an IDE drive? Or maybe you're going to tell me that Dell purposefully obfuscates their computer designs so that only Dell-certified technicians understand how to upgrade them?

Nah, I think it's just shitty industrial design and component layout. And to be clear, my beef is both with Dell's crappy design and with XP's ridiculous inability to recognize an installed, functioning drive, even though the Device Manager recognizes it. Not to mention the bullshit BIOS / CMOS routine, which upon further investigation is apparently common with these types of tasks.

Quote:
With that said, its still a piece of cake to install a new hard drive.
No shit? Really? Cuz you know, I'm pretty sure that's the reason I agreed to do it the first place. Because I'd done it a few dozen times before on a variety of machines and never had any nightmares like this one?


Quote:
Hint #1 - master and slave configurations as well as *gasp* IDE cables are a part of all hard drives, whether they run Windows, Unix, or Mac OS. I would think someone that has as much experience as you would know about cable select by now.
NO WAY MAN! There is NO FUCKING WAY that master and slave configurations and IDE cables are a part of all hard drives. That's just craziness. Next you're going to tell me that DVD drives are "Opt-e-cal" drives and not hard drives!

Did it ever occur to you that I wasn't ripping on IDE technology or IDE cables but THE WAY THEY WERE IMPROPERLY INSTALLED at the factory? Or that I couldn't SEE if the OEM drive was jumpered to Cable Select because it was buried in a heap of metal plating? Of course it didn't; you chose not to read that part but judged me as having an intellect of a child anyway. Note: not being able to SEE the jumper setting is subtley different from not knowing the PURPOSE of the jumper setting.

Quote:
Hint $2 - RTFM! (Read the fvcking manual) - new hard drives come with CDs. You're supposed to put the CD in first, which will prepare the drive. Then you start Windows and its there! Complicated concept, I know.
Hmm. You know, I could've swore that earlier in this thread - in the first post in fact (you know, the one you obviously didn't bother to read all the way through) - that I DID RTFM(!) at various points. Here's the thing: the manual in question made no mention of OEM drive settings re: Cable Select.

Quote:
Honestly, you're damn lucky you didn't fry the drive with all the random messing you did. If you can't take your time and know what you're doing before you do it, you shouldn't be working on anything more complicated than a toaster.
Random messing? I didn't do ANYTHING that was random. I didn't say I tried to solder the drive onto the motherboard anywhere, did I? Did I say I tried to mount the drive into the bracket with tinfoil on my hands? Did I say I searched high and low for that pesky IDE cable because, gosh, I didn't know what it looked like / what it was for?

THE "MESSING" WAS REQUIRED TO EVEN GET AT THE BRACKET... PER DELL'S MANUAL.


Next time, think before you type OK. And seriously, welcome to the forum... just be careful who you decide to randomly (!) rip on when joining a new forum.


...into the light of a dark black night.

Last edited by Moogs : 2004-07-25 at 01:06.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2004-07-25, 05:02

I've got my theory here: a certain member was recently banned, and Vinney pops up yesterday (only has about 3 posts). The personalities/posting "style" are VERY close...



You happen to be posting from Stanford, Vinney?

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Mac+
9" monochrome
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: 🇦🇺
 
2004-07-25, 07:25

hmmm - are you saying that Vincey37 strikes you as a little nutty?
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Cybermonkey
Member
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Great Britain
 
2004-07-25, 08:41

So moogs did you get the drive sorted?

if the drive is recognised in device centre then the all you have to do is open up c'command prompt' and type 'diskpart' the 'select disk 1' or whatever 'device centre' properties says it is. Just double click the drive and select 'volumes' then click 'populate volumes' to find the disk number. Once done then type 'create partition primary' and then finally type 'assign'. Then it will show up in my computer for you to format, You will need to have SP1 installed to access drives over 130 GB.
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alcimedes
I shot the sherrif.
 
Join Date: May 2004
Send a message via ICQ to alcimedes  
2004-07-25, 08:59

ok, not sure if you ever figured this out or not, but since i read 3/4 of the posts and then got tired of reading, i'll just post it here.

first, if his BIOS hadn't detected the HD, it wouldn't have shown up at all in the hardware device list, so that's not your problem.

if you had the master/slave set wrong, neither drive on the chain would have shown up, so that's not your problem.

odds are the drive just wasn't formatted.

right click on the "My Computer" icon. go to "manage"

from there there's a drive utility that will allow you to format the drive, although i'm not sure of it exact name off hand, i don't have XP in front of me at home. that would fix it.
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