S
Sandígang Taál
Good Times, Bad Times With Windows 2000 Pro - Part 2
July 24, 2003
I built my own computer and I have Windows 2000 Pro installed on it. PC
World magazine claimed that if you built your own computer, you are your own
technical support center. Since Microsoft Corporation released W2K SP4 last
month, I have been wondering if I should go for this latest update. I have
read many of your posts on this newsgroup about it. Some of you reported
success stories and some of you were really disgusted about it. Because the
W2K SP4 is about 129 MB, it would take more than seven hours to download it
with my dial-up modem. So, I decided to order the CD version of the service
pack for $9.95 plus applicable tax.
One week passed and my W2K SP4 CD was no where insight. Two weeks passed and
still no sign of it. Anyway, the delay did not disappoint me because my
computer was working well except the minor error on True Vector Engine. I
can deal with it. It is just the Internet Explorer 6 trying to escape from
my computer. On the interim, I continued to download the critical updates
including the DirectX9b, which I thought to be just a patch of any DirectX
version. It turned out to be the patched version of DirectX9. I was not sure
whether DirectX9 would be compatible with my video card. It was too late for
me to cancel the installation process. Besides that, I thought it might
cause more problems than what I anticipated with DirectX9 itself. Well, it
is for the better. I observed a slight improvement on graphics and sound
over the previously installed DirectX8.1. (Good Times!)
Three weeks passed and I was worried about my W2K SP4 CD order. This morning
I received three e-mails from Microsoft about the status of my order. The
first and second e-mails told me that it was on "Back Order." The third one
said: "Your product has shipped. You can expect delivery of your product in
three to eight business days, depending on the ship to location."
When I checked my USPS mail this afternoon, I found my order was already in
my mailbox. Wow! It was really a speedy service. Do you think I installed
the SP4 right away? No sir. I thought about it for more than two hours
because I was afraid that the SP4 CD might have a curse in it. (This is just
between you and me. I call Bill Gates as the Wicked Witch of the West.)
I finally got the courage to install my most anticipated W2K SP4. It was not
like the W2K SP2 CD ($14.95 plus $4.95 for shipping and handling). The
contents of the SP4 CD appear that someone just copied it from the internet.
The instruction for installation is a little bit confusing that I have to
read it several times.
With the Norton Anti-Virus and Zone Alarm disabled, I clicked "here"and the
installation began. Backup SP3 was chosen . . . The installer had prompted
me several times that it cannot open the files from partition K . . . That
was weird because it was the installer that copied it there from the disk .
.. . Cancel the opening of files from partition K was selected. The installer
replied that W2K might not work properly. "The heck with it," I murmured.
"Just continue with the installation." Finally, the "Finish" button appeared
and I clicked it. My computer restarted. All the applications and games I
opened work well. Until, I decided to call it quits. At quitting time, I
have the habit of scanning all my partitions. Bad times! Check Disk would
not work. The curse could be upon me. I decided to reinstall SP4. It
installed this time with one user interventon prompt about the backup copy
of SP3. Still Check Disk would not work.
And so I am here in this newsgroup with the question, "Any ideas, guys?"
"Could I get a free replacement disk from Microsoft after the kinks of W2K
SP4 have been straighten out?" Nevertheless, I am not holding my breath for
that one.
Sandigang Taal
July 24, 2003
I built my own computer and I have Windows 2000 Pro installed on it. PC
World magazine claimed that if you built your own computer, you are your own
technical support center. Since Microsoft Corporation released W2K SP4 last
month, I have been wondering if I should go for this latest update. I have
read many of your posts on this newsgroup about it. Some of you reported
success stories and some of you were really disgusted about it. Because the
W2K SP4 is about 129 MB, it would take more than seven hours to download it
with my dial-up modem. So, I decided to order the CD version of the service
pack for $9.95 plus applicable tax.
One week passed and my W2K SP4 CD was no where insight. Two weeks passed and
still no sign of it. Anyway, the delay did not disappoint me because my
computer was working well except the minor error on True Vector Engine. I
can deal with it. It is just the Internet Explorer 6 trying to escape from
my computer. On the interim, I continued to download the critical updates
including the DirectX9b, which I thought to be just a patch of any DirectX
version. It turned out to be the patched version of DirectX9. I was not sure
whether DirectX9 would be compatible with my video card. It was too late for
me to cancel the installation process. Besides that, I thought it might
cause more problems than what I anticipated with DirectX9 itself. Well, it
is for the better. I observed a slight improvement on graphics and sound
over the previously installed DirectX8.1. (Good Times!)
Three weeks passed and I was worried about my W2K SP4 CD order. This morning
I received three e-mails from Microsoft about the status of my order. The
first and second e-mails told me that it was on "Back Order." The third one
said: "Your product has shipped. You can expect delivery of your product in
three to eight business days, depending on the ship to location."
When I checked my USPS mail this afternoon, I found my order was already in
my mailbox. Wow! It was really a speedy service. Do you think I installed
the SP4 right away? No sir. I thought about it for more than two hours
because I was afraid that the SP4 CD might have a curse in it. (This is just
between you and me. I call Bill Gates as the Wicked Witch of the West.)
I finally got the courage to install my most anticipated W2K SP4. It was not
like the W2K SP2 CD ($14.95 plus $4.95 for shipping and handling). The
contents of the SP4 CD appear that someone just copied it from the internet.
The instruction for installation is a little bit confusing that I have to
read it several times.
With the Norton Anti-Virus and Zone Alarm disabled, I clicked "here"and the
installation began. Backup SP3 was chosen . . . The installer had prompted
me several times that it cannot open the files from partition K . . . That
was weird because it was the installer that copied it there from the disk .
.. . Cancel the opening of files from partition K was selected. The installer
replied that W2K might not work properly. "The heck with it," I murmured.
"Just continue with the installation." Finally, the "Finish" button appeared
and I clicked it. My computer restarted. All the applications and games I
opened work well. Until, I decided to call it quits. At quitting time, I
have the habit of scanning all my partitions. Bad times! Check Disk would
not work. The curse could be upon me. I decided to reinstall SP4. It
installed this time with one user interventon prompt about the backup copy
of SP3. Still Check Disk would not work.
And so I am here in this newsgroup with the question, "Any ideas, guys?"
"Could I get a free replacement disk from Microsoft after the kinks of W2K
SP4 have been straighten out?" Nevertheless, I am not holding my breath for
that one.
Sandigang Taal