Make believe install senario! Pretend ;-)

  • Thread starter Thread starter Clark
  • Start date Start date
C

Clark

I would like to pretend I don't know anything about computers (which may be
true ;) and I am trying to install Vista RC 2. This is an older computer
with a PCI Linksys LNE100TX card.

*****I can get the card installed myself, so I am NOT asking for help with
that, but what would a new user do if they tried to installed Vista.*******

Pretend I don't have the original install disk or it was on a floppy and I
don't have a floppy drive in this computer. Vista can't download one
because it doesn't seem to have a basic driver for the network card (no
modem installed). I don't have another computer to access the internet to
download a driver.

My pretend install is working, but I cannot access the internet to search
for drivers for any devices that were not already updated. First priority
is to get the internet connection working.

I guess my point is, I seem to remember in XP that a generic network card
driver was included to at least get some connectivity. I have looked
through the ones included in Vista RC 2 and I don't see anything useable for
this card. Anyone have a suggestion for getting the card working??? ;)
Also remember, that since I don't have connectivity, I can't get to any news
groups or help sites, so it would be good if the solution was something a
novice could do or at least be included in Help and Support.

Of course the Help and Support suggests using the original drivers or using
another computer to get them. I don't think this scenario is too
unrealistic.

Clark
 
Clark said:
I would like to pretend I don't know anything about computers (which may be
true ;) and I am trying to install Vista RC 2. This is an older computer
with a PCI Linksys LNE100TX card.

*****I can get the card installed myself, so I am NOT asking for help with
that, but what would a new user do if they tried to installed
Vista.*******

Pretend I don't have the original install disk or it was on a floppy and I
don't have a floppy drive in this computer. Vista can't download one
because it doesn't seem to have a basic driver for the network card (no
modem installed). I don't have another computer to access the internet to
download a driver.

My pretend install is working, but I cannot access the internet to search
for drivers for any devices that were not already updated. First priority
is to get the internet connection working.

I guess my point is, I seem to remember in XP that a generic network card
driver was included to at least get some connectivity. I have looked
through the ones included in Vista RC 2 and I don't see anything useable
for this card. Anyone have a suggestion for getting the card working???
;) Also remember, that since I don't have connectivity, I can't get to any
news groups or help sites, so it would be good if the solution was
something a novice could do or at least be included in Help and Support.

Of course the Help and Support suggests using the original drivers or
using another computer to get them. I don't think this scenario is too
unrealistic.

Clark
Click to expand...


Pretend you have a floppy with the correct drivers on it for your linksys
card. I have such a pretend floppy and the drivers install fine (for pretend
drivers)! The LAN card doesn't seem to be bothered that the drivers are
not real. (-:

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Posted using Vista RC2 5744

(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
You forget, the pretend floppy will not work if no floppy drive is present.

Since you work for/with Microsoft, you now have one "not to happy with MS"
pretend customer! ;)

I would assume from your answer that you know of no "Generic" network
driver?

Clark
 
Clark said:
You forget, the pretend floppy will not work if no floppy drive is
present.

Since you work for/with Microsoft, you now have one "not to happy with MS"
pretend customer! ;)

I would assume from your answer that you know of no "Generic" network
driver?

Clark
Click to expand...



I do not work for Microsoft. I volunteer my time in these news groups, as
many other MVP's (and non MVP's ) do.

Answer to your problem. Connect up a USB floppy drive and install the
pretend drivers from there. Beg, borrow or buy one if you need to. Shame on
the computer manufacturers for building computers without floppy drives. As
you can see, the need for them is not dead - as of yet. (-:

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Posted using Vista RC2 5744

(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
Pretend you have a floppy with the correct drivers on it for your linksys
Richard, why could you not just relax a bit put your George Ankner quote to
work and play along. Clark makes a good point, one of which i found my self
in very early in the Beta program. fortunately for my i have another
computer, however i do not have a floppy on either as i have yet to need.

Clark, the only thing i can think of as a work around would be using a
public computer or a freind's computer to download the driver from linksys to
an USB stick and install from there. aside from that i dont see too many
other options.

Richard also remmember one of the objects of Vista is to make it as complete
as possible out of the box. having as many connectivity drivers as possible
pre-packaged is not too much to ask.
 
That is my standard signature, and has been for two years now. Sorry if you
do not like it - but life goes on!

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
wierd?!
i did not say i did not like it!

Richard Urban said:
That is my standard signature, and has been for two years now. Sorry if you
do not like it - but life goes on!

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
Click to expand...
 
Clark said:
I guess my point is, I seem to remember in XP that a generic network
card driver was included to at least get some connectivity. I have
looked through the ones included in Vista RC 2 and I don't see
anything useable for this card. Anyone have a suggestion for getting
the card working??? ;)
Click to expand...

Clark.. "Generic network card driver"? I don't think so.

Think about what a driver is, what it does. It works as a low level
translator between the operating system and the hardware on the network
card. A "generic" item would not work here because, well, network cards are
different from each other, and a driver is all about addressing hardware
very specifically.

If you didn't have a driver in XP, you had to get it, somehow. This won't
change with Vista. Same with any other OS too.

What does tend to happen when a new OS is released is that it can upgrade
most of the PCs out there which are more than just a few months old at the
time of release because it knows about that hardware as that hardware
"happened" before the OS was finished. It may be that this is where you got
the "generic" idea from, as drivers that come bundled with the OS are often
'good enough to get you going' and are often not tuned to wring every last
drop of performance out of the thing they support, and often don't come with
all the extras and lures and big flashy startup logos that double your boot
time that most manufacturers seem to love.
 
OK, so unless I hear otherwise, I must assume the RTM version of Vista will
not have a generic Network card driver.

The USB floppy was a good idea and if one was available, I might do that,
but a new network card would probably be cheaper. The USB drive at a public
computer would also probably work, but of course since it has been at least
one day without an internet connection, I (meaning the pretend customer) am
about to panic and the ears of MS are really burning!!!!! :-o

I just went the "Check your computer" route and after having to install 2
software packages, it did advise me the Linksys card may have a problem, but
guess what it advised I do?? Yep, it said after the install to return to
the Windows update site for drivers--hee hee, can't do that until I already
have some.

Oh well, maybe this little act will help somehow. Maybe have the stores
that sell Vista to stock a generic network card (if the pretend customer
could put it in) that is known to work and sell it for $5 with a Vista
purchase!!! ;-))) USB version would perhaps be better, but that would be
more expensive.

Thanks for the input,
Clark
 
Clark said:
I would like to pretend I don't know anything about computers (which may be
true ;) and I am trying to install Vista RC 2. This is an older computer
with a PCI Linksys LNE100TX card.

*****I can get the card installed myself, so I am NOT asking for help with
that, but what would a new user do if they tried to installed
Vista.*******

Pretend I don't have the original install disk or it was on a floppy and I
don't have a floppy drive in this computer. Vista can't download one
because it doesn't seem to have a basic driver for the network card (no
modem installed). I don't have another computer to access the internet to
download a driver.

My pretend install is working, but I cannot access the internet to search
for drivers for any devices that were not already updated. First priority
is to get the internet connection working.

I guess my point is, I seem to remember in XP that a generic network card
driver was included to at least get some connectivity. I have looked
through the ones included in Vista RC 2 and I don't see anything useable
for this card. Anyone have a suggestion for getting the card working???
;) Also remember, that since I don't have connectivity, I can't get to any
news groups or help sites, so it would be good if the solution was
something a novice could do or at least be included in Help and Support.

Of course the Help and Support suggests using the original drivers or
using another computer to get them. I don't think this scenario is too
unrealistic.

Clark
Click to expand...

Pretend that Microsoft wrote a warning, in bold red letters, worded
something along the lines of:

"Note: This is beta code and should not be used in a production environment
or on a primary computer in the home. RC1 is intended for developers, IT
professionals, and technology experts to continue or begin their testing of
Windows Vista. Before you decide to use RC1, you should feel comfortable
with installing operating systems, updating drivers, and general PC
troubleshooting. Some risks of using beta operating systems include hardware
and software incompatibility and system instability. If you have concerns
about installing this beta software on your computer, we encourage you to
obtain the final release version of Windows Vista when it is available in
2007."

Pretend your name is Clark and you ignored this warning.

Now, as long as we are pretending, let's talk about imaginary friends. When
I was a wee lad, I had an imaginary friend; he used to beat me up and then
play with the kid across the street, but that story really is for a
different newsgroup. See, if your name is Clark, you have an imaginary
friend who likes you. This imaginary friend owns a laptop computer that has
pretend internet access at a hypothetical coffee shop or bread seller. The
non-existent laptop has a USB port. Clark cajoles his imaginary friend to
go to the hypothetical bread seller with the imaginary laptop. Clark dreams
up a USB thumb drive and meets his imaginary friend for lunch. While eating
his pseudo-soup and sandwich the imaginary friend goes on to the pretend
series of tubes called the internet, navigates to the proper place to
download the drivers for the LAN card and puts them on the non-existent
thumb-drive.

Since none of this happened anyway, Clark pays for lunch.

Clark, still dreaming, takes the USB drive home, sticks it in the hole and
updates the drivers for his pretend LAN card.

At this point, the fantasy can go one of three ways: Clark wakes up from the
daydream and realizes none of this really happened, and that there is no
such operating system called Windows, and everyone uses UNIX; Clark
continues dreaming and surfs the interwb for days on end, stopping for only
enough time to reload on Doritos and Red Bull; the Swedish Bikini Team bus
stalls right outside Clarks house and they all need a place to spend the
night (hey, as long as we're pretending...).

Hope this helps.
 
You forget, the pretend floppy will not work if no floppy drive is present.

Since you work for/with Microsoft, you now have one "not to happy with MS"
pretend customer! ;)

I would assume from your answer that you know of no "Generic" network
driver?
Click to expand...

There was no generic NIC driver in XP.

Just download the NIC drivers to a folder or to a CD before you install
Vista. Or shell out the *big* bucks and install a floppy drive.
 
Clark said:
OK, so unless I hear otherwise, I must assume the RTM version of
Vista will not have a generic Network card driver.
Click to expand...

Well no, because as both Michael Cecil and I have both mentioned, there is
no such thing.
 
Hey if actually don't know what to do with RC2, I could use it. I'm a tester
and was out of town when RC2 became available and I missed it.
 
holly crap you guys are buttholes!!
why cant someone just try to make a point.
why is it that XP can get the pretend LAN driver and Vista cant? it may not
be written in the installation DVD but what is SO hard about having the most
clear, "see the difference", easiest, most productive OS in the world (BETA
or NOT), do it for you? and why is it that you guys have to go off with this
childish BS and just say how wrong someone is by such a thing?

are you really that defensive about Vista?
the OS needs HELP, and we all know it.
 
Sorry Robert, when I posted my last, I did not see those responses.
Anyway, if you check you will see only one Network driver for Linksys
listed under "The Linksys ---" in the Vista supplied drivers. Maybe
those drivers just haven't been added yet. Just trying to make the
initial Vista experience a little more enjoyable. Vista does seem to be
pretty good at identifying devices.

Clark
 
Generic driver, probably not.
However many drivers are native to Windows XP and Windows Vista.
These drivers are provided to Microsoft by the hardware manufacturers.
If a particular piece of hardware is not available natively, it is because
the hardware manufacturer did not provide the driver to Microsoft.

Some options, go to another computer that has internet access (friend, work,
library, etc) Download and copy to CD, floppy as appropriate.

Take the computer to a knowledgeable friends for driver installation.

If the above or similar options are not practical, take the computer to a
qualified professional.

An operating system installation is not for everyone and in the example you
give, that pretend individual probably should not install anything Beta.
 
Alejo said:
holly crap you guys are buttholes!!
why cant someone just try to make a point.
Click to expand...

I think calling people buttholes for having a 'point' that isn't the same as
yours would tend to make you the butthole, actually, but anyway.
why is it that XP can get the pretend LAN driver and Vista cant? .
Click to expand...

Because let me repeat again, there is N O S U C H T H I N G
 
Alejo said:
holly crap you guys are buttholes!!
why cant someone just try to make a point.
why is it that XP can get the pretend LAN driver and Vista cant?
Click to expand...


%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%


What part of the following statement two statements are you NOT capable of
comprehending?

1. The manufacturer MUST supply drivers for inclusion in the Windows
Vista install package?

2. Microsoft doesn't do drivers, except for their own hardware.

--

Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!



%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%



it may not
 
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