CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

ecrabb

Here's my latest experience with Win-blows and one with a tech gadget in general:

<rant>
It's 9:30 one night a couple weeks ago, and I decide I'd like to play with the copy of Calman and the EyeOne I won that's been sitting there for a few weeks... So, I decide to install CalMan on my Parallels virtual machine and the SpectraCal pattern generator on my old ThinkPad. Anasthasios is using CalMan on a Mac, but I can't remember whether he's using Boot Camp or Parallels. Whatever. I'll try it. Oops. ThinkPad needs new version of DirectX... whatever. Install that. Everything else installs. Ooops. Pattern generator won't run on the old ThinkPad because there isn't enough VRAM (apparently) to do the DirectX test patterns at 1080p. Grrrr... Switch to desktop HTPC. Install new Direct X... Ooops. Machine was set up 1080i and I need to switch to 1080p. Need to reinstall PowerStrip so I can switch it. Do that. Desktop Windows box is finally running the pattern generator successfully. Back to the MacBook Pro with CalMan...

I'm getting these errors when it starts calibration and CalMan loses contact with the EyeOne. CalMan has some annoying .net-based dialog boxes that keep popping up one over the other over the other. When it finally stops, I have like 10 or 15 dialog boxes to manually click closed. Repeated tries, and it just won't work. Hmm. Weird. Download and install EyeOne software under OS X. EyeOne works perfectly there and calibrates MacBook display. Huh. Surprise! A hardware device that works perfectly the first try under OS X. Alright, fine. Nothing wrong with the EyeOne.

USB support is the one iffy part of the older version of Parallels I'm using, so I decide to use the old IBM ThinkPad to run CalMan. Should work fine. I install Calman. Ooops. Forgot to install the EyeOne drivers. Download those. Run install. Reboot. Can't login. WTF? No keyboard!?!?!? No effing way. Reboot. No keyboard. Connect external keyboard. No keyboard. Can't login. Boot in safe mode. Login. Uninstall Calman. Uninstall EyeOne driver. Reboot. No keyboard. Mother fu.... Screw it. Throw the mess in pile, shut the theater down, and head up to bed. Two hours of my life down the tubes.

The ThinkPad had a piece of sh*t piece of malware on it that I couldn't remove, and it's just my "surfing" computer, anyway... So I reformatted the drive and did a clean install of XP SP2. Works fine, now.

That was a few weeks ago. Fast forward to a few days ago. I'm at my dad's place, and he decided to pick up a Hauppage HD PVR to play with. We go install it on his Windows PC... TOTAL piece of sh*t driver installation. Won't work. Wasted two hours trying to get it to work. Brought it back to Des Moines with me, and I'm going to see if it will work on my desktop machine. Haven't gotten around to it.

I've just about completely had it with Windows and it's pathetic, junk, archaic hardware driver support architecture. It's like a giant ball of twine held together with a few thousand rolls of duct tape and a few miles of bailing wire. If I had a dollar for ever hour I've wasted trying to troubleshoot Windows device driver installation and support headaches, I could retire early.

My luck doesn't stop there, either. My mom and dad bought me a Harmony 1000 for Christmas (didn't know they were getting it for me - it was a total surprise. I don't know if I'm going to like it because I haven't gotten it to work, yet). First, I tried installing the Mac OS X software. Wouldn't work - software couldn't find the remote. My old man took it and connected it to his system where he'd already set up his Harmony 1000, and it worked perfectly. So, assuming it was my software install, the night before last, I tried installing the software on the newly loaded ThinkPad. Won't work there, either. The only the thing left is the frickin' USB cable, but the damn thing shows up on the USB bus in the OS X's equivalent of Windows' Device Manager - i.e. I can see the device on the USB bus. ARRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH.... Can ANYTHING just frickin' WORK?!?!?! My God, some of this CE/computer crap makes CRT projectors look simple... and I'm a very TECHNICALLY KNOWLEDGEABLE person!!!!!
</rant>

SC

VideoGrabber · Joined: 09 Apr 2006 Posts: 933 Location: Michigan

SC,

I feel your pain. And I've been working with PCs (and most everything else) since they first came out.

It's amazing how many times when you go to do something simple, which should "just work", that it doesn't. And off you go on a tangent, spending hours (or days) trying to figure it out and get it working. By that time, you've forgotten what the hell you wanted it for in the first place! Sad

Considering I have to fight with them all day at work, when I come home at night it would be real nice for things to function properly, without a myriad of headaches. I'm not holding my breath for that to happen, though.

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

I don't expect any operating system to work reliably on a laptop. But I do understand what you are getting at. A handful of months ago I built my wife a new desktop and installed, activated, and registered a copy of Windows XP Professional along with SP2 and all operating system and M$ application updates. It has run reliably until today. Leap year/second issue???

When I turned it on and logged in it wanted me to activate and register [again]. WTF? While I have suspiciously held off applying the SP3 update, I could not find any reason why it should all of a sudden lose its activation AND registration. Who knows, maybe its been hacked by gremlins.

betel · Posted: Thu Jan 01, 2009 11:14 pm Post subject:

A few months ago I attempted to get my son's Xbox 360 connected to a networked PC to serve as a media file server for it. Damn if I could get it to work & gave up. The recent PS3 update include this feature. It took maybe 5 minutes before I was able to connect the PS3 to my networked PC and load media files. It seems like everything that involves MS is a PITA.

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

Windows Media Player 11 allowed my XP Pro desktops to connect to the 360 and PS3 just fine. Not sure what problems you were running into, betel.

betel · Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:35 am Post subject:

Partially lack of motivation. It would have been nice to have that feature but I never use the 360 anyway. My patience for that sort of thing is falling rapidly the older I get. I've become somewhat familiar with the PS3 since I have one in my bedroom. From my perspective, the PS3 is a superior product to the 360. Also too many extra parts to purchase for the 360. The wireless adapter was $100 by itself. According to my son, the 360 has better games though.

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5321

I would counter some of your problems with plausible explanations but I went into the bedroom today and turned on the 360 to listen to some music while I work in the bathroom and see this...

Too perfect of timing SC.

BTW...clarence has that box working without issue it would appear. PM him for help?

betel · Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 2:50 am Post subject:

That's CLASSIC!

ecrabb · Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 3:42 am Post subject:

stgdz · Joined: 07 Dec 2008 Posts: 107

For some reason when ever I decide to grow a brain and try to make my PC better instead of good something bad always happens.

Example, yesterday I decided to transfer my sagetv server from my HTPC case to a old clunker case should be easy just swap components out and off I go. Well that started a whole ordeal and about 24 hours later, with about 8 hours of working on it I got my server back up and running in a new case. I lost some of my files though and I had to re-install the OS but its good and duct taped together(should post a pic), I am not going to change it around with how ghetto it is now because the damn thing works.

What I have realized out of all of this is that once I get a computer up and running, especially a critical one like my sage server I just leave it alone. Same with my HTPC's once they are up and running no more tweaking no matter how much I want to make it better.

The best part about all of this, I didn't need to change cases I just wanted to. I am building a 2nd HTPC but don't have all the components, only memory, a power supply, hard drive and heatsink.

I have no idea how much time I have wasted trouble shooting these piece of shits.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 4:42 am Post subject:

Ahhhh welcome to my every day world.
Analog = good, just works
Digital=WTF?

stgdz · Joined: 07 Dec 2008 Posts: 107

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Fri Jan 02, 2009 7:20 am Post subject:

Dunno, I don't engineer things. I just argue with digital and just use analog.

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

I must be the only one on this board that hasn't (fingers crossed, knocking on wood) had a digital problem.

MikeEby · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 5238 Location: Osceola, Indiana

Windows never loc

MikeEby · Joined: 24 Jun 2007 Posts: 5238 Location: Osceola, Indiana

ks up on me.

Mike

Spanky Ham · Joined: 22 Mar 2006 Posts: 5643 Location: Comedy Central

I feel you crabb. Just get Ubuntu and be done with it. Smile

Maybe Windows 7 will solve all of your problems. Rolling Eyes

Honestly, I have had problems with XP, but they haven't been that bad. For the price, it could and should be a lot better. My hope is that developers will start porting more of their software to Mac, Linux, Solaris and BSD. If you take away cameras and printers, then most people would be better off with one of the alternative OSs. Wouldn't it be funny if Windows just became a gaming OS to compete with their own Xbox? Smile

greg_mitch · Joined: 03 May 2006 Posts: 5321

Ok, called in to Microsoft to get a repair order and here is how the conversation goes down...

Rep: How can we help you today?
Me: I need to get a repair order to fix my xbox 360.

Rep: What is wrong with your xbox?
Me: It has the red ring of death.

Rep: What? Excuse me. What is that?
Me: [Laugh] You don't know what the red ring of death is?!

Rep: Sir, what color are the lights on the console?
Me: RED!

Rep: Sir, how many lights are on
Me: THREE!

Rep: If the light on the power supply is green, it appears there is a problem with the hardware. We will need to see the console so let's set up a repair order to fix your xbox.

DUH!

It is amazing that they are just flat out denying the RRoD.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Wed Jan 07, 2009 2:06 am Post subject:

C'mon they don't know the RROD? Bull!

WanMan · Joined: 19 Mar 2006 Posts: 10273

It serves them no positive purpose to acknowledge the slang of the cowsumer marketplace. Microsoft, like my employer, has no sense of humor. Hmm, maybe they are Muslim?