Compgeeky (not-so-tough) Puzzle… and Weekend Linkfest
For those of y’all who find computer puzzles off-putting, scroll on down to another post… 
I need to get back to simulating work in a bit, but meanwhile… As computer puzzles go, this one wasn’t all that enigmatic or difficult (pretty easy, in fact), but it came at a time when I was caffeine deprived and preoccupied with other things.
Between one CLICK and the next (well, almost ), every web page I tried to access came up with a not found error. Email client (Opera) started reporting network errors attempting to check or send email.
Check another coupla comps on the network. No internet/network problems there.
OK, the obvious things: try pinging other comps on the network from the problem comp. No joy. Definitely the problem comp is the problem, but where?
Rebooted the router and released/renewed network connection on the problem comp, anyway. Renewed all right. Tried some pages. Hmmm… same error. Clear cache, reload. Loaded… partway, then stopped.
Well, there were other things I could have tried, but I decided to update/change my NIC driver and… bob’s your uncle. Smoothe sailing, now.
How did the NIC driver become corrupted? Your guess is as good as mine. Could have been any number of things–including the fact that all these problems started when I uninstalled Network Magic!
Aha! Yeh, I try these kindsa apps out so I can either recommend them to folks who can’t afford an onsite network admin person or recommend they stay away from this app or that.
And I have to say Network Magic was a mixed bag. I had a well-oiled machine going on my network before I installed it, and, for a while, Network Magic seemed to be OK. But then the little things started bugging me.
It couldn’t see or talk to the Linux/BSD machines. Dumb. Real dumb. That was enough to put me off it, but not enough to kill it for folks who have a Windows-only network, so I kept it around for testing a bit longer.
Hmmm… network printers dropped in and out of availability for no discernable reason. Strange. Lotsa griping and complaining from the app about Windows computers with automatic updates turned OFF (the only reasonable way to fly with Windows, IMO, given the number of “updates” from Me$$y$oft that have fragged folks’ computers). Nag, nag, nag.
Killer? Every time it needed web access, it ignored the system default browser and invoked Internet Exploder, the world’s crappiest browser.
Nope, couldn’t recommend it. So, uninstalled.
Now, I recognize that unless I can nail down a definitive cause, associating the NIC driver corruption with the uninstall of Network Magic that occurred immediately before the network problem occurred is potentially a post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy, but…
I just ran a Registry scan using two different registry scanners I have come to rely on as safe and…
Over 6,000 errors noted by one in a Registry that scanned as OK the day before.
With only the Network Magic uninstall and the NIC driver change as any difference.
I think I’ll recommend folks avoid Network Magic. You think?
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Trackposted to Pirate’s Cove, Perri Nelson’s Website, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, , and Jo’s Cafe, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Posted: May 18th, 2007 under Blogroll, Compgeeky.
Tags: stupid is as stupid does
Trackback URL for this post: http://www.thirdworldcounty.us/wp-trackback.php?p=3045
Comments
Trackback from Pursuing Holiness
Time May 18, 2007 at 10:35 AM
On The Bright Side, Church Mission Trips Will Be More Convenient Than Ever…
The right side of the blogosphere is erupting over the amnesty bill which will apparently be voted on without having been fully written, much less read. Ace suggests we leave the Republican party. Well, what’s to like? It’s got less fenc…
Comment from Perri Nelson
Time May 18, 2007 at 10:48 AM
Installers and uninstallers can be a real pain to deal with on any system. Especially if they don’t clean up properly after themselves. With Windows apps that can be tricky. If they use the registry, the installer might put some registry keys in, and the application or drivers might do so as well during normal operation. The uninstaller typically doesn’t know about the application generated keys, and misses them.
This is a failure in the application and installation development process. I can think of a few Microsoft apps with this problem, but I’ve seen it mostly with third party apps.
Shared DLLs is another common problem. If the usage count isn’t managed right, the DLL might be considered unused when it’s still being used, and then it gets deleted during uninstall, breaking the other app that uses it.
I recently encountered this problem with the CyberLink software that came with my video camera. I downloaded an upgrade package and ran it. The installer required that the original software be uninstalled first.
The problem was, the “master” installer was running two coordinated installs. So the first piece was uninstalled, and the upgrade installed, then the second piece was uninstalled, noticed that there was a shared DLL no longer being used and deleted it, even though the shared DLL had been replaced by the first installer.
After the “upgrade” neither application worked. I had to completely uninstall and re-install from scratch.
Something similar may have happened with Network Magic for you?
Believe me, I feel your pain. (Oh Lord, I sound like WJC)
Comment from David
Time May 18, 2007 at 11:11 AM
Yep, Perri, pretty much my experience, which is why I always use (and abuse and pummel and shake *heh*) software before I recommend it to others. I have a pretty good idea what users can do to misuse, mess up installs/uninstalls all by their lonesome, so when I find an app that WILL install well, run well and do its own lil handy-dandy thing w/o causing problems or being too rude (rude apps like Quicktime and Real Player need not apply for my stamp of approval–:-)) and then uninstall w/o causing major problems, THEN I can recommend ‘em for an everyday ordinary joe or josephina to use.
I imagined what the normal user would do when faced with the mess NWM apparently made and thought, “Hmmm, they’d probably call me… but I’d have to admit it was software I’d recommended, so no joy on billing.” *heh*
And THAT’S why I do stupid things with stupid software. So others don’t necessarily have to.
But 6,000+ reported Registry errors after a piece of software uninstalls is something of a record for me. Not nice at all.
Trackback from The Florida Masochist
Time May 18, 2007 at 11:17 AM
My short take on the new immigration legislation- Z Visa…
Can anyone tell me what alternate reality members of Congress are living in right now?…
Trackback from The Uncooperative Blogger
Time May 18, 2007 at 11:35 AM
The Uncooperative Radio Show! May 18, 19 and 20, 2…
Live, Independent, Conservative Talk Radio! We are rocking over on Talkshoe Friday, Saturday and Sunday 8pm to 10pm Eastern Time.
I will be talking about important issues facing this country, Some things you will not find anywhere else, even on my…..
Trackback from Imago Dei
Time May 18, 2007 at 11:43 AM
Attitude, Prayer, Gossip and more…
Last week I made a commitment here to grow more like Christ in thoughts, words, and actions. The next day I started a ?daily? quiet time and shared what I learned here. Then I didn?t pick my Bible up again until today?ten days later….
Trackback from The Florida Masochist
Time May 18, 2007 at 11:46 AM
Where is the dramamine? Chapter Thirteen…
Could Knucklehead Mayor Frankel be using scare tactics? I’m ambivalent so far as property tax reform goes. We pay $1,200 a year at present and I’m not complaining. Like anyone else, I’d like to pay less however I feel if the state legislature passes…
Trackback from Wake up America
Time May 18, 2007 at 1:09 PM
War Memorial Destroyed: HELP Needed…
This is not a political issue, it is not a Republican nor Democratic issue, we may all disagree about Iraq, but I see Republicans and Democrats alike claiming they support our troops, I see people saying they honor our veterans…. so let us do so….
Trackback from Phastidio.net
Time May 18, 2007 at 1:57 PM
Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty [Weekend Open Trackback]…
The Spanish government is being denounced by Bloggers United for Cuban Liberty in a new advertising campaign aimed at educating the public about oppression in Castro’s Cuba.
The multimedia campaign, unveiled today, consists of bus shelter panels …
Trackback from The Random Yak
Time May 18, 2007 at 2:10 PM
One Good Thing: Warm Fuzzies…
Today’s good thing: warm fuzzies.
The specifics of this one may not qualify as One Good Thing with everyone, but it’s my side of the mountain so I get to make the rules, and as it happens I’m the sole judge of One Good Thing on this t…
Trackback from A Blog For All
Time May 18, 2007 at 2:13 PM
From All Sides…
Hamas and Fatah continue fighting with each other and Hamas thinks that it also has time to continue its war with Israel. Israel is obliging by destroying Hamas targets as it finds them….
Trackback from Planck’s Constant
Time May 18, 2007 at 2:37 PM
I Believe in Hillary and Obama…
If one really want to know the difference between rightwing and leftwing in this country one only has to see the reasons why either group votes the way they do….
Trackback from Blue Collar Muse
Time May 18, 2007 at 3:13 PM
Gold Diggers and the Government A-Go-Go ……
Ronald Reagan said “Politics is supposed to be the second oldest profession. I have come to realize that it bears a very close resemblance to the first.” Normally I don’t put much stock in clever sayings. But after this week, I have…
Pingback from The World According To Carl
Time May 18, 2007 at 4:38 PM
[...] The Yankee Sailor, stickNstein, A Blog For All, MacBros’ Place, The Dumb Ox Daily News, Third World County, The Random Yak, The Uncooperative Blogger, Wake Up [...]
Pingback from Zot Media Inc: Liberal Worldview « Nuke’s NEWS & VIEWS
Time May 18, 2007 at 4:50 PM
[...] Up, The Bullwinkle Blog, Phastidio.net, , Jo’s Cafe, Conservative Cat, Pursuing Holiness, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, Wake Up America, The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, , stikNstein… has [...]
Trackback from Pirate’s Cove
Time May 18, 2007 at 6:06 PM
Jonah Goldberg: Just How Crazy Are The Dems?…
Funny stuff, but not necessarily "ha ha" funny (LA Times)
MOST FAIR-MINDED readers will no doubt take me at my word when I say that a majority of Democrats in this country are out of their gourds.
But, on the off chance that a few cynics won…
Pingback from Blog @ MoreWhat.com » Blog Archive » Imam Edwards
Time May 18, 2007 at 6:33 PM
[...] Website, Right Truth, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Pursuing Holiness, Right Celebrity, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, Wake Up America, , stikNstein… has no mercy, Pirate’s Cove, [...]
Trackback from Dumb Ox Daily News
Time May 18, 2007 at 6:35 PM
Immigration Action Alert – Repeat…
Speak now or forever hold your piece! (i.e. gun) ……
Pingback from Pursuing Holiness » Blog Archive » Badger 6 Going For William Arkin’s Job
Time May 18, 2007 at 7:34 PM
[...] Perri Nelson’s Website, Right Truth, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Right Celebrity, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, Wake Up America, , stikNstein… has no mercy, Pirate’s Cove, [...]
Trackback from Planck’s Constant
Time May 18, 2007 at 8:32 PM
Shavuot and a world without Jews…
I recall reading that Shavuot was the most important of all the Jewish Holidays, for without the giving of the Torah, there would be no Jewish nation and no Jews today – a world without Einstein, Freud, Marx, and even Jesus….
Trackback from Shadowscope
Time May 18, 2007 at 10:09 PM
Photo Hunt Saturday…
I just recently joined the Photo Hunters blogroll. I knew as soon as I saw it that it was a pretty cool idea. The photo hunt theme for Saturday May 19th is cooking/cooked so I came across these. I……
Pingback from Sujet’s Flashbacks » Right Celebrity
Time May 18, 2007 at 11:19 PM
[...] Perri Nelson’s Website, Right Truth, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Pursuing Holiness, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, Wake Up America, , stikNstein… has no mercy, Pirate’s Cove, [...]
Pingback from The AIDS epidemy in China « Spanish Pundit
Time May 19, 2007 at 8:18 AM
[...] to Open Trackbacks to Pirate’s Cove, Women Honor Thyself, Third World County, Nuke Gingrich, The Amboy Times and Dumb [...]
Trackback from Pursuing Holiness
Time May 19, 2007 at 12:22 PM
Gitmo Leaker Gets Six Months…
Gitmo leaker Matt Diaz received a sentence of six months instead of the maximum of 14 years, and he evidently will continue to receive full pay and benefits while he is in jail. While he is being painted by the media as a heroic whistleblower for rele…
Pingback from Blog @ MoreWhat.com » Blog Archive » Feinstein: Another Conflict of Interest
Time May 19, 2007 at 12:40 PM
[...] Website, Is It Just Me?, Right Truth, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Pursuing Holiness, third world county, Right Celebrity, Woman Honor Thyself, Wake Up America, , stikNstein… has no mercy, [...]
Trackback from Planck’s Constant
Time May 19, 2007 at 4:26 PM
Galilea Montijo Video Hoax…
I get 5,000 search requests a week and monitor them to see what my readers are looking for. For the past few weeks one of the most often entered search terms was “Galilea Montijo.”…
Trackback from Tel-Chai Nation
Time May 19, 2007 at 4:37 PM
John Bolton should be the US ambassadors chief of…
Former American ambassador to the UN John Bolton just boldly let the BBC radio know what kind of scum they really are. Little Green Footballs has the recording of Bolton’s bravery (via Hot Air)….
Trackback from Big Dogs Weblog
Time May 19, 2007 at 7:20 PM
Ron Paul…
Supporters of Ron Paul for president have been bombing on line polls to give the impression that their candidate has more support than he really does. Fox news conducted a post debate poll that showed Paul placed second to Romney and the people at Fox…
Trackback from Planck’s Constant
Time May 19, 2007 at 9:38 PM
$100 Shoelaces and Healthcare in America…
If the Government made shoes then shoelaces would cost $100, just as a single aspirin in a hospital today costs $10 or more. We don’t need more government interference in our health system, we need less….
Trackback from Colloquium
Time May 20, 2007 at 12:39 AM
Sunday Scribblings #60: Masks…
What mask do you wear? When do you put it on? For whom? Who is your audience? Do you have more than one mask and change them the way you do your wardrobe, depending upon the occasion? Are you ever without your mask? What is your biggest fear about le…..
Trackback from Adam’s Blog
Time May 20, 2007 at 12:28 PM
Al Gore Grows Up…
Al Gore has reached the monumental conclusion that he doesn’t need politics and doesn’t need the presidency to feel like a man. I don’t agree with his views, but I can respect him for his complete recovery from being a politician and his growth to e…
Trackback from Colloquium
Time May 20, 2007 at 12:28 PM
Blog Your Blessings Sunday…
My mother’s roses are in full bloom right by the front step of the house. The sun is shining brightly this morning and it is a beautiful 62 degrees right now but will warm into the 80′s as the day progresses.
When I was a kid going to Sunday Schoo…
Trackback from Mark My Words
Time May 20, 2007 at 1:24 PM
Illegal aliens…
…Judging from the continuously revised text being developed in the back alleys of the U.S. Senate, their method of dealing with the matter is to merely use different words….
Trackback from The Florida Masochist
Time May 20, 2007 at 1:56 PM
The Knucklehead of the Day award…
Today’s winner is A.J. Nicholson….
Trackback from Tel-Chai Nation
Time May 20, 2007 at 1:59 PM
Egypt allowed to join the UN’s Human Right Council…
The sublining of this article in the Toronto Star says, “History of torture in African nation makes a mockery of UN, critics say”. But what difference does it make when the UN happens to be corrupt already, and it’s otherwise typical of them to allo…
Trackback from Tel-Chai Nation
Time May 20, 2007 at 2:05 PM
A bionic bomb, or a six million dollar dud?…
And now for a TV show topic, NBC is remaking The Bionic Woman, but the signs are not looking good….
Trackback from Colloquium
Time May 20, 2007 at 3:15 PM
Breaking My Own Rule in Order to Speak Out…
I am breaking my own rule. I have to because I must speak out. I am compelled and convicted to do so.
Just the other day, I told someone at the office, “Oh, yeah, I have a blog and it reveals what I do for a living, but I never talk about my work,….
Trackback from Woman Honor Thyself
Time May 20, 2007 at 4:29 PM
For the LovE of DancE…
Once upon a time, ballroom dance was “social dancing” for the privileged classes, which left what was known as folk dancing for the lower classes.
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Trackback from A Blog For All
Time May 20, 2007 at 4:56 PM
Israel Walks Fine Line on Palestinian Civil War…
Barhoum has a point. Why should Palestinian terrorists kill each other when they could focus on killing Israelis. Hamas hasn’t stopped firing rockets, and we should think that Israel shouldn’t return fire?…
Trackback from Mark My Words
Time May 20, 2007 at 8:14 PM
John Bolton’s mustache on the BBC…
I’m a bit late getting to this, but I know some of my friends and readers have not heard this interview yet. Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., target of Democrats and pussy Republicans, John Bolton speaks candidly on the BBC…
Trackback from Mark My Words
Time May 20, 2007 at 9:39 PM
An angry anti-Christian or stupid is as stupid does…
Another addition to my 4GrinsNGiggles department. I received a few compliments for my reply to an individual using the screen name “The Boy (That lives in Darkness)” when he started a thread titled “God doesn’t exist”. It turns out this ……
Trackback from Conservative Cat
Time May 20, 2007 at 9:42 PM
Never Say “Impossible” to the Gremlin…
I love the Gremlin dearly, but life with her is odd. For example, she aced The Impossible Quiz. (I think Bruce made it to question 3 before he gave up.) She’s also the only person I ever met who has……
Trackback from Mark My Words
Time May 20, 2007 at 10:37 PM
Illegal aliens – the current bill…
Several means of viewing this 326 page document are now available. At the Truth Laid Bear, there’s a link to the PDF download (20mb) and he’s created an annotated version that you can view online and leave comments to the variou ……
Trackback from Woman Honor Thyself
Time May 20, 2007 at 11:26 PM
Israel: TakE GazA Back…
The Jewish settlers had the most state-of-the-art agricultural facilities in the world. They exported flowers, fruit and vegetables to Europe and around the world…incidentally employing thousands of Pales-tinians, and Israelis in the process.
……
Pingback from Al Gore Grows Up | Adam’s Blog
Time July 10, 2007 at 10:52 PM
[...] Is It Just Me?, Big Dog’s Weblog, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Pursuing Holiness, third world county, Right Celebrity, Woman Honor Thyself, Wake Up America, Stageleft, , stikNstein… has no [...]
Pingback from Breaking My Own Rule in Order to Speak Out | Colloquium
Time January 4, 2008 at 12:18 AM
[...] Is It Just Me?, Big Dog’s Weblog, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Pursuing Holiness, third world county, Right Celebrity, Woman Honor Thyself, Wake Up America, Stageleft, , stikNstein… has no [...]
Trackback from stikNstein….has no mercy
Time May 18, 2007 at 10:12 AM
RIIIIIIIGHT……IT’S NOT AMNESTY!…
Immediately upon passage…..ALL ILLEGAL ALIENS CURRENTLY IN THE COUNTRY CAN APPLY FOR A Z VISA WHICH ALLOWS THEM TO STAY AN WILL ALLOW THEM TO BECOME CITIZENS. tHEY SIMPLY HAVE TO PAY A FINE AND DO A LITTLE PAPERWORK……..
“Like t…