OT: Getting out of a hole...

Jan 24, 2008 4 Replies

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Prepair Ltd 18 years ago

Sometimes, we take technology for granted, and sometimes it can be self-defeating.

We use a couple of small Toshiba Libretto laptops when we go overseas, and one had a cut-down version of Win2kPro that we had a problem with, so last night I had a few minutes spare and decided to re-install the software.

Problem: No CD drive. Windows comes on a CD, and the portable drive for the Toshiba wasn't readily to hand.

Possible solution: Use the PCMCIA network card and load it over the network.

Problem: The card wasn't installable without the drivers which were on another CD!

Eventual solution: Get a 1gb Compact Flash card, stick it into the card reader on the main PC, copy Win2kPro CD onto the flash card, plug THAT into the PCMCIA slot on the laptop and install from there.

Worked fine, and went the same route to install the drivers for the wireless network card as well.

This will work with any type of memory card, we have lots of Sony Memory Sticks as well, but the CF card was available and did the job.

I ended up dumping all of the Windows software CD onto the Toshiba hard drive in case I needed it in future.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Rushden, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

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Andy Dingley 18 years ago

Useful article, if a bit dated now, on what useful stuff to keep handy on a USB stick / flash card

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Steve 18 years ago

FWIW I am getting really concerned whether the MS products are getting so bloated that we should be looking for something, new, slim and easy. The bloat mainly comes from backward compatibility, also compromising the clearly defined layers often adopted by systems in the past (there used to something called Ring Zero protection - the layer that nothing could access except via normal calls). Linux seems new but may have its roots in the dark ages, and the myriad different types of Linux are the same thing that plagued Unix ever since Bell Labs decided to give it away in face of a law suit about anit- competitive practice from IBM (I will surely be sternly corrected if I am wrong) I don't know if Apple's Leopard is the way - but to me it looks like we are due for a new generation - ideas anyone ??

Steve

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Peter A Forbes 18 years ago

For most people, a much simplified OS would be fine, but then we all like playing with our scanners and digital cameras and wireless networks and so on, and they come with a pretty high overhead.

I have wondered about Linux in the Libretto, there's a lot about it on the web, but the 'comfort factor' of using Windows at least means it will work with most things.

Peter

-- Peter & Rita Forbes Email: snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

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Nick H 18 years ago

"Peter A Forbes" wrote

I get a bit fed up with MS' products increasing tendency to second guess what they 'think' you want to do. Tempted to try Linux/firefox/open office etc but that MS comfort factor is a big one - perhaps the lure of thus equipped Asus eee pc will be enough to convince me!

Nick H

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