The Blues of Windows 2000 - A true story
It looked really easy. Nothing else but testing a new software. The routine. If only I knew...
The software was installed properly. The installer asks me to reboot. “Hmm”, I thought, “an old program… With Windows 2000, theoretically, I don’t have to reboot”. However I restart.
After a couple of seconds, I don’t see the usual Login window, but a superb death blue screen... Windows suggests me to uninstall the last installed software. Nice idea! I click on F8 to start the computer using the Windows “Extensions Off” mode. Kind of, anyway. New startup, new wait and... new blue screen.
“Nothing important, I am going to use my last Windows configuration”, being the PC expert I am. New startup, F8, last known Windows configuration. Long wait... Blue screen.
Never mind... I am going to reinstall Windows! I reboot my computer, I change the BIOS settings to make the computer boot on the CD-ROM and not on the HD. Installation, hours of plug-and-play detection, serial number entering. Seems to work properly! OK, let’s reboot...
New reboot, new wait... new blue screen. Back to square one. I’m getting used to it. “If you wanna fight...” I scream, booting on the CD-ROM again. This time, I choose the Complete Reinstallation.
‘Sorry, Windows 2000 needs 781Mg of free disk space to be installed’. The bloke is tough! He checks for free disk space but forgets about the whole old Windows system that is going to be erased, freeing about 800Mg. I am not going to reformat the partition, I must backup my files.
New CD reboot, but this time I use the “Recovery” program. I just want to backup my files before erasing that partition. Nothing else but a little CHDIR “Document and Settings” and let’s go. But Windows is not that dumb: ‘Access denied’. That’s below the belt! The recovery program allows only to backup the system. And the other copy options are really primitive. It was like banging my head against a brick wall. Good old Windows!
I have something for Windows: a formatted partition of 1Gb, just in case. New installation, but this time I choose the 1Gb partition. At last Windows boots properly. I finally can access my old partition and I backup all my files.
While I was busy fighting Windows, I lost track of the number of reboots, but it could have been worse... I now just have to reinstall all my programs!
John Monemi
President of Mac Unicorn Software
