- Windows XP SP3
For a while now, the system keeps being unresponsive, svchost.exe crashing and throwing "Access Violation" errors whever the machine is started. Well, 2 times out of 3. It's enough of a problem that makes the computer really-really annoying to use. Some people suggested it is because the machine is "too old". I call BS on that one.
Searching around there was some advisory from Microsoft, related to a problem of the AutoUpdate. Oh, great, all those auto-updating programs at startup...
It is pretty much what is said at KB927385 (You receive an error message after a Windows XP-based computer runs an automatic update, and you may be unable to run any programs after you close the "svchost.exe - Application Error" error message dialog box) and they have a few full page of solution, most of it is in the console. Great. The Windows version I have to use is in Chinese, so even greater. Never mind, GoogleImages is actually quite helpful in figuring out what setting means what. (related note: how much I wish for copy-pastable text on Windows dialogs and settings windows....) Okay, done that, the services.msc, the REGSVR32 the net start *whatever*, the everyting... No good...
Well, today I found some related advisories that I have to try, like KB932494, but it is still stressing out. - Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala)
I really want to love Ubuntu, I want it to succeed, I want to become abundant... That's why I was really cheering when I've found the Windows Ubuntu Installer (WUBI). The promise is great: people don't even have to jump head first into Linux, and they don't have to know years worth of Linux admin training to set up dual-boot.... WUBI downloads the correct CD image from the web, installs it on a windows partition and sets up proper dual-boot. Perfect!
Except, that some kernel or grub (the software that handles the boot process) updates keep making my system unbootable... What the hell? The machine works fine, run the updates, everything finishes fine, reboot - nothing. Sometimes even worse than nothing, don't like Kernel Panics at all, that's no better than the Blue Screen of Death... Not helpful, you are....
Done this three or four times: install, update, broken. Reinstall update, works, update, broken.... and so on.
Have nice little bug-report submitted, but the people who reply are in two categories so far: users who try to save their data but clueless about fixing the problem, and people who supposed to be maintainers but their comments are just plain wrong most of the time, and if even I know that, it must be very obvious... Yesterday that happend again. Not sure if I'll try to reinstall once more, or just give up for a while until there's some fix. Argh... - Arch Linux
My favourite "geek distro", that I enjoy using a lot, but they have a track record of doing updates that break lots of people's computers - for the sake of cutting edge. Many times I don't mind too much, and they have a very responsive Forum, but sometimes it's still just plain bad.... The latest grief is that some latter day update made my laptops touchpad unusable. In the logs I can see some complains of psmouse.c about the Synaptic touchpad, but after "trying to reconnect" there's nothing... I can plug in a USB mouse and that works, but come on!! That's why the touchpad is there, and it works under Windows just fine, so not some more hardware break....
And I didn't even mention that my EeePC just does not start - lights are on for the wireless and the power but nothing at all...
Maybe I just go out for a while and read a book or something....
