83 Updates

After installing Windows on the Gateway and finishing driver installations, I went to Windows Update and got a list of updates needed. The total: 83. 59.4 MB of files, with an estimated download time of an hour and a little change. Downloading update 7 now, so it might be a while before I move on to installing necessary software, like AVG Antivirus and Antispyware. Those two are next on the list, though.

Working So Far

The Gateway Operating System disc appears to have successfully installed Windows again. I checked it a few hours later, and it was still booting, with no errors yet. Fingers crossed, it'll stay working.

New Option in Gateway Restoration

I've found a new option on the Gateway Operating System disc. The Gateway Restore program will partition and format "Physical drive 0" instead of referring to it by letter. Right now, it's completed partitioning and formatting (according to the wizard) and is "Prepairing [sic] Windows Installation..."

We'll see if this works...

Chat Complete, but Solution Doesn't Look Workable

I completed my chat with Gateway Support about five minutes ago, coming away with an entire set of instructions. I'm supposed to insert the recovery CD and "Boot to Command Prompt", using FDISK to reformat the hard drive. Problem is, the drive doesn't appear to be accessible from the only Command Prompt I can find, the Recovery Console on the Windows setup disc. I'll spend a little more time trying to get access to the drive, but if I can't it'll be back to Gateway...

Cannot Format User Partition

No way...Gateway System Recovery cannot format the user partition on the Gateway laptop. So how do I get the OS installed? I can't do anything with Windows without being able to boot into Windows, and I've tried both options on the Recovery CD. I guess there's only one option left: Gateway Technical Support. If they can't solve the problem, the computer may have to be declared dead. (I could ask to have it taken to Geek Squad, but their prices are ridiculous, and I have some doubts about their actual skills.)

So, I head to Gateway.com in search of assistance.

Restoration Complete...Until Now

I know, I took longer than 30 minutes. The installer took a long time, and then it got late. Anyway, status update.

I left the Gateway laptop with fully installed drivers and OS last night. It was configured to access the network and ready for software. Then I tried to boot it up this evening and received the same error that was occurring yesterday. Stupid Windows... Now I'm using the Recovery CD right from the get-go, and am performing a full HDD format and reinstall, which will hopefully get rid of that damned error. The problem has to be a corrupted settings file, not a missing one.

At some point, I'll try to get the name of the program my brother was trying to install and will research it, along with possible dangers, on Google. In the mean time, I'll sit here, checking email, blogging, and surfing, while I wait for the computer to restore itself for the second time in as many days.

I should be getting $50 an hour for this problem...

Restoration from the Win-doze

After a quick conversation with my dad, learning that we had all the discs, I elected to try booting into the Gateway Recovery CD, that other disc the installer rejected. It seems to be working so far; the screen says "Restore in progress..." I only wish I had discovered the Recovery disc before wiping the system... Update in about 30 minutes, when the wizard completes the recovery operation.

Content-Aware Image Sizing

There is a new video on YouTube that details a new technology, called Content-Aware Image Sizing, that can dynamically resize images by removing one-pixel-wide paths called seams. Images can be stretched using the same technology, where seams are added rather than subtracted. Areas to protect can be defined, and their pixels will not be removed or added to; areas can also be erased with the background automatically reconstructed, though the entire image will have some proportions altered. It's a very interesting technology.

Windows Glitch Partially Solved

The clean Windows installation went pretty smoothly; the machine was back up by 1730. The only problem: No Gateway software or drivers. I have to solve that problem now. On first start-up, it asked for the Gateway Drivers and Applications CD, so I inserted the second disk from the case containing the Windows disk. It was rejected. Another time, perhaps the computer's owners can locate other Gateway disks that might be the right one. For now, we have a blank laptop PC with no networking capabilities and no software. At least Windows boots now...

Windows Glitch (What Else is New?)

My brother did something to his girlfriend's computer that corrupted C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM, leaving the system unable to boot. When I arrived, on my way back home, they pounced on my technical skills and recruited me to fix the computer. I asked first for the same thing the Gateway did: The XP system disks.

I Googled a few things before starting, trying to get more information on the error. The Recovery Console could be used to fix the problem, but the process was extremely risky on OEM-installed versions of Windows, which hers is. Reinstalling Windows was the next likely option. I dug out the disk and requested that it repair Windows. Multiple attempts merely resulted in installer crashes.

After more back-and-forth with Google and Casey (my brother's girlfriend), we finally decided to just do a clean install of XP, wiping all data and programs from the PC. Since the disk is from Gateway, it's likely that it will be returned to factory state, meaning not all programs will be gone. Applications that were included with the machine should still be present, but all settings and data (that is not backed up) will be gone. Oh well. Why can't Microsoft operating systems be more resilient?

Stay tuned for an update on the outcome.

Marriott Franchise Feels Unwelcoming

Looks like Harrisburg isn't any better than Philadelphia. At least, in some ways. Hotel rooms are still hard to find. After consulting our GPS and calling several hotels, we finally found a room at a Fairfield Inn. Arriving around 2130, we checked in and found out that the pool closed at 2200. Appeals to the good will of the staff fell on deaf ears. Nevertheless, my mom decided that she'd take whatever time she could get. We went down to the pool, only to find it already closing, more than five minutes before the 2200 deadline.

Before this revelation, I discovered another: The door to the pool had a sign, "Please towel off before returning to the hotel," the first sign of its kind I've ever seen at any hotel. And Fairfield Inn, run by Marriott, is reasonably upscale.

Which brings us to another point. Despite being a mere $20 cheaper than our previous room at the Radisson in Philadelphia, the service and room quality rated half the price of the Radisson. In the room, a laminated card states, among other promises to guests is to "always make you feel welcome" and "always give you the service that will make you want to return." Neither of these are fulfilled at the Harrisburg/Hershey location.

Philthydelphia

There's something about big cities I've never liked. There's always traffic, they're always dirty, lots of neighborhoods are places you wouldn't want to even stop at a red light in, and panhandlers approach you every five seconds.

Welcome to Philadelphia, PA.

I've been in lots of big cities, some bigger than Philly, but I think the Cradle of Liberty needs to stop cradling liberty and start focusing on improvements. We stayed at a hotel on Roosevelt Blvd. (US-1), and getting anywhere took forever. Even going to my grandmother's house, a mere 1.5 miles away, took ten minutes. Downtown to the Franklin Institute Science Museum? An hour. The problem was the signals on Roosevelt. No matter what direction you come from, what time of day it is, or how fast you go, you will get 90% red signals. And that's a lot of reds: The street has signals about every 500-750 feet for ten miles. Needless to say it slows you down a lot.

Another thing is, depending on the neighborhood, you'll get panhandled more times in an hour than most people brush their teeth in a week. OK, so I exaggerate a little, but it's pretty bad. At one gas station near the zoo (in what one would think would be an upscale, touristy area), I was panhandled twice, and one of the guys went and asked my mom, too. It may be the City of Brotherly Love, but let's leave it at that; I sometimes felt like these guys thought it was the City of Brotherly Money. Or maybe there's a connection between the Love and the Money; one of the panhandlers had insisted on helping us get gas from a recalcitrant pump before asking for money.

Finally (for now), it's just hard to find a hotel room. Anywhere. Anytime. Whether it's mid-week, weekend, or Monday, hotels are booked with either business travelers (going to conventions, seminars, and the like) or families (on weekend vacation). I'm only sampling the summer, of course, but business seminars don't stop during the school year.

Fortunately, I've left Philly, so none of these issues are bothering me any more. But stay tuned; traveling gives plenty of opportunities to write.

GuestLinX Says I'm Spam

It's one thing for business websites to be published with mistakes. It's another to provide contact information. What burns me is when I try to use the contact information (email addresses) to notify webmasters of bugs and my messages are bounced. That's what happened to me when I tried to notify admin@guestlinxprinting.com of multiple errors.

On August 24, I sent an email to GuestLinX (which provides Internet access and networked printing solutions for hotels) at the above address, listing several errors that should be fixed on the website GuestLinXPrinting.com. Today, two days later, I finally receive a message from the spam filter at barracuda.guestlinx.com stating that the connection request from guestlinxprinting.com was refused by guestlinx.com (I resolved the IP addresses involved using my browser). So, the spam filter is blocking messages from its sister server. Here's the full response message:

This is the Spam Firewall at barracuda.guestlinx.com.

I'm sorry to inform you that the message below could not be delivered.
When delivery was attempted, the following error was returned.


<admin@guestlinxprinting.com>: connect to 12.166.52.137[12.166.52.137]:
Connection refused

Final-Recipient: rfc822; admin@guestlinxprinting.com
Action: failed
Status: 4.0.0
Diagnostic-Code: X-Spam-Firewall; connect to 12.166.52.137[12.166.52.137]:
Connection refused

That's nice to know. How do I fix the problem? Should I use another address, perhaps one without a plus sign? Or do you not accept Gmail.com addresses? Come on, GuestLinX, give me a clue. My next step may be to email the contact address for the main GuestLinX site. No matter how you spin this issue, it's really annoying. Make contact addresses work, everyone; don't bounce customers' messages.

Update (03/05/08): Yeah, I never did manage to contact them... Oh well, their mistake. I should really check the site and see if it's working properly. Hold it, I don't care about businesses that bounce mail from legitimate customers, do I? Grr...