[Offtopic] (no subject)
Cameron Bell
bell.cameron.p at edumail.vic.gov.au
Mon Apr 23 07:31:22 EST 2007
Funny you should say that. I have an English teacher that had a bad HDD
replaced by Lenovo. Was able to keep old one to try to recover his data.
He downloaded lots of trial data recovery software- which of course
asked for $ to actually recover the data rather than just display it.
I booted from Ubuntu and we plugged in the old drive via a USB. Saw the
files and got the data onto the network (couldn't dump it onto his new
HDD - I don't think the live CD gives access to the inbuilt HDD??? Well
I couldn't find it in the usual places anyway.)
Not a problem. However I think MEPIS is a better live CD to use in these
situations, more tools.
Cheers
Cameron
Roland Gesthuizen wrote:
> Not as funny as it sounds .. an English teacher had some horrid
> connection issues that caused several blue screens of death. I had too
> much on my plate and the Levito tech would not be in until after the
> weekend. I I tossed him a self booting Ubuntu CDROM and a spare IT
> student to show him how to boot from it. I was only buying him some
> time so he could do some typing with OpenOffice on his USB key but in
> fact, with no instruction they got the wireless Internet working at
> school, a printer and later even got it working at home. The following
> week he asked for it to be installed as a dual boot option and refuses
> to hand back the CDROM.
>
> As he put it, "insurance from the madness with something that bloody
> works".
>
> We forget that most casual users are less than forgiving with computer
> errors and perhaps less demanding of what we think that they might
> need from a computer.
>
> Regards Roland
>
> On 22/04/07, *victor rajewski* <askvictor at gmail.com
> <mailto:askvictor at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
> Having recently acquired an IBM r52 notebook, I had some similar
> (perhaps not quite as demoralising) experiences trying to re-format
> and re-install XP on it. The 'blue IBM button' restore process failed,
> then mysteriously stopped appearing as an option. Trying to install XP
> from scratch worked, but then there were no drivers with which to
> access either the usb port or network. not having any blank cds
> around, this presented a unique challenge to having a working system.
>
> My solution was to insert an Ubuntu Linux CD, and about half an hour
> later (with no input expect a few questions at the very start), I had
> a perfectly working laptop - all drivers working, basic applications
> pre-installed. For the odd occasion I need windows apps, I either use
> WINE, or if that don't work (only two rarely used apps) I run windows
> inside VMware.
>
> cheers
>
> vik
>
> On 4/21/07, stephen at melbpc.org.au <mailto:stephen at melbpc.org.au>
> <stephen at melbpc.org.au <mailto:stephen at melbpc.org.au>> wrote:
> > Gentle Reader,
> >
> > Here are my experiences with a brand new IBM Lenovo Notebook
> > Computer, purchased two days ago (and it left the factory exactly
> > one month ago) factory loaded with Windows Vista Home Premium.
> >
> > 1. The automatic Register Your New IBM Computer start-up program
> > window, which pops-up every time one powers-up, FAILS *every* time.
> >
> > 2. The pre-loaded Microsoft Office software (for a 60 day
> Outlook, IE etc
> > trial) will NOT accept the Microsoft Serial Number Sticker
> number, which
> > is stuck to the bottom of the machine, and will NOT run.
> >
> > 3. The sixty day pre-loaded version of Norton anti-virus,
> anti-spyware etc
> > tries to up-date itself with 24 Mb of updates. It gets around
> two thirds
> > through downloading recent up-dates, then stops, and takes turns
> asserting
> > either my new 80 Gig Drive is full, or that I need to re-install
> Nortons?
> >
> > 4. The Microsoft Vista auto-update downloads/installs 27Mb of MS
> security
> > etc updates, and says it has registered my pre-installed copy of
> Vista.
> > But, there is now a permanent water mark message on the desktop
> asserting
> > that my factory IBM Lenovo copy of Windows Vista is *NOT* a
> genuine copy.
> > Presumably this means that Vista won't automatically update
> anymore, thus
> > fixing this problem, and also inevitable future Vista O/S
> security issues.
> >
> > 5. The MSVista Control Panel window opens with NO visible icons
> available.
> >
> > 6. I have not installed any software of my own what-so-ever but
> every time
> > I turn it on, it takes 5 minutes before I can use it, the hard
> drive light
> > stays on with the drive clicking for ten minutes, and then
> claims that I
> > have only 61% of Eighty Gig drive-space available. I've NOT
> installed ANY
> > of our software.
> >
> > For comparison, though I've bought and own many computers, this
> notebook
> > is to replace a 4-year-old Compaq notebook, with a 4 Gig drive,
> which was
> > never more than half full, and which performed faultlessly till
> it died.
> >
> > 7. Though the computer comes with NO software disks of any kind,
> of zero
> > surprise, it has a program called 'PC-Doctor' pre-loaded. This
> notebook
> > passes all the dozen or so hardware tests available with this
> program.
> >
> > However, it also has a screen that goes blank for 2-3 seconds at
> random
> > intervals, very often and with no discernable pattern. Also,
> frequently
> > during web browsing, one will be presented with a window
> inviting one
> > to 'go online' but closing the window and carrying on browsing
> as before
> > seems to work.
> >
> > I may be wrong but I think most of the problems are Vista
> software issues.
> >
> > So gentle reader, judging from this farce, do avoid the once
> all-powerful
> > IBM and Microsoft combination for a notebook and operating
> system if you
> > are seeking a stress-free, trustworthy computing experience with
> your
> > next notebook purchase.
> >
> > For what it is worth, as well as the many hundreds of very
> computer savvy
> > people on these mailing lists, I am CCing this email to
> IBM/Lenovo and
> > Microsoft as well.
> >
> > Although I don't expect any email etc responses at all, from
> either of
> > them. If any response is received, I will email their responses
> along to
> > everyone on these lists and so possibly assist you when deciding
> > computer / OS purchases next time.
> >
> > Right now, I think that after returning this notebook for a
> refund, I'll
> > buy a new Mac.
> >
> > CC: Glen Boreham, IBM Managing Director and CEO
> > CC Nick White, Vista Product Manager, Microsoft
> >
> > Best wishes all,
> > Stephen Loosley.
> > (A High School IT Teacher for 10 years,
> > with a Masters Degree (IT) etc .. sigh!)
> > --
> >
> >
> > Message sent using MelbPC WebMail Server
> >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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>
> --
> Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
> http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au
>
> "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
> change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has."
> --Margaret Mead
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