Ex-PH2 Update, Or…
…Been Too Damn Quite Around Here.
Some of you have been asking what happened to Ex, was she kidnapped by space aliens, gone walk-about, or simply given up on us?
Truth is, her boat anchor Win XP computer went Tango Uniform after it caught a rootkit virus. She took it to a techie, and the prognosis is grim. He says he’ll try slicking the hard drive and re-installing Win XP. Surprised he still even has the punch cards for that OS.
I do wish she had reached out to the blog- there’s enough computer savvy folk here to man an aircraft carrier, and fixing a rootkit virus really isn’t that difficult, but there we are.
Fear not, help is on the way. A member dummied up an unused Dell laptop with a fresh Win 8.1 load and MS Office Pro Plus 2016, and shipped it off to her as a stopgap until she gets a new one. It should arrive Wednesday.
So y’all have ’till then to clean up your act, adjust your attitude (looking at you, Cav), an generally square your shit away. Sister Mary Grace has her work cut out when she returns. Be afraid.
Category: Breaking News
Not sure how he will be able to install WINXP, as the update serves have all been closed, tell her to stick a linux os on it
I put a copy of XP on an aging Thinkpad a couple of months ago because the machine’s CPU wasn’t capable of Win 7 64-bit. It was fairly painless using an original OEM install DVD with Service Pack 3. While it’s true Microsoft no longer supports XP with OS updates, IIRC there are still virus definitions and security patches available.
“adjust your attitude…..Be afraid”
Afraid? Hell I’m terrified. Is it too late to go back and scrub all comments since she was here last? She’ll let Cav slide, she lubs her some 2/17 AC. Well maybe chastise him a bit. ‘Beans & I will surely be in the stuff. She has already said we can’t be left unsupervised and we have proven her point. That whole thing with Dave Hardin, too, could get messy. Collateral damage is a real and present danger.
AnotherPat showed up with the supposed doctors notice. Still odd that he AND Ex was UA at the same time. Did anyone ever check his breath for Beans and sausage residue or gravy drippings on his chin. And what about charles w? Haven’t heard from him or his stapler in a few days. Call Mueller, the charge of collusion may buy us some time.
The fear…like the struggle…is real. Help us Lord.
It is funny that Ex PH2 vanished about the same time that Extra(marital)Admin showed up. 🙂
Just funning.
Come to think of it, I noticed that as well.
The first article you posted, I scanned the headline and I thought it said ExtraMarital, scrolled back up and saw that “Eveline Woodhead’s sped reding coarse” had failed me again. Still funny, at least to me.
First of all, AnotherPat is a woman. Opinions vary as to the preferences of Ex-Ph2.
If you have enjoyed the peace and quiet its because she does not have your phone number.
Sexting is not my thing but I am willing to forward her advances.
I have been keeping that under wraps, Dave. I came close once to telling him, even asked AP if she was going to break the news, but when she stayed silent, so did I.
I should point out that I’m not blasting anyone’s gender cover. AP wrote about her family previously here at TAH and that’s how I first learned. I’m not in the habit of calling another man a peach, as I did her.
5th/77th FA. I’m sorry, pal. I was chomping at the bit but saw it as her call to make.
It’s all good, I had keyed in on that awhile back in another post. The peach thing was a blast from my past too. I used to refer to about half the ladies in the business I called on as Peaches, some of the others as Sunshine. This was way back when it wasn’t considered offensive. I myself self identify as a lesbian. I only have carnel congress with females. Now a days I’m more ready and able to get freaky with the baked beans and sausages, with a side skillet of gravy. Have biscuit, will sop.
I had figured that Dave had convinced them to all get together with gravy ladles, crock pots, and fuzzy slippers. Thought we were missing out when the Thursdays are for cooking featured C Rats. I know we have a number of TAH Lionesses, but Sara Snipe ain’t one of them.
I’m still afraid for us all.
hbtd & rtr
No worries, another poor soul will be ensnared by her in no time at all. She has been an outstanding contributor here at TAH.
Plus, she’s Army.
Ya, but other than that … damn near perfect.
If Jesus himself visited you jarheads, you would tell him to get a haircut, lose the beard, and spit shine his sandals.
snert snort giggle guffaw
Yeah, I was wondering where she was! Glad it was just a splodey laptop.
Initiating attitude adjustment…
You’re right. I will make that adjustment. My attitude dial reads Hard, Extra Hard, and Destroy Everything. There was a Soft but years ago it atrophied from disuse.
Does your dial go up to 11?
Could easily explain your curmurgeonly attitude. (smile)
No argument. What I didn’t tell AW1Ed is that the adjustment means I click the dial one up from Hard.
My back-up to the PC is something I like to call pen and paper and the local library. You younger folks can look those things up.
I have a glass box on the wall with crayons and paper inside. It says “Break Glass in Case of Emergency.”
Today’s term is “Backup.”
Good luck Ex, I’ll be praying for you! You’ll need it if you expect to be able to run that antique software any more! I used to love xp as well, but alas, it is gone over the sunset!
hmmm…am i the only one still using WordStar?
Speaking of puters, I have one I have been using for years and years. It works great. When it didn’t, I popped its cover and removed a shitload of accumulated dust and it was back in the pink. Anywhow, I buy printers now and then at Wally World b/c they damn near give them away and they come with ink. For a little more than a couple of new ink cartridges, I get a new printer. The other day I bought one and went to hook-er up today. It let now that I have a dinosaur puter and that it will not work. Old? Is 2007 Windows Vista 6.0 old? I guess so. Hell, the thing works like a charm. Am I in for more surprises? Did I mention that I do not have virus protection and that I haven’t for years? Whaddaya think?
We used to have a derogatory term for the type of luck you have. Go buy a Mega Bucks Lottery Ticket.
I really do not understand why I should upgrade, printer aside. The puter is fast, does everything I want. Why should I upgrade? I’m serious. Is it a problem of some sort using a stone age puter?
No, not at all. Just don’t put it on line without a condom because you is gonna get infected.
Dammit, I’m not a techie. Puters are like TVs to me. I can use them well but don’t have a clue how they actually work. (I did, once, but that was when you had to pull the tubes and test them at the local hardware store.)
Still have my lifetime tube replacement card from Radio Shack. Tossed the Battery Club membership when it wasn’t cool anymore. Good times.
Well, there IS someone else we all “knew and loved ” who was proud of his membership in the Radio Shack Battery Club!
I was never a fan of Vista because it often seemed to lack available device drivers. This might be what’s going on with the new printer problem. You might want to go back to using your older printer if that’s an option.
System security is a separate issue. The good news is that usually a firewall exists at a local level via your ISP’s router and its network address translation (NAT). I’m not aware of what’s available for virus protection but it might be worth the trouble to look around to see who not only provides an installer for a Vista antivirus but also current updates to the definition file. It also wouldn’t surprise me, because of the large installed base, if there were still XP options out there that might work on Vista.
Thanks for that. I actually followed it.
Other than the printer issue–which is really no issue–I haven’t had problems. I’d hate for it to blue screen on me b/c I don’t backup docs or pics. I guess that makes me stoopid.
There are several companies that provide free basic anti-virus protection. Just Google “free antivirus”. I have used one for years.
Of course if there is nothing on your computer that you don’t mind losing, why bother? Just wipe the hard drive and reinstall the OS, or make an image and re-image the drive as needed.
As far as operating systems go, my theory is if it works, keep it. You would be surprised at how many places still use a version of WinXP. The only reason I don’t use Vista is because my Vista computer broke and the new replacement came with Win 10.
Thanks. Appreciate your take and advice.
Them boys did a good job hooking you up dog. Up until 19 Jan of 97, I was THE MAN for all things electronic. When that job disappeared, I got out of that business completely. Didn’t get into the whole home computer thing until a few years ago. Ironically this was one of the first places I found and just started hanging out. Didn’t buy into the whole smart phone thingie either.
My man set all this up and, seriously, if you’ve gone this long with an unprotected system with catching a bug, you need to buy a Mega and Power Ball Ticket. As posted above, your isp server must have a little something for protection or you would’ve been eat up by now. When I had to replace the other ‘putor with this chrome bookie thing, it is not compatible with the old printer. A new color printer with ink cost less than the up grade hardware interface stuff to make the old one work.
It’s all a Chinese Communist Plot. Just like the change from 8 track to cassette to CD to usb stick to the cloud LP DVD VHS Antenna Cable ect ect.
They are borg, resistance is futile, you will be assimilated.
Man, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I was a slave to Dell for years but got soooo tired of problems I finally gave up. I bought a MacBook Air a year ago and have not had one problem with it. My daughter has had a Mac x 5 years and not one problem. I got a super, super sale so I did OK. I’m hooked on Mac
We use MACs for graphics work at my place, consequently I have a couple of MACs, iPhones, and Ipads at home…along with a few windows machines, a droid phone or two, a droid tablet, etc….
I told my wife that two people should not really have almost thirty internet connected items every day…
I worked for the only 8 track company on the planet, Automatic Radio, in the sixties.
Set up all the displays that you saw in the stores. Automatic radio also made all the car radios of the period. All of them.
$1.32 an hour. Brinks paid us in cash.
I wish they gave printers away…at least ones I need.
If your tasks are solely confined to the 8.5 x 11 realm, you may be right.
But if you need something that can print/copy/scan at least 11 x 17, your choices suddenly become much more limited–and expensive.
Still have a pair of fireproof file cabinets from DRMO at Portsmouth.
They glow in the dark.
Somebody needs to get me a address. I have a Chromebook laptop I’m will to send PRO BONO….I use a Asus table and phone …
Dahell is an anus table?
Asus, 2/17, not anus.
You don’t really want to know…after my cancer I get to lay on one every 24 months or so while they run several feet of camera tubing up my ass…
It’s not nearly as entertaining as it sounds.
Just go to the nearest Navy base and ask anyone, they will tell you how to find her.
She has a new one on the way from somebody already. I advised them not to send her one … nobody ever listens to me.
No can do..I suffer from Agoraphobia and ain’t set foot outside in years….
You see? Everyone feels the love and starts giving when needed. Boom! Best dickweeds around…have I mentioned how much I miss Jonn? <3 I know those closer REALLY miss that DW. 🙂
Stop the music!
Why buy MS Office when there is a perfectly good FREE office suite available?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LibreOffice
For that matter, Linux (several different versions) is a free operating system. With support.
Red Hat Linux can be purchased from a woman owned company in Bethesda, MD. Contact Psul of the Ballsack. He’s a Viking.
Purchased?!? Bite your tongue! Download from internet, along with all the utilities any reasonable person could ask for. You can get free servers, too. Set up your own LAMP server, just like the big boys-and it’s free.
Or you can ask for Elaine Ricci, but I’m not sure if she’s taking any calls.
She’s waiting to book a return flight on Bernasty Airlines. She’s been on hold for awhile now.
Do they still offer free duct tape and entertainment with 99 cent iPad apps?
Open Office is free and compatable with Microslop.
Open Office has been discontinued. Now it’s LibreOffice, which is also free along with free community support.
Glad you are back, ex-PH2. I may have left more than one error for Sister Mary Grace to fire an eraser (or a ruler) at.
From an IT engineer… me.
Read if you like. Most people think I am speaking Icelandic with a Vietnamese/Russian accent.
1.) XP is bad. It isn’t just that support absolutely stopped for it 2014. The most important of which were security patches.
2.) All veterans have access to AAFES/NAVEX. They sell Office 365 for $49 / year. It’s not worth buying the suite outright.
3.) If you are not a gamer or make movies/graphic design/music, you will be fine with a sub $400 PC. Even a $250 one.
4.) Like many devices, the average lifespan of a PC is 5-7 years. If it doesn’t mechanical wear, the Operating System, device drivers and security lose support. I have over 7000 PC’s that I support at work.
5.) As timactual stated, Linux is free and many flavors of that OS look/feel/operate just like Windows but is way more secure.
6.) You don’t need to have MS Office. There are great open source/free office suites such as Open Office, that will create/read/update/modify the major file types like Word, Excell, PowerPoint, etc.
6.) When I work on devices with viruses, I pull the drive and place it on a drive reader on a Linux machine while isolating the Linux device from the network.
I copy only the user’s important files they created and with great empathy I go after their personal photos/music/tax returns. Even though they are told not to. There are no more shoe boxes and negatives to fall back on.
I scan the files prior to transfer with several tools.
Then I transfer them to a flash drive or external drive.
I scrub the host drive with a DOD level wiping tool.
Then the disk gets physically shredded.
Data recover is more important than keeping a hard drive.
If anyone ever needs any help, please let me know. I also have a network of people that will help as well.
IT is like the medical profession; there are many different specialties. If I don’t know the answer, I can find people who do.
Thanks to you and the others for the info. It is all helpful to me.
Thanks a lot
Here’s a true IT story:
Back around the year 2000, I built a Win2K file server for the office of a client in San Francisco. It was a pretty nice machine of what were then best-of-breed components including dual Slot-1 Pentiums, a Supermicro mainboard, Adaptec RAID controller, and so forth.
As it happens, my youngest daughter was talking to the same client a few weeks ago, and he mentioned that after 18 years he had recently had to retire the same Win2K Server box that had been shuffling files around all that time.
18 years. I love that. I’ve got an XP machine I use for old (16 bit old) games and such, and even a Pentium II running Win 95 I keep around for giggles. I absolutely hate getting rid of something that works.
I am not PC savvy when it comes to using the old noodle doing all the tech stuff so I have AT&T bill me fifteen bucks a month for tech support. I can put together RJ 45, RJ 11, RG 6, XLR cable plugs, install ceiling fans, ceiling lights, work on Mechanical pocket watches Etc, but I had to have one of our condo board members to talk to me over my phone landline on how to register into our new Deauville Village web site which was put into effect after our Dec 14th loss of our Clubhouse due to a major fire that destroyed it.
I pay Cox Cable $10 for the same service for both my TV and internet. Paid off recently when a guy came and had to replace the little box by the TV. A service call would have cost me at least $$$. I do not do tech.
Check with your Internet Service Provider (ISP) – some usually allow you to download a copy of Norton Antivirus for free (as part of your Internet service).
In this day and age,better to have something protecting your computer than surfing the web unprotected.
Also – Open Office is a free Office Suite that you can download and use, just like Microsoft Office
https://www.openoffice.org/
Yes ditch the Microsoft junk. Install Libreoffice,(Open Office can go wrong with glitches). Use UBuntu linux and learn a few basic commands to upload software easily. Put the old HD into a caddy and use a fresh HD from the antique shop and you can still use Linux to access the old HD.
I’ll digress from using Ubuntu. Its too fat, virtual memory hog. Everything Ubuntu and I know Conical has worked their tails off to make it user friendly, also makes it slow.
My configuration:
* Windows 98
* 80486
* 512K RAM
* 36 MB HD
* Netscape 6.0
* News/Weather – pretty much all things AOL
* Dot Matrix printer (and she screams!)
YouTube – bring your pain!
A ‘486?! I’m jealous. I used to have a ‘286 running DOS 3.3, but my wife gave it away. That 80486 is about 20 people years old, so it’s at least 100 computer years old.