This and That: Following Through

      by Elizabeth B. Wright        May 2004

The computer problems that have plagued me for months, some mentioned in previous columns, are partially ended, at least for the time being. With great trepidation, I plunged into the Registry file in Windows 98SE. Once a problem is solved, it is difficult to remember the steps which led up to the resolution. But somehow, I finally decided my computer was searching at startup for a file related to specific hardware, and not finding it was causing the dreaded black screen with an IO error message. Everyone talks about the “Blue Screen of Death”, but the “Black Screen of Computer Eternal Fiery Punishment” is even worse.

Anyway, knowing that the problem had to be solved, I made my backup copy of the Registry and proceeded with a cleanup attempt. Looking for all references to the offending software/hardware, I removed them and saved the Registry file. With a pounding heart, I turned my computer off completely, let it rest for quite a while, then restarted it with a cold boot. The cold boot was preferable to the steel-toed boot I was planning to use if my Registry cleanup failed. But even thinking about severe retaliation must affect the performance of a computer, because on restart, it worked beautifully. At the present writing, I have been able to install some new software and hardware without getting the black screen on restart. However, knowing the computer will probably take its revenge on me at a later date, I will not be too eager to pat myself on the back.

Most of you are probably using Windows XP by now, so references to Windows 98 or 98SE may not be of much use to you. But hopefully, it is still possible to do some system overhauls yourself without resorting to expensive and sometimes frustrating encounters with dealer-based technicians. Doing it yourself is only an option if you are willing to make sure you have backed up all important data and can restart your computer if the operation fails to achieve the desired results. If time is a factor for you, or if you just don’t want to delve into the inner workings of the computer, then by all means use paid technicians. But do try to develop a good relationship with people who are likely to be available for future work if it becomes necessary. It is usually very expensive to use dealer repair technicians once your machine is out of warranty, so be sure you can’t fix the problem yourself before going that extra mile.

What happens now that Gateway Computers has closed its stores? Will others follow? I have heard conflicting reports on how effective Gateway was in customer support for hardware problems. The negative information really did not surprise me.

Very few retailers of any products are very interested in helping you with a product once it is in your possession. The usual tactic is to sell you something else. I personally have not owned a “name brand” computer since our original IBM PC 8086-8088 machine with DOS v. 1.0 as the operating system. And floppy drives with DOS was an upgrade for the out-of-the-box computer which actually booted to Basic and expected you to know what to do next. From that early day there was little customer support, so I began a search for local people to help me traverse the long and winding road to semi-literate computer usage. Of course, this club was the main source for that support. With that in mind, the club is sponsoring sessions on building computers. This is designed to help us understand how all that hardware goes together and hopefully turns itself into a functioning work of art. The first sessions are already set, but if you are interested in the same sort of thing in the future, call the Resource Center for more information. The phone number is 405-843-4300.

    Elizabeth Wright is a member of the OKCPCUG and a regular writer for the eMonitor