Well, Vista service pack 2 came out a little while ago. Like any computer geek, I wanted to try it out right away... I downloaded the standalone version and attempted to install it. Instead, it gave me an element not found error. I searched the interwebs, attempting to fix the issue, but none of the things that were mentioned, which included disabling my antivirus worked.
So Microsoft offered free support for me to deal with this, so I decided to take them up on it. My guess was something was corrupted and perhaps the best thing was just to wait and reformat/reinstall on the weekend, pain as that is.
Reformating/Reinstalling is always a pain for anyone. The advantage I have over most people is that when I do it, I a) don't have to pay someone to do it and b) I can save my data unless there is a damaged hard disk in play. The worst thing about it is it just simply takes time to back up all the data, reinstall windows, install all the updates, install the service packs, install your security programs, install device drivers, install the other programs you use, restore your data and then tweak everything so it is how you want it.
For me, it usually takes about 1-2 evenings to get a working environment and then a week to get everything back so (or in a new so, in case I feel like experimenting).
Anyways, I thought I'd test out the Microsoft Tech support... They had online chat and took my computer over from me from India. They did a bunch of things, and couldn't fix the issue, so they promised a real technician would call me.
So he did. And he told me to uninstall sp1... And I went to installed updates to do so and couldn't find it... And he was flustered and thought it would be there. He kept pressing me to do this though so I went and found manual uninstall commands from the internet here... And I did so, though I was a bit worried about how he was explaining that Vista was corrupt and b) things were behaving a bit weirdly. So I decided to trust him... command executed, reboot and, well, black screen explaining that windows could not boot.
I attempted to use my Vista cd to repair windows, but it reported that it could not do that. He asked me to attempt a system restore, but that was a'screwy anyways. His final recommendation was that I should reformat/reinstall, which at 9:15 pm was not going to do, seeing as it would take another day and I had work in the morning.
Honestly it wasn't the tech's fault, though I remain convinced that I knew as much as he did. I'm just annoyed that he couldn't have given me options in the beginning... it was only at the end that he was like "can you get a SP1 CD?" and recognized that I might have a clue as to what I was doing.
It's not his fault that 99% of the people he deals with aren't screwy. I just wish that there was some sort of aptitude test I could pass so that I could get flagged as someone who has a clue of what to do. It would save headaches. "Hi, it's not working" "K windows is corrupt, can you get your hands on a sp1 cd? Otherwise you'll have to attempt to uninstall sp1 and if that doesn't work reformat/reinstall" That would have saved me a couple of hours.
Also, Microsoft, would it KILL you to easily provide ISOs for windows Vista online? I could enter my product key and after registering somehow (.net passport? You use that with dreamspark afterall) I could download it. I'd even pay a small fee if you needed to offset bandwidth costs (or perhaps you could look into private torrent tracker-like technology). I know I can order DVDs, but I asked and they aren't ready yet with SP2. Either that or make it easy to slipstream service packs onto your own Vista dvds... I've tried vlite, but perhaps because of my computer troubles, it didn't seem to take... I could slipstream XP easily though (and yes, I know the technical reasons because of the image like nature of the Vista DVD, how much harder it is... still Microsoft could release a tool that could do it and make your own ISO).
The good news is that my baby is up and running again... And yes SP2 is now installed. I am happy. Now hopefully this version isn't corrupted and that the image I made with Acronis isn't either.
His Grace
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