# Why is nothing ever straight-forward with computers!? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 11, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241 "2004-12-11T01:59:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/41 "2004-12-12T10:23:08Z")
> [@Oilcan](#): > > That’s JAN Sibelius, you blasphemer. > > DerFinn [Funny,](http://www.sibelius.fi/suomi/musiikki/js_saveltajana.html)[I always](http://www.helsinki.fi/kasv/nokol/sibelius.html) [thought](http://www.abo.fi/fak/hf/musik/Sibelius/EN/) [it was](http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/sibelius.html) [Jean.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Sibelius) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/42 "2004-12-12T15:26:10Z")
> [@Loopydude](#): > > I know I’m gonna get flamed for this, but I never have problems like this with my Mac. By that, I mean, _never_. Just sayin… Which is fine, as long as you don’t act like a jackass about it. One **rjung** is too much. ---
**Author:** ![groo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecd19e/32.png) [@groo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/groo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/43 "2004-12-12T18:33:08Z")
**Life is too short to argue about operating systems.** Gaming regularly pushes the envelope of computing performance, and because of the newness of the technologies, particularly wrt graphics, the industry is still trying to develop standards. Until the core technologies are well-known enough to be considered as commodities, we’ll keep on trading system stability for higher performance. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/44 "2004-12-12T19:20:34Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > [This auction](http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=80050&item=5737256421&rd=1) has a picture of the round pyramidy-thing that my friend used with her iBook. I think it’s the AC adapter or something. No, that’s not it. I defintely remember an actual laptop where the back of the screen was a pyramid thingy. I remember talking to people about it! And them agreeing how dumb it was! ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2004, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/45 "2004-12-12T20:55:55Z")
At http://www.apple-history.com/frames/? they have pictures of all Apples. Maybe you can find it there? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/46 "2004-12-13T07:47:02Z")
I occasionally toy with the theory that people buy Windows PCs primarily because they’ve got a network of “friends” whom they can “borrow” software from… 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/47 "2004-12-13T09:04:22Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > **Loopydude** > Up until quite recently at work we had to use an impact printer due to multi-part forms that _had_ to be used. That was not the problem. The problem was that the page setup values would _ **never** _ save. And at the start of a new run, if you didn’t enter the page settings you needed what was its default? The default was a 1cm by 1 cm page size!!! So, if you forgot to input the settings, you had to run like Hell to the printer because that printer would go nuts printing a few characters per multi-part form. What a waste !!! What cretin could _possibly_ think that someone would _ever_ need to print anything on a 1 cm by a cm page? Oh maybe I’m being too particular, but I’d like a default to be something relatively normal like _ **letter size** _ ??? If you would specify the manufacturer, model number, etc., of this impact printer, someone here might be able to help you with that problem. I know this is the Pit, more for whining about it than fixing it, but someone \*might[.i] be able to help you. ---
**Author:** ![kitarak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kitarak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitarak)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/48 "2004-12-13T11:03:55Z")
I’d feel so much more sympathy for you guys if my computer hadn’t spontaneously caught fire on tuesday night. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/49 "2004-12-13T11:47:43Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > I occasionally toy with the theory that people buy Windows PCs primarily because they’ve got a network of “friends” whom they can “borrow” software from… 😉 Do you ever toy with the idea of not being a tit in computer threads? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/50 "2004-12-13T15:24:46Z")
rjung is right. Though I suspect it actually started with bringing home software from work. So, basically, Lotus made the IBM PC what it is today. Does nobody remember the 1980s? Either from work or from school, or whatever, software was the vector from which computers spread to the home. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/51 "2004-12-13T17:59:20Z")
Since posting this thread things have got worse. I tried to install older drivers. I oculdn’t roll the newer ones back because they didn’t appear to be there. Now when windows loads up the screen is blank. I put in a ‘windows recovery disk’ in the hope of doing a repair install. It just went a head and installed a new copy of windows alongside the other one without asking me. I’ve tried everything, even working blind (trying to load what I now know to be the drivers that work with my card without being able to see what I’m doing) puhd9bffu a[p0f8vhy [p0a80re[y8]gv0UWERF9U430F AP p890 u ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/52 "2004-12-13T18:42:48Z")
I don’t know if this is the best approach, but I’ve found that, for whatever mysterious reason, going scorched-earth and wiping the hard drive can make some of these issues magically disappear. I don’t know why, I don’t know how, but it seems that the old nasty habit of Windows accumulating a layer of incapacitating software detritus has been with us since Winblows 3.1 (or earlier) and never really went away. I have no idea if it’s viruses, corrupted drivers, unintentionally-erased .dll files that don’t raise alarms, .dll files that aren’t supposed to be there, other junk you have to go searching for a week through every cabinet to extract…I just don’t know. All I can say is every once in a while things just go kablooey, usually after some change I expected would be harmless (like installing a new app., or trying to update a driver). I back up all my goddamn files, and reformat the motherfucker. I put everything back on, and hey presto, it works. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/53 "2004-12-13T19:58:26Z")
> [@Dead Badger](#): > > Do you ever toy with the idea of not being a tit in computer threads? I think you mean “jerk” and he lacks the capability IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/54 "2004-12-13T21:04:25Z")
> [@Lobsang](#): > > I’ve tried everything, even working blind (trying to load what I now know to be the drivers that work with my card without being able to see what I’m doing) Did you try starting in Safe Mode, and load the new drivers from there? Windows will use the default display drivers even if you have bunged the correct ones, and you should be able to see what you are doing. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/55 "2004-12-13T21:36:37Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > Did you try starting in Safe Mode, and load the new drivers from there? Windows will use the default display drivers even if you have bunged the correct ones, and you should be able to see what you are doing. Safe mode just reboots. So does safe mode with command prompt. Boot in VGA mode just boots into the blank screen. ---
**Author:** ![Loopydude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e56c9b/32.png) [@Loopydude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopydude)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/56 "2004-12-13T21:42:39Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#): > > Did you try starting in Safe Mode, and load the new drivers from there? Windows will use the default display drivers even if you have bunged the correct ones, and you should be able to see what you are doing. It seems pretty clear he has tried that, and opted to fly blind (though I can’t understand why) when he was at the end of his rope. I say wipe it. Put on only the stuff you absolutely have to have, back up that vsn. of your system, add a little more, make another copy, add more, etc. As soon as something breaks, you can revert with System Restore to whatever you had at the prior step and hopefully take a different approach. This is the only way I’ve found that works with stuff like this. I’m sure there are less crude methods, but not may of us have time to earn a certificate degree in WinTel tech support (and it might not help if we did). It’s a gigantic pain in the ass, and time consuming as all Hell, but 9 times out of 10, wipe and restore works. Usually the stuff you can’t put back on without something breaking you don’t really need all that badly anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/57 "2004-12-13T23:07:31Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > And at the start of a new run, if you didn’t enter the page settings you needed what was its default? The default was a 1cm by 1 cm page size!!! … What cretin could _possibly_ think that someone would _ever_ need to print anything on a 1 cm by a cm page? Oh I don’t know. There are all sorts of uses: [ul] [li]A very short grocery list, with aggressively abbreviated item names. (“P’s” for example.)[/li][li]The fine print of the Microsoft EULA, magnified.[/li][li]Your favorite Webding character.[/li][li]A micro-dot of your secret plans for world domination. (Unfortunately rendered illegible at 600 dpi. But hey, even better secrecy!)[/li][li]Counterfeit currency to be passed off to very stupid people.[/li][li]The sheet music for John Cage’s _4’33"_.[/li][li]The wit and wisdom of [_insert politician’s name here_].[/li][li]One particle of confetti. Set the number of print copies to 1000000, and you’re ready for Hal’s retirement party tomorrow.[/li][li]Your IRS 1040 tax return, scaled to fit, for those years when you’re feeling vindictive.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2004, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241/58 "2004-12-13T23:46:54Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > The sheet music for John Cage’s _4’33"_. I’m afriad that’s on [9x12](http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/store/smp_detail.html?sku=PE.P06777&cart=33119523604231489&searchtitle=Sheet%20Music). And you wouldn’t advocate breaching copyright, would you? 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-nothing-ever-straight-forward-with-computers/279241.md?page=2)