![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
AAUGH
So, having finally finished sorting my mp3s, I did what I should have done about a year ago, and did a full backup, hard drive wipe, and system restore, because my laptop's been so slow lately it was actively interfering with getting stuff done (best guess was some corruption in one of the memory management files - it wasn't virus-y slow.)
Only now my restored computer won't connect to the wireless. It's giving me that $#%^@$ "password must be five or thirteen characters or ten characters hex" error, which windows XP occasionally decides to randomly throw out when trying to connect to perfectly copacetic wireless routers, and I know I've fixed it before by forcing XP to use the right encryption method.
Only none of them are working now, and I tried the Ubuntu liveCD I have around and it choked on the passkey too, so now I'm on the Vista box, which connects, fine only it claims it's using open WEP security, which does require the five-or-thirteen characters passkey, except that our current password, I *know*, is nine characters WPA2- and the Vista password box shows eight.
Meanwhile when I try to get into the router to change the security settings there, it gives a 'page not found' error.
WHY IS NOTHING EVER EASY??
...so anyway I may be scarce for awhile, or at least until after I have attacked the router with my geologist's hammer.
ETA: So yay! I am online now! Now all I have to do is run Windows Update.
...did you know that computers running XP with Service Pack Two can no longer connect to Windows Update?
If you poke at the help files for why, it says you need to update to Service Pack Three, and to go to Windows Update to do that! It's a really neat Catch-22.
If you put in the specific error code, it sends you to a site that offers to automatically install a "fixit" to get Windows Update working, but it errors out when installing - and sends you to Windows Update to get the necessary updates to install it.
Oh Microsoft! And here I thought you were trying to be less evil.
Only now my restored computer won't connect to the wireless. It's giving me that $#%^@$ "password must be five or thirteen characters or ten characters hex" error, which windows XP occasionally decides to randomly throw out when trying to connect to perfectly copacetic wireless routers, and I know I've fixed it before by forcing XP to use the right encryption method.
Only none of them are working now, and I tried the Ubuntu liveCD I have around and it choked on the passkey too, so now I'm on the Vista box, which connects, fine only it claims it's using open WEP security, which does require the five-or-thirteen characters passkey, except that our current password, I *know*, is nine characters WPA2- and the Vista password box shows eight.
Meanwhile when I try to get into the router to change the security settings there, it gives a 'page not found' error.
WHY IS NOTHING EVER EASY??
...so anyway I may be scarce for awhile, or at least until after I have attacked the router with my geologist's hammer.
ETA: So yay! I am online now! Now all I have to do is run Windows Update.
...did you know that computers running XP with Service Pack Two can no longer connect to Windows Update?
If you poke at the help files for why, it says you need to update to Service Pack Three, and to go to Windows Update to do that! It's a really neat Catch-22.
If you put in the specific error code, it sends you to a site that offers to automatically install a "fixit" to get Windows Update working, but it errors out when installing - and sends you to Windows Update to get the necessary updates to install it.
Oh Microsoft! And here I thought you were trying to be less evil.
no subject
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=24
no subject
I also had an old copy of SP3 on a thumb drive, but by the time I dug it out, I had discovered a way to update Windows Update without using Windows Update, and that was enough to make it work. So I'm finally up and running again! So far.
no subject
no subject