FAIL

Geez, I'm failing at computers this week:

• I finally get a new computer at work. The old one was slow, and the support staff were even slower at getting me one that was up to the task for my new work. I manage to get it and start installing the software I need, and my machine won't take the install... Apparently my box needs to be "re-imaged. FAIL.


• I get around to the weekend, and start working on my media center... having missed the first two episodes of Smallville already. Previously, I suspsected that the box I had built with Windows Vista Media Center didn't start up because my daughter thought it would be cool to turn it on and off repeatedly. A bit of diagnostics and grumbling and attempted installations of MythDora and Mythbuntu reveal... my largest 250 GB drive isn't working. I hadn't really prepared a backup strategy. FAIL.


• I replaced it with a 160 GB drive in my "quad box" that I'm not even using. The machine was suspended not off. FAIL. (You should turn your computer off before removing hardware from the insdide.)


• I decided to give Mythbuntu a go ahead of Mythdora, since it has a LiveCD, and I won't need to do anything with a hard drive. But I test it out on a machine with VIA Unichrome graphics... the boot splash works fine, but when it's time to get down to business, the screens all wavy and I can barely make out the icons and text... Sigh. I put it back in the "real" media center box that has an nVidia 8400 GS in it... but the CD I burned it on is from a "flaky" stack of printable CDs. Boot just keeps choking on the media... FAIL


• So, I get Mythdora installed on the VIA Unichrome box... because I don't know if the DVD drive I had in my "main" media center is broken or not. And I can't seem to get it working. Channel Lineup is all FUBAR. I go back to the "quad box" to figure out what's up, and it turns out I have *no* lineups added to my SchedulesDirect account. The webpage kindly tells me that I probably want at least one, and I can only have 4. I've had the account for a month and didn't know. FAIL.


• I finally get around to trying to do my rebate for T-Mobile, since I got those Shadow phones. I needed to have mailed it in by August 31. FAIL.


• Oh, and Mythdora is based on Fedora 8. 10 is a week from beta, and there's no Live CD, so I go post a blog note while this thing is installing, on a machine that has no video output other than VGA. FAIL. At least I can use the monitors I have laying around as a TV.


• Oh, and I finally get around to cleaning up my file space on FastMail... I'm downloading stuff, zipping it up, and putting it on a flash drive. But, the only important thing... I delete it... "employment" folder... resumes, work history, etc... Sigh. I e-mail support for a backup... $25 for a restore per folder.... 7 days.... I want a file... Can't restore... I'm now a "guest" not enough space. FAIL. New resume and dropbox FTW. Then, the genius move... I formatted the flash drive that had the files that I did manage to download... to install World of Warcraft on my PowerBook. EPIC FAIL.


• Wonder what happened to my flash drive... here's my son. LOLCat style:
  
  [caption id="attachment_146" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="All your flash drive are belong to me!"][/caption]