My problems from yesterday have only slightly improved today. Broadband is working today, it was a stupid username error, the dim-wit idiot on the phone yesterday gave me a wrong username, it's working now though, thank God!!
The home networking problems are still a problem. Apparently there's hundreds of disgruntled users out there that have the same problems, all after installing the Microsoft XP SP2 upgrade. Although mine didn't occur after an upgrade (the latest Home Edition includes the SP2 patch), and the 2nd computer has been upgraded with the patch, the same thing keeps happening no matter what I do. I keep getting the error, network cable unplugged, which is BS. To get the ADSL modem working properly I had to use the ethernet connection, so now I'm on the lookout for a 2nd network card to connect the home network. I've pulled my cupboards apart, sure I had a spare NIC, but alas, I'm unable to find it. Perhaps I lent it out, I have a bad habit of doing that. Here take this, it will help you out - and then when I need the thing - it's not here. Not that having a new card will solve anything, the problems are the same. I downloaded the Winsock XP fix and a hotfix from Microsoft. Tankweb.net has a very comprehensive article on the trials and tribulations of Limited or No Connectivity Problems. Something from this bag of tricks had better work or tomorrow I may be bald.
To compound things, the children of my client deleted all the parents' user folders and profiles, and although I backed both of them up to transfer across as soon as I got the network up, I could only recover one of them. I've been looking at deleted files all afternoon without luck. Possibly the files never even made it to the recycle bin, just deleted, so I've downloaded Active@Undelete, and fingers crossed that will help restore the deleted folders.
God how I hate problems when it's someone else I'm working for. And isn't that always the way? Lucky they weren't paying the standard $50 plus an hour. Much of my internet searching was on my own time, and because I had to go back today, I never charged for the 4 hours I was there. I don't know why I feel guilty when the problems are out of my control. That's when I wish I could have said no in the first place.
I'll keep trying until I can fix the rotten network. What really peeves me is I have a Network Administrator Certificate III, fat lot of good that does me when everything I try fails.
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