Seeking Professional Help
By Dale Dougherty
This past week has been hell. On Friday, I heard that a person attempted to sell his soul on eBay. Now I understand what might sink someone to that level. On Saturday, I went into CompUSA and bought Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional. A shelf-talker sign said, "For the best experience, buy a new computer with Windows 2000 already installed." Undaunted, I decided to upgrade my ThinkPad 770x from Windows NT 4 to Windows 2000.
When I got home, I did as I was instructed on the box, checking the hardware and software compatibility list at the Microsoft site. Then I went to the IBM site where I found and printed a 50-plus page document called "The Windows 2000 Professional for IBM Thinkpad Notebooks Setup and Technical Guide." It explained in detail, with branching for different models, how to prepare the system for an upgrade.
When it became apparent that I wasn't going to finish these tasks on Saturday, I spent the rest of the day backing up my working data. On Sunday, I had to upgrade the BIOS, and then update the firmware in the CD-ROM. Both steps involved booting from the floppy disk and then watching an update process during which a message told me that, should anything occur to interrupt this operation, my computer would no longer be usable. I got to thinking that compared with the IBM Technical Guide, a manual for performing an exorcism might not be so bad.
Then I ran a program that would find and report potential conflicts or unsupported devices on my computer. It reported that a wireless LAN card I use at home might not be supported.
