Computer woes

This post is an update to my ongoing tribulations trying to get my new computer to work the way I want it to.

Last night, after a ten hour workday, I spent seven hours trying to get my computer with Windows Vista to work the way I want it to work, and the way I would have hoped a new computer *should* work out of the box. I thought I was being clever, waiting 4-5 months, after the initial roll out of Vista, to allow some time for the bugs to be worked out. Unfortunately, my old computer forced my hand earlier than I might have wished.

Initially, despite several minor issues, I was happy with Vista. Actually, I guess I still am. Most of my frustration stems from 3rd party software that says it’s “Vista-certified” but, at least for me, isn’t.

After waiting a few days for a response to my most recent e-mail to Trend Micro customer support I decided to give up on Trend Micro Internet Security 2007, despite have two thirds of my paid prescription remaining (note: this morning I did receive a reply from customer support, asking for additional debugging log files). My plan was to uninstall IS2007, install PC-cillin 2007 antivirus software, and then install the free version of Zone Lab’s amazing firewall, ZoneAlarm. Shouldn’t take too long, right? ::sigh::

The first mistake was my fault. I made an error in judgment. To uninstall IS2007, I decided to use one of the more thorough methods described to me in one of Trend Micro’s e-mails. I was trying to be methodical, so after installation I tried to sync with my HTC s260 since I’ve had Windows Mobile Device Center and sync issues before. Sync worked fine.

I installed PC-cillin 2007. At first it seemed okay, but the main console wouldn’t open correctly. The window was there, but it was blank. Okay, now there were two blank windows. Now three. Eh? I couldn’t close the proliferating windows fast enough. I managed to open Task Manager and saw that my computer was running at 100%, continuously. I ended up performing a hard restart.

Restarted. When I tried PC-cillin 2007, blank consoles proliferated as before. Another hard restart. Restarted in safe-mode, but… I can’t open the start menu?! How am I supposed to uninstall the antivirus software? Restarted in normal mode.

I decided to use system restore to reach a point before I realized the IS2007 virus scan wasn’t working and before I contacted Trend Micro customer support. System restore failed; I don’t know why, but the error message said so. I restored to a more recent date. A-okay.

I uninstalled IS2007 using “add/remove programs”. Tested sync, it worked. I installed PC-cillin 2007. After installation, PC-cillin says you don’t need to reboot. I strongly suggest you do; it will save you time and help avoid experiencing déjà vu. I tried a scan and… it worked! Huzzah!

I tested sync and it still worked. I then installed ZoneAlarm, or tried to. At 19% complete BLUE SCREEN of DEATH. Ummm… eh? I tentatively restarted. Oookay, seems alright. I checked the “add/remove programs” list to see if ZoneAlarm is present. Nope. After that I was going to... but, oh no, there’s that persnickety BLUE SCREEN of DEATH.

Restarted. This time I deactivated SpySweeper and AV, something I should have done originally. I tried to install ZoneAlarm. It worked! Nice to see you! Better, yet, sync still worked. I went to Shields UP and tested the effectiveness of ZoneAlarm. Perfect! Unlike the IS2007 firewall.

But I needed to get some Windows updates. Uh oh. Windows Updates didn't work. Clicking “Try again” was futile no matter how many times I tried. Luckily, I found help online. I needed to empty the files in folder “SoftwareDistribution”. Unfortunately, this wasn't so easy since some files simply refused to be moved. So I cut and pasted, renamed, cut and pasted, and somehow, through all of that, although not moving everything in the folder, Windows update worked. Huzzah!

Hmm, six important updates, and two optional, one of which was an update to the Windows Mobile Device Center. The end was in sight. I downloaded and installed all eight. The optional update for my printer failed. But this always happened before, and I can still print, so I couldn’t care less at this point. Restarted.

Tested sync one last time. Uh, oh. Sync not working?! Aaaaaaargh. End was not in sight.

I couldn't figure out how to uninstall the Windows Mobile Device Center update. Frustration, sleepiness, and impatience started winning. I picked a system restore point prior to installation of the updates and went for it. Aaaaaargh. Sync still didn’t work. I don’t get it. Why??? I uninstalled Windows Mobile Device Center using “add/remove programs”. Hmm, Windows updates wasn’t working again. This time there was no goofing around with cutting and pasting. Delete, delete delete. I downloaded and installed the important updates, but made sure to leave out the others. Restarted.

Since I’d restored my system files, I needed to reinstall ZoneAlarm. During mid-installation, BLUE SCREEN of DEATH. I refused to consider potential ramifications this may have towards ZoneAlarm’s stability, once I got it working. At least, after the past several hours, I knew what to do. Restarted in safe-mode and, hey, *now* I could access “add/remove programs”! Uninstalled ZoneAlarm. Restarted in normal mode. Re-installed ZoneAlarm. Restarted. Hurrah! Back to Shields UP. Still stealthy.

Sync… still didn’t work. There was a connection, but failed sync all the way around. Hmmm, I cautiously deleted my “partnership profile” and set up a new one, with a couple restarts and scratchings of my head in between. Eventually, sync worked again.

I performed final tests. Windows update worked; sync worked; I started scanning for viruses with PC-cillin 2007 and went to sleep. This morning, to my relief I found that PC-cillin worked fine, and sync still worked. Hurrah! Break out the champagne! But oops, I need to get to work so forget the last part. Before I left, I started backing-up my hard drive.

Note to self: tonight, verify everything—ZoneAlarm, PC-cillin 2007, Windows Update, sync—is working, then create a system restore point.