I'm a PC and this was NOT my idea

OK, all you macheads out there are going to pounce on this with a great big "I told you so."  But I'm hoping someone out there might have some suggestions I haven't thought of for my computer conundrum.

We got a netbook for Christmas that's running Windows 7 Starter (don't get me started on the lame Starter edition -- that's a whole other blog post).  It took me a little while, but eventually I figured out how to network it with my other computer, which is running Windows XP Pro.

Life was good for a time.  Nolan and I could sit in the basement and watch "Doctor Who" episodes saved on my external hard drive.  I could sit in bed and watch video podcasts I had downloaded from iTunes on the other machine.  And I could print anything I needed to from the netbook.

Then one day, poof.  The connection was gone.  The computers just decided they didn't want to play nice and talk to each other anymore.

I have absolutely no idea what happened. I assume this is the result of an update that was automatically installed to one of the computers, but I have no idea which one or which update -- or if that even really is the problem.  I just know that I didn't make any changes that I'm aware of that could have caused this.

So tech nerds, what's the deal? Has anyone else experienced a problem like this? And if so, tell me you figured out how to fix it.

Tech support, part 2

Thanks to some advice posted in comments to my previous plea for help, I was able to run Windows XP Repair. My PC is on the road to recovery. Thanks, leathj1!

However, I can't get SP2 to install. It gets about halfway through the installation and then I get an "Access Denied" message. Suggestions, anyone?

Tech support

Ok, folks, I need your help. The last time my computer was acting wonky I posted something about it here and someone came forward with a solution for me. Now I’m hoping The Great Someone will come through again.

For the last month or so my computer has been acting pretty screwy. Here are some of the symptoms:

• Windows Media Player won’t launch.
• IE seems to think Java is not enabled even thought I know it is. As a result, some sites won’t run properly.
• System Restore won’t launch.
• The search feature opens to a blank window. The little dog is wagging his tail, but there is no option to enter a search term.
• The User Account Manager opens to a blank window.

There may be other problems I haven’t discovered yet. These problems also exist when I startup in Safe Mode.

I have Norton 2008 and Spybot, but neither of them have helped.

I’ve been searching the Internet for a solution to put everything back to normal, but with no luck. I fear that at some point I’m probably going to have to re-install Windows XP.

So…anyone out there have any idea what’s wrong with my computer and, more importantly, how to fix it?

Surfin' Safari

Ok all you Mac users. Make the case why I should download Safari.

The Mac folks made their browser available for Windows users today.

Right now I'm using IE 7 at work and Firefox at home. Although I still have to use IE when I do work from home -- and then it's IE 6, since I can't get IE 7 to install on my computer.

Anyway, I'm very pleased with Firefox. But I know the Macheads love their Safari. So is it worth my time to check it out? Is it all that different from Firefox?