Tuesday, April 06, 2004

Windows is useless.

I'm all set to install Windows XP. This has been something I've put off for essentially two years for a variety of reasons, some of them actually legitimate. But now that I am actually ready to install the upgrade, Setup won't run. It tells me I am out of memory. Ridiculous! I have more than the minimum requirement, though I probably should get more eventually. My guess is that other programs are usurping the memory needed for the installation, but I don't know which ones. So I went to the Microsoft webpage and looked at the XP Home Troubleshooting guide. Guess what?! It contains the exact same information as the paper guide that came with my XP CD, which does not cover the memory problem. All it says is that installation may take longer if you do not have the minimum required memory. Yeah, if longer = forever! Jerks.

I'm trying my trusty friend Google now. Again. Eventually I will have entered every single possible combination of key words and might even find a useful site.

...Oh, great. I found a really helpful page telling me to boot from the installation CD, which I assume means that the installation takes place at least partly in DOS. I don't mind doing this, but it is very different than the Windows instructions (probably a good thing) and also seems that it would hinder the online part of the installation (but I think that is only the activation thingy, which can be done later, so that might not be an issue).

Why is this so complicated? I know that I am not stupid. I know that people upgrade their operating system every day.

At this rate, I may Scarlett O'Hara this process into next year.

In other news, today is International Dance Like A Monkey Day! Go, monkeys! Dance!