docwebster | Wake for a Netgear FA311 card

The first ethernet card I ever used bit the dust yesterday. I'd been noticing ridiculously slow downloads, and then at one point yesterday when I had to momentarily swap out a hard drive to get some file transfers done, Windoze suddenly recognized the card, had the card installed, but wasn't actually doing anything with it. No 'net for me.

If you know me at all, you know this was Unacceptable.

So I tried to reinstall. Now it wouldn't even install.

Wait a minute. The machine won't boot into Windows. At all. Not even Safe Mode. I can't even get to the screen that lets me choose Safe Mode.

So I do the old bit where you uninstall yon card, boot up the machine without it, then power down and reboot with the card in to.. damn. Won't boot. Again.

Try a different slot. No. Damn. Same thing.

I try this a couple more times before thicker than two short planks me realizes the machine boots just fine when the card isn't in it. At that point, the logical conclusion finally smacks me upside the head and I go fetch a backup card I'd bought a few months ago for just such an emergency and hey presto.

So.

This Friday, ladies, gentlemen, and

bunyip too, I shall be running a show filled top to toe with low down dirty blues (a bunch of it dating back to the field recordings days from the 20s and earlier), Zappa, Subgenius, drunken debauchery, and maybe even The Rocky Horror Audio Show.

After all, kiddies, according to the Chinese Zodiac this *is* the year of the cock.