Well, I had a rotten weekend

[arp1701]

We begin Thursday morning. I turn on my computer and I get the message "windows cannot start because the following file is missing or corrupted: <windows root>system 32/hal.dll So I call Sony, and I have to order a recovery disc. So I pay $23 for overnight delivery. Friday, nothing. Saturday, nothing. So on Sunday I call Sony back and complain. They refunded the money for the overnight delivery and tell me the disc should come in Monday. It does. Wrong disc, another call to Sony, another disc being sent that should come in Tuesday, so we'll see. Good thing I still have my old computer so that's what I'm using now. I'm just hoping my hard drive won't get wiped in the recovery.

arp1701

[Phalon]

Sorry for your bad luck, Arp. Don't you just hate when stuff like that happens? Reminds me of the run-around I got from Verizon when switching from dial-up to DSL. Urgh.

[Lesa]

Sorry to hear about your computer problems and the poor service you're getting, Tony.   I hope your disk comes tomorrow. I guess the one good thing is that you still have your old computer. Well, two good things, because I just realized I've never created my own recovery disk for this computer that I've had for about a year and a half. So a huuuuuge thank you for the reminder. Again, I hope you get yours working again soon.

For anyone who needs it, here are articles that explain how to make your own recovery (and in some cases, a backup) disk:

Windows XP - This article also explains the importance of creating "restore points" before each change to the system (installing patches, new programs, etc).

Windows 95, 98, or Me

Windows 2000


Phalon, I was reading reviews on Verizon DSL, and it seems that more people get poor service from them than good.
Verizon reviews - epinions.com

[Phalon]

Funny thing is, I cancelled the Verizon service less than a week after I ordered it. I couldn't stand the poor customer service. Went back to my old server, who, ironically, has DSL service through Verizon...at about five dollars a month more. I haven't had a problem since switching back. I'd rather pay the extra for the same techinal equipment and have excellant customer service, than deal with the poor service and save a couple dollars.

[Lesa]

Here's a post from a guy whose employer (like your local ISP) re-sold Verizon but discontinued it:

opentechsupport.net:

I work for an ISP and we were re-selling Verizon DSL, but we stopped due to Verizon's slowness with getting it out the door. All the customers that we currently have will continue to call until they get the service they paid for, which we in turn make sure they get it. But we don't really have much control over the process other than calling Verizon and another company that takes care of the actual T-1s distributing the dsl.

From reading some of those other reviews at epinions, I got the feeling that many of Verizon's employees aren't that knowledgeable about their own equipment, and it's a shame to think that the employees at the local ISP that re-sells it probably know more about Verizon's equipment than Verizon's own employees do. I just feel sorry for the folks at your local company who have to deal with Verizon directly, because I'm sure I'd be stressed with having to deal with them every day, from the sound of it.