__/ [ Tom Shelton ] on Thursday 10 August 2006 23:57 \__
>
> [H]omer wrote:
>> You know, for an OS that prides itself in being the De Facto plug n'
>> play computing environment, it seems to be pathetically ineffective at
>> doing something as simple as enumerating hardware.
>>
>> Take a look at the ENUM section of the Registry, and count the
>> redundant (and often blatantly wrong) entries, to understand how
>> stupid Windows is WRT understanding the hardware it's running on.
>>
>> Start Windows, plug in a USB HDD, watch the awesome power of the
>> Hardware Wizard, then reboot, without disconnecting the USB HDD. If
>> you're lucky you'll get the "Unrecognised Device" death-toll,
>> indicating that major Registry surgery is required. If you're unlucky,
>> you won't even see the Windows desktop at all, but instead you'll be
>> staring at a DOS-style prompt that reads:
>>
>> "Windows could not start because the following file is missing or
>> corrupt:
>> <Windows root>\system32\hal.dll
>> Please re-install a copy of the above file".
>>
>> What a brain-dead OS.
>>
>> Without removing the USB HDD, Linux boots fine, and kudzu is smart
>> enough to know that no matter which USB port the HDD is plugged into,
>> or whether or not it is connected at startup, it is still the same
>> device.
>>
>> So what exactly is the difference between a USB HDD plugged in before
>> and after Windows startup? Obviously some genius at Microsoft thinks
>> he knows.
>
> That's strange, I have a segate 80GB USB 2 external drive that I leave
> connected to my home pc 24/7. And, I don't unplug it on the occasional
> reboot. Every thing is always worked just fine.
Same here; hasn't been unplgged since March when it was bought. Last month it
ceased to appear connected all of a sudden. After 15 minutes of confusion it
turned out that the electrical outage (due to heat) required that the
hard-drive is switched off and on again (for the first time ever). I had the
same issue with the network switch, for what it's worth. It cost me a day,
but I worked from home in the mean time. A 1-second outage can truly wreak
havoc when there's no prior experience.
Best wishes,
Roy
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