I did most of the TAFE competencies of a Certificate in Information Technology about five years ago. Recently I got asked by a friend to build a computer and install a network. It is a computer using the latest versions of Windows (Windows 7) and the router is a new generation one with DHCP enabled. I had the dang thing working, but it just keeps dropping out.
The DVD Rom drive is having teething problems too - it can't have its region set - so it won't play anything.
I love the old saying - if it ain't broke then don't fix it ... LOL ... trouble is ... with computers everybody (including myself) sees the joys of an upgrade.
I was using my USB modem the other day - its speed isn't so great around here, because I am not in an urban area. It is ok, it works, but the speed of it is more akin to good old fashioned dial up. In my home Wi-Fi network, I can have a heap of things logged on at once, media streaming, people playing games. Its all good - and it is fast.
Trouble is - I have fallen into the old "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality with my network. It does the job for me, I am quite happy with it - it is reliable (ok so it didn't stream my ABC Australia documentary to my Playstation 3 very well, but hey - you get that), so I am kind of in the mindset that I don't want to touch it.
Touche Lori - got to go and install a brand new network over at a mate's place and fix it up so his brand new PC (all going well there - it didn't get fried, but the DVD Rom doesn't work real flash), and his Windows XP system - check it out - a Packard Bell (now I haven't seen one of those for a long time!) all work on this network. They have also bought a new printer with wireless capability (hmmm tempted to chuck out my humdinger that won't work very well with my Mac). So its a sweet lot of goodies he has.
I had everything up and working beautifully - but I kept getting phone calls that the router would disconnect from the internet all the time.
I set it up today - and I even had my own PC logged on to his wireless network - it was working like a dream. One PC was media streaming, I was updating some software on the other one, and then bada bing bada boom the router logged off, just as my mate had said it did.
I had spent 4 or 5 hours over there today, I had spent about 4 or 5 hours over there yesterday in the morning, then another 3 or 4 hours last night, then a number of hours a week before that!!! Talk about d'oh!
Every time I had set up the network, and it was working really well, and then it all logged off the internet after I had left.
Well, I am of the belief that I hate to disappoint when somebody asked me to do something. I believe I have got to follow it through to the finish. Pity that we have to sleep, and that my friends have to have a life (um yes Lori ... you have to go to bed at some stage, and your friends have to have dinner then go to bed and sleep ready for work tomorrow). So generally it becomes fairly plain when your friend's say just try tomorrow.
So I agreed I would go over there, call up tech support and find out what the whack is going on with this router!!!
I don't install networks on a frequent basis, so this new configuration is giving me a lot of headaches (literally). I remember the last time I had a computer built for somebody their old dial up modem had a conflict with the sound card - man what a pest that was to fix.
And so they keep bringing out new technologies and upgrading standards of protocols and all those fun things that one must learn in order to keep up with the pace of change when building computers and networks for friends.
Um ... I think I will leave upgrading my own home network alone for now ... I am kind of IP addressed and DHCP'd out ... :-)
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