[pchelpers] Re: Back to the drawing board

Hi Linz

> To do that EG, I would have to installl sp2 (which as I have explained
> in the past has affected more than just my printer) which I am loath to
> do.  Until ALL IS BROKEN, I think I will stay with the status quo,
> leaver sp2 off and have my printer work successfully.   I just "can't be
> bothered" with th hassle at present if you can understand my feeling.

Huh?! Why would you need to install SP2 to install a new printer driver? 
On the contrary, it sounds like you should install the new printer 
driver in any case because there is probably something wrong with the 
old one anyhow, which you only noticed after installing SP2.

Also, you will have to install SP2 sooner or later, and then it's good 
to already have at least all known problems out of the way instead of 
having to start out from square one with them again, first trying to 
find out where the problems are, then trying to fix them, etc.!!

You will be forced to install SP2 soon because soon Windows Update will 
no longer work unless you have SP2 installed. Then you won't be able to 
get any important security updates and will be really looking for 
trouble, i.e. it probably won't be long before most if not all is 
broken, at least if you ever use anything besides Linux, Firefox, and 
Evolution to connect to the Internet.

Linz, did you run at least two antispyware programs (one of which has
to be MSs), one antitrojan, one antivirus, and one online antivirus
program before installing SP2?
Have you looked through device manager, gone to see if your computer,
scanner, etc. manufacturers have any recommended BIOS or other updates 
necessary for SP2? There might even be a newer printer driver; you may 
not have been the only one who ran into problems with the driver they 
claimed works with SP2. Did you contact your printer's manufacturer?

Ek

PS: I don't know how important the data on your computer is, whether you 
make regular backups, and whether you know how common identity theft has 
become, Linz, but in case you didn't see this info, i'll repeat the 
reasons why SP2 (as well as all other critical updates) is something you 
should get now and not wait until "all is broken":

Critical Windows updates (including anything else recommended and not
just offered by Windows update for IE etc.) are definitely needed even
when a PC is healthy! Otherwise it soon will not be be because you have
no protection for the many security holes in Windows.

Prevention is much better than cure, especially when dealing with
Windows. It would be senseless to rely on antivirus and other
antimalware programs to keep cleaning one's computer because one accepts
having holes all over that let all the baddies in.

Microsoft usually sends out even critical security updates weeks,
months, and sometimes years (sometimes never) after the security holes
are discovered. By that time, crackers have often already written
malware that exploits these security flaws. If you get a Windows update
as soon as it's out, you are only rarely protecting yourself against an
only *possible* exploit, as with high-quality software like Firefox,
Thunderbird, OpenOffice, Linux, etc. In the case of a new Windows
update, you are usually protecting yourself against a real, existing
threat for which live malware is circulating!

The only caveat connected with turning Automatic Windows Updates on is
that (since Microsoft often sends out buggy updates that either mess up
your computer or at least require new fixes) it makes sense to have the
3rd setting (notify) instead of the 1st (download and install). That
way, you can wait a few days before you accept the download so that MS
has had time to fix their update's problems if there were any. Usually,
one week of waiting is enough, but in the case of a cure for a "hot" new
malware attack, i would not wait at all.

In the case of something as big as SP2, it made sense to wait several
weeks to ensure that its problems had been ironed out, but that wait
period was over months ago. If somebody's computer runs into problems
after installing SP2 now, this is almost sure proof that the computer
already had a serious problem before that the user was just not aware
of. (Hey, Scott, couldn't find your oft-repeated famous wise words about
problems with SP2 at your HelpDesk wiki)


>>Hi Linz
>>
>>Just put the driver file in an easily accessible place like on your 
>>desktop. Then point the Add Printer Wizard there during the installation 
>>process. The installation process gives you the option of automatic or 
>>manual installation, and the manual one has a button labeled Browse or 
>>something like that which lets you choose the place where you put the 
>>driver. I would not copy the driver manually into the Windows system 
>>folder because you need to get it registered.


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