annoyance of the day

[polarbee.livejournal.com]

I hate computer companies that don't have open driver databases. Alienware requires you to have a username and password attached to the account number of your computer before they allow you to access the driver database. Rage!

Comments

[nem0.livejournal.com]

If you can get ahold of the manual for the Alienware, it should have a comprehensive list of parts, and you can go to the part manufacturer's website for drivers.

But yeah, I agree. I also really hate doing maintenance on Alienwares because they do such weird shit in configuration that it's difficult to tell wtf is wrong.

[jecook]

That bites.

::takes Alienware off list of "machines to recommend"::

Dell's site is at least decent in that if you plug in the service code of the critter, it'll tell you the original configuration, and offer driver downloads for that family of products. That's bailed me out at least once.

[kedemel.livejournal.com]

Dell's site is at least decent in that if you plug in the service code of the critter, it'll tell you the original configuration, and offer driver downloads for that family of products. That's bailed me out at least once.

Same here.

Build your own!

..that way, if you fuck up, you know who to blame!

[polarbee.livejournal.com]

As soon as they make laptop parts easily available to the public, I am so building my own laptop. Till then it's sadly not an option, even though I really wish it was. :)

Desktops, on the other hand...

I'm all for people who know what they're doing building their own, but I see way too many computers that people have royally screwed up attempting to "build it themselves".

My caffeine level is low, so I apologize for the relative incoherence of this reply.

[jecook]

Indeed.

I had a machine once that was shutting off at random. I cracked the case and discovered that the person who built it had put the heat sink on in such a way that it was not fully seated with the processor... ::rolls eyes::

[polarbee.livejournal.com]

I can't count the number of times I've seen this. Particularly with the SocketA AMD processors. People were constantly putting it on backwards. At least with the new 64 chips you can't get the heatsink on wrong.

[compwizrd.livejournal.com]

I like IBM's way of doing it, a small download (thinkpad software thing) and it'll go off and get whatever drivers you need, automatically.

And then you can run it now and then to keep up to date.

Kinda like Microsoft/Windows Update, but it's from IBM, so it works. :)

[compwizrd.livejournal.com]

we had a k5-133 or something along that speed that the manufacturer put the heatsink on BACKWARDS, so that only a tiny ridge was touching the cpu.

[jecook]

That was the case here, only it was a 1st gen athlon. I'm still surprised that the damn thing didn't smoke.

the heat sink in this case had a longer side for the clip, but the guy had it backwards...

[annamaryse.livejournal.com]

One of the reasons companies do that is to stem the tide of illegal access to their drivers... there is rampant paranoia about supplying conterfeit operators with any support. If you're a legitimate user, you'll have a UN/PW duh. Sometimes that can be infuriating to the end user, ah well. *sigh*

Illegal access?

[plutherus.livejournal.com]

is there really a huge problem with piracy of drivers? I mean, if you don't have the hardware, the driver's useless. And if you do have the hardware, then shouldn't you be able to get the driver?

It's a big pet peeve of mine as well: I help run a non-profit org that gets a lot of donated computer equipment that we then refurbish and ship out to communities that don't have computers. While a lot of people donate hardware, almost none of them donate the drivers to go with them, so we rely a lot on downloading drivers from the manufacturers' sites. Very frustrating when you can't get access to them.

Driverguide (http://www.driverguide.com/) is your friend :)

[bamatone.livejournal.com]

Total agreement here. And I second Dell's way of making drivers available. I've used it by searching both by Service Tag # and by simple model #.

That must be a relatively new way grabbing driver updates by IBM. I have to say, I'm intrigued.

[spitefulcrow.livejournal.com]

This is why open hardware standards and open source software are good things.

[loosechanj.livejournal.com]

I honestly have no fucking clue why any hardware vendor keeps their drivers closed source. What's the point? You pretty much have to give it away.

[lions-tambua.livejournal.com]

Oh ? Iam trying to download drivers and updates for my Netfinity. No chance :(
and does ANYONE know where to get spareparts ?

[sketchydave.livejournal.com]

Woohoo, first gen Athlon! I had one of those in my computer in college. It was the first affordable gigahertz processor and my roommate had one too.

We had to shut the heat off and open a window to keep the room bearable. In Maine. In the winter.

:-)

[kayfox.livejournal.com]

I usually start with either straight from IBM (http://www-132.ibm.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?catalogId=-840&storeId=1&categoryId=4611686018425010118&langId=-1&dualCurrId=73) or eBay.

But Im cheap.

[dangermouse74.livejournal.com]

for all the people that steal printers and computers and other large hardware?

.

[lepermime.livejournal.com]

Now I feel old.

Re: Illegal access?

[geekgrrl-ca.livejournal.com]

Actually there's counterfet cards out there... A friend of mine was having a hell of a time with his third party ATI card, drivers were crashing all over the place, I asked him who made it and when he told me "Creative Labs" I nearly fell out of my chair laughing (my friends cheap). He'd been had. Creative has NEVER made an ATI chipset card.