Got Her Done

As you know, if you read yesterday’s blog, I tore into my computer. I had this computer built for me to my specifications (I thought), as I do all my computers except the laptops. On this last one, the sound card never worked properly and the sound was distorted. I was busy and didn’t get a chance to get back to the computer store where I got it for a couple of weeks. When I did go back to complain, they were out of business. No one there. I bet that they used up any old thing lying around to put together my computer, knowing that they would be gone in a few days. Wonder what else may be below standard?


Anyway, changing out sound cards sounded pretty easy to me, so I went and got my tools. See picture below:

The trick was getting the case open. My last computer was build in a “Cooler Master” case, which has umpteen more fans than a regular case and easy to take apart. Not so with this one. Well, I got all the screws out but couldn’t get any part of the case to slide out of lift off. Even tried a little prying, not with the crow-bar shown, but was getting ready to get a really big hammer. Just then a side panel falls off and exposes just what I needed to see. (The threat of the really big hammer must have worked.) Took the screw out, removed the old sound card, put the new one in the now empty slot, and replaced the screw. See, I was right, it was easy. Put the case back together and put it back on my work desk.

Now, I had all these wires to put back in place, and by golly, they all seemed to fit somewhere. Ain’t this job going well? Actually, it was going too well.

Fired it up and everything came on fine, I thought. I am running Windows XP Pro on this machine and when I went to pick the box to open my settings, the curser would not move. Hey, the mouse isn’t working. How long has it been since you tried to navigate into programs and such with only a keyboard. Kind of brings back old memories of the good old days.

I finally got signed in and since I already had the CD with the driver for the sound card in the player, I went ahead and loaded that and got it set up. For some reason that I can not explain, my OS couldn’t find the mouse or its driver. I unplugged it and plugged it into a different USB port and low and behold, it found the new hardware. Disconnected it and plugged it back in where it was and all still works. And, the icing on the cake is that I got real sound now, just like when I put my hearing aids in my ears.

I finally got signed in and since I already had the CD with the driver for the sound card in the player, I went ahead and loaded that and got it set up. For some reason that I can not explain, my OS couldn’t find the mouse or its driver. I unplugged it and plugged it into a different USB port and low and behold, it found the new hardware. Disconnected it and plugged it back in where it was and all still works. And, the icing on the cake is that I got real sound now, just like when I put my hearing aids in my ears.

We have had some drier air around here for the last couple of days and it sure felt better. But, this morning when I stepped outside, that dang humidity is back. Oh well, in another three or four months it will be cooler, maybe. . .

Have a nice day.