I am trying to help a friend in Lawrence, and needed to use the good ol' intertubes. Here is my setup (warning, geekspeak follows. Real words found after geekspeak.):
- Cable Modem (decent enough, supplied by giant cable conglomerate that didn't want to use mine).
- New Wireless Router (less than 3 months old, 802.11 g/b broadcast so the older lappy can use it).
- Desktop in bedroom (using a wireless connection, because there's no cable in the master bedroom, wtf).
- Laptop in dining room (about 6 meters from the wireless router).
The computer in the bedroom has no trouble browsing the interwebs, and is connecting with excellent signal strength. However, it cannot access the router using its address and a browser. Curious.
The laptop cannot do a damn thing. No IP address can be obtained, though signal strength is excellent.
After the proper hip gyrations, troubleshooting, chicken sacrifices, go-spurs-go chanting, and restarting, no success. At this point, I decided to go for the repair method that is recommended by every tech person on the planet. Unplug the router, wait 10.234 seconds, then plug it back in. Restart the lappy and try again. It works.
Here is why I am pissed off. I KNOW NOTHING!!! I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAUSED THE PROBLEM, OR HOW IT WAS CURED!!! To me, this method of repair is like going to the doctor, and having her stop your heart, slap on the paddles, and rid you of the flu by reincarnation. It's the Dr. House method of IT work.
Who is the bitch who designed this "feature" into wireless routers? Why do they all do this? Show me his face and I will shake it off his head.
Do you want to know the right way to fix a computer? Ask Dr. Wife. The laptop had a problem: the power supply jack had broken free of the motherboard, to the point where no amount of wiggling would allow it to take a charge, rendering it ultimately useless. Her solution was to dismantle it, find the broken part, order a replacement, remove the old piece and its solder, solder on the new piece, and put it all back together. That's how you fix a computer. You blindly rip out its guts, trust your instincts, and use molten metal to rebuild it better, faster, stronger. We have the technology...
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2 comments:
..."that's what the good people of anticoh said before they stoned me to death"
and, "go-spurs-go"?! woot? you're a spurs fan already? or are you just trying to appease whatever voodoo is resident?
much love, glad you're continuing to make your presence known on teh intertubes.
I found this whole router situation especially intriguing, so much so, I had my computer guru hubby read the blog. We laughed histerically knowing exactly the sort of voodoo magic it takes to fix such an issue. Our hats off to SuperWife for her tactical skills and photo of the fallen laptop soldiers.
Much love from Buffalo.
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