Restoring a computer is a process of two steps forward and one step back.

I restored the HP today. I always say that I’m going to document the process and then either don’t or have the file saved on the computer that dies. Of course, I can retrieve the document from the onlive service, but I seem to drive right in. However, something different happens every time.

While the machine was with the HP mothership they installed some updates. Of course all that got erased when I restored the machine with the backup image. My virus protection was also upset because I hadn’t updated it since June 3rd.

The surprise this time was that when the computer started up after the restore, it phoned home to Microsoft (as all PCs do) and decided that my copy of Windows was invalid. The product number is on a sticker on the bottom of the machine. Trying  to see it (the print is very small) while the machine is running and write down the loooong number is tricky. After many contortions by me and the machine, Windows finally decided the number was valid. Of course, at this point, Windows wasn’t really running, but it did say I needed to reboot. Have you ever tried to reboot Windows without Windows? The power button is the only way to do it. Not a good idea ordinarily.

After the computer came back up, the virus software, Windows, and HP software had to do updates again. Not to be left out, Adobe insisted on getting an update as well.

So, after all the updates, downgrades, and updates again, all seems to be well. I can even use the microphone again. That was the problem in the first place. It doesn’t seem that fixing the microphone would require setting the hard drive to factory settings, but that’s the way it works.

I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Write On,

Lynn Jordan