Well, being informed that the dancing about of the warning IS a Windows 7 and 8 response to a USB error, we concluded it could be due to a USB failure, or a software or third party hardware issue, and a system files scan proved no flawed Windows files. This left the possibility of a flaw in the USB ports, and a hardware scan (several varieties) turned up no malfunction. We were left to conclude a flaw in third party attached equipment had some responsibility, and indeed we produced a physical failure of the headphones. Now we do not know whether the computer killed the headset or the headset, in dying, attempted to kill the computer.
We also used a USB analysis freeware to locate every single USB transaction in the past several months and to wipe that slate clean, out of memory, so that if the computer has somehow failed to disconnect one of these devices, they are not now part of memory.
So we are rethinking sending the machine in, with all the attendant disruption in our lives should they wipe the system and data. The best test seems to use the daylights out of the machine today and tomorrow, get a new inexpensive headset locally, and see if we can provoke that error again, or whether the fault lies somewhere between the defunct headset and the computer’s memory of several hundred USB transactions.
I’d probably guess at a physical problem, either directly on the USB port or the plug on the headphones themselves. If another USB device is able to it in and operate correctly then I’d suspect the headphones.
The USB standard has gone through a few iterations, mostly to accomodate newer, faster speeds, q.v. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_3.0. What is the standard level of the device, and of the laptop’s ports as supported by the chipset?
Is there an external USB “hub” involved?
What I meant was, if you’re trying to plug a USB-3 device into a port that only supports USB-2, the device might not have enough backward compatibility to function properly.
After some work and analysis—we’re beginning to believe the problem lies in the camera, which we neither wanted nor use. When it’s in the USBs we have problems, and the machine software
keeps putting it back.
FWIW, no more connection resets! 😉 But the little “>>” is still there.
It’s back….
Very peculiar — I get the “This page is not available”, with the Chrome frowny face chip, but if I wait a few seconds, it proceeds to load the page anyhow.
Well, we’re gaining on it. I’m typing this on my backup machine, Lynn and Jane have the ‘Mismatch Flu”—ie, this year’s vaccine made a wrong guess and didn’t protect against one minor bug that’s very happily making the rounds. They joke they caught it from each other online. But we’re trying to solve these issues. And I’ll be so much happier when I get my main machine back. I think the problem really, truly may lie with the webcam in the bezel of the display screen, which is the ONLY part of the computer they haven’t replaced, in some cases more than once!
saw a quotation on Facebook today from Kevin J. Anderson (think “Dune” books), “It’s okay to write garbage, as long as you edit brilliantly.” The attribution was C.J. Cherryh……hmmmmm….somehow, I’m not sure.. at first, I thought maybe so, but upon reflection, I don’t believe so…..
I did indeed say that. Too many writers waste days, months trying to create the perfect sentence, the perfect expression in the perfect order, as if the words were made of gold. I’m a storyteller. I tell the story first, then go back in and make it nice and precise and put in more good bits I think of along the way. The other half of that statement is “If you don’t respect your work enough to read it twice, why should I read it once?” I used to tell my students that: proofread yourself. Fix it. It’s not my job. 😉
Thank you for clearing that up for me.
Just a thought. Cameras and USB. I use a card reader. I decided years ago that connecting the camera and powering it on was a bother. I take the SD card out and use a USB reader thing. The laptop has a slot for the SD card.
@mmberry, I think I’d have a care for doing that. The question is which connector is more robust, and which more likely to fail with use. I’d rely on the USB.
I like the logic behind good editing.
Computer problems – cringe cringe cringe. As always I advance the need for a different operating system. This is YOUR livelihood and myriads reading pleasure.
I suppose it’s too late to switch to a Mac?
Mmm, we do not even discuss the iPad, whose misbehaviors are constant and multiple. The one thing it was supposed to do takes constant fussing and almost never works.
Oh God, not an iPad, spawn of the devil. No, I mean a regular old Macbook.
But I’ve been a Mac user for about 30 years so there’s that.
I am platform-agnostic: I have a love-hate relationship with whatever computer or computer-gadget I use. I tend to like my Mac more than Windoze, and I like (or put up with) my iPad and iPhone…but there are times I ~really~ wish for something better.
Number 1 Pet Peeve: Any cell phone without a physical keypad. No gods-be-feathered keypad means you’re doomed to a mahen heck when you (always) run into a gods-rotted phone menu. I like most things about my iPhone with particular ~exception~ to this lack. But they’re nearly all that way now.
Number 2 Pet Peeve: Why, on a touchscreen device (tablet, cell phone, etc.) can we still not take notes by handwriting and have that translated into text, with portions for images like graphs? Why can’t it also be smart enough for equations or foreign languages? I am still looking for an app that will do this even somewhat well. I do understand that reading handwriting is a challenge, even for us mere humans (or the occasional alien or talking critter) however, I still want this. The Newton, way back when, was supposed to. Why can’t we do better, 30 years later? (Well, for that matter, most programs I use daily still don’t do much better than they did 30 years ago, and some do…less well, considerably so.
But I want to write notes and doodle and draw without a keyboard at times. This is in part because, for me, trying to see both the screen and type on the keyboard is its own gymnastics / flexibility exercise, and a lap desk in bed in the evening doesn’t solve that for me. But I”ve used a laptop perched precariously before. Still, I’d much rather be able to write or draw directly on screen and have the thing translate the text into, well, text.
Be it noted: My cat Smokey’s middle name is, as ever, Trouble. But the darn little guy is such an imp, so charming and smart, that it’s impossible to stay irritated at him for long…sometimes to his and my detriment, likely. No, kitteh, it is not kewl to tromp all over the keyboard or lie down on it, while your human is typing. No, kitten, it is not super-neato-keeno-cool to zip out the front door, no matter how awesomely, curiously exciting that front yard seems. (Which you’ll remember, as soon as someone or a car, dog, or lawnmower happens by…often, because there is a freaking ~highway~ just outside the subdivision. This is ~why~ you are not supposed to zip out the front door, Imp.) …One loves the little dork, but there are times when one considers locking him in the guest cabin, as it were. Sigh. …Gotta love him, though. He’s always interested and always glad to see me. (Or get attention or food or water.)
Twice in the last month, my iMac has hung trying to boot. I may have to take it in for service. Sigh. — I will be looking at prices and features, also, but I ~don’t~ want a new computer yet, even though my youngest computer is over three years old now, accounting for some of the speed bumps. Meanwhile, my important data goes on an external hard drive anyway, and will get another backup soon. So one hopes to be OK in whatever happens, but to remain without need of a new machine for another year or so.
I had to shut down my computer during a thunderstorm a week ago. On restarting, the fan on the power supply proceeded to sound like a Harrier prepping for takeoff. I gritted my teeth and started to research replacement power supplies, when lo! the noise abated after a few days. One suspects a clump of dust (or infelicitous gecko) got a little too close and jammed the works until it vibrated free.
Say, I haven’t seen that gecko on the insurance commercials in a while. You don’t suppose…? …Nah, couldn’t be…. Hmm….
Though I suppose an intrepid talking lizard doing library research ~could~ be a possibility. You know, since he’s a talking type of lizard….
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I’ve just turned in re-takes of lines for an audio drama, and I’m waiting to hear back whether the fix for the sound quality issues has introduced another set. Their current target date may be overly ambitious again. I’ll keep y’all all posted. (Y’all all — A very Southern US sort of collective plural pronoun.) — I’m hoping they’ll have their next scripts out to us soon, and that those will be stronger than the second episode. — Be advised, the story is in the Trek Mirror Universe, and so stuff could get dire, or at least farcical, so Teen Advisory is fitting. Hint: My Russian accent is firmly in place, Keptin.
I will be re-recording lines for another upcoming project this week. Trying to find the right balance for a new fictional character as well as get an alien voice that will (I hope) sound believable instead of corny to listeners has been interesting. I’m happy to re-record it, since I wasn’t sure of the voice the first time around, and want to try it out a little differently this time.
Both have been new challenges for me, doing voices and character acting.
Neat!