Sunday, July 31, 2011 — It’s just after midnight, so technically its Sunday … and things are going a little better in the shack PC department since 24 hours ago.
My nephew never answered my call for help; however I did find a software package that promised to fix my password problem — called “Windows Password Recovery.” I took some time to check it out before I decided to buy it … not wanting to plunk down my $50 for something that was going to cause more problems that it solved.
In short, the software did the trick. It creates a bootable CD/DVD/USB drive that allows the PC to start so it can read your system passwords. With the software I was able to reset all the necessary passwords — coolness! Well worth the price of the software — especially since the seller had no clue what to say or do; he only bought the PC and resold it.
Turns out this computer must have worked in a medical office; it has links to the Wisconsin vaccination database and a bunch of other medical resources. And I think what happened was that I screwed things up by changing the networking setup — the computer was set to work with a domain and remote database. When I changed the domain setting, I upset the apple cart. The computer started directly to windows when it first arrived, and now requires a password.
So now I’m in and have full access … though I still can’t get it on the network yet. I bought a little mini-USB wireless LAN thingie, and its worked great on every other PC but this one. I still think there’s something blocking it from going online from its previous life as a medical computer. Still working on that, but at least that much is done.
SIX METERS … DO I HEAR SEVEN? I was mowing Saturday and screwed up royally. I snagged my 6-meter feedline with my tractor — without my knowledge I did that. I pulled the coax loose from the feedline mount on the house end, and damn near pulled the rig through the window. The tightening coax did pull the rig across the table, and the tension moved the table and shelf on top of it (loaded with radios, too). I’m glad I realized what happened when I did, I would have made things much worse otherwise.
I’m not sure the coax is still good after being “stretched” like that. I probably should try it anyway. I need to make repairs on my 6-meter j-pole, one of the feedpoints is broken loose.
The shack is still something of a mess after working to get the computer put in place; I hope to have time to work on that this next week.
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