So tell me then, how does your normal everyday person take it easy and enjoy himself on a long four-day Eastern weekend? Trying to get a home network up and running, that's right. You see, last week I installed it so that my Windows 98SE and Windows XP Pro were hooked up to the ADSL modem just fine via the hub. I used the Alcatel Fun site as a reference so I could do a little low-level twiddling. I felt like a super star technical guru type of person. Not only could both computers access the Internet without a single problem when I was done, but they could also see each other. I have really bad experience with network trouble-shooting, so you can imagine how surprised I was that it was working. Well, much to my dismay this perfect of all worlds was short-lived. My kids decided to install some kind of illegal software on the older PC so they could download music for free. I had told them never ever never ever download anything without my permission, and if they wanted something then I would be more than happy to assist them (if it was legal and not pornography, of course). Since this was illegal stuff, and they figured that it didn't matter anyway because Dad had his new PC now and didn't care, they did it behind my back. As if that is not bad enough, the program messed up the network settings on PC1 completely, obliterating all the required TCP/IP parameters and timers and whatever else into thin air. The wonderful result was that it could not find the Internet anymore. The main reason for me to get a second PC was because the others had to bug me all the time if they could check out their email, chat with their school friends, ad infinitum. The second machine gave them another spot to do their stuff on and leave me be in peace with my new pc. So one can imagine how pissed I was, so much so but I kept my cool. I have an explosive character but am able to restrain this pressure unpredictably, That was two whole days ago, and I have been toiling away ever since. Either PC2 works while PC1 does not work, or vice versa. Once both PC1 and PC2 somehow started working again at the same time, and I was ecstatic. For one brief, fleeting moment. When I then tried reinstalling ZoneAlarm Pro that I had uninstalled along with a bunch of other software for pinpointing the cause of the problem, PC1 stopped working again. Who ever said that the computer age would make our lives easier and free us up for the more enjoyable parts of life? HELP! I do not know what to do, and I am ready to throw myself out the window (don't worry, it is only one floor up). I am using an Alcatel SpeedTouch (ADSL/Ethernet) modem that I upgraded to a router. HELP! What am I going to do? I am afraid I have been hacking around too many operating system parameters in pure panic mode, resetting and reinstalling an infinite number of components, and nothing has improved since two days ago when I started. All the kids care about is chatting and emailing and surfing for fun, and they are getting desperate like addicts trying to kick a cyber habit. Time to take a break and read a book before I get even crazier than I am now.
