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Strooth. It's been a while since my last entry. Not quite sure where all the time has gone... I've recently bought a new notebook (a Toshiba S35 DVD) which is quite lovely (and on which I write this blog), running Windows 2000. Yes, I know it's not Linux, but at the end of the day it's a reasonably good client OS - just an unequivocally shit server OS. Hunting down the drivers for it was fun, though - the S35 comes preinstalled with ME (I undersand it bears a remarkable similarity to the illness), and some of the hardware isn't supported under Win2K out-of-the-box, so to speak. The Accton EN2242 Network Adapter driver doesn't actually exist stand alone. You have to download the Accton EN1207-F driver, which contains the EN2242 driver. It's not documented anywhere, as far as I can make out. In the end, I was only able to work this out because somebody (who was writing a Linux driver for the adaptor) mentioned that they shared the same chipset!
The soundcard was also a pain to get going, but I got there in the end. 8)
Anyway, the upshot of all this is that I'm finally programming again on the train! I've already done a bit of DVD List hacking, sorting out a few bugs and adding some more features. I've not really progressed very far on the Sourceforge front as of yet, I'll probably try and get something on there in the next few days (e.g. over the weekend), but until then, the latest version is 0.1.0. Look out for 0.1.1, "coming soon" 8).
Last time I said that, it took over 2.5 years to do anything about it, and that was this website. Oh well, hopefully the timespans will be a little shorter this time around!
I'm also resurrecting the mud project I once started (originally with ChrisR). After all, that was the original intention of this server space... look out for version 0.0.0.1 of the nucleus mud engine - again, coming soon!
Time to pootle, anyway.
C.
Some more information about EN2242 Network drivers is contained in this post.
Hi Chris
i happened to stumble over your comment from way back in march 8 2001 regarding W2K and the Toshiba S35DVD.
You mention that you managed to get the sound card going.
I have the the same problem... no sound... no driver to be found anywhere... arrrgghh :-)
Could you help me out on this one?
Thanks
Hey Chris, I wrote to you a while back about the s35dvd. The missus has been using hers for a year or so now, but there is a problem with the screen, where it should display a pale blue it shows a fuzzy pink. Weird. Any ideas? Have you heard of this. I'm frantically looking for the receipt, hoping it's still under warranty. PS, this is just about the only site that mentions the s35. Did they only make three of them or what?!
Mark
I reckon so. Unfortunately, mine died completely about six months ago - the screen started flickering and then the entire thing went on the fritz. Crackle, pop, goodnight vienna.
I got a quote on how much it'd cost to fix it, and it worked out at only a bit less than what it'd have cost to buy a new laptop after factoring in transport costs, insurance and whatnot (it needed a new motherboard, processor and fan - plus labour). Scary.
So I bought an Apple iBook (with extended warranty this time!) and have been extremely pleased with it ever since. It's practically silent running, the battery lasts for ages, and there are zero compatibility problems as regards networking and whatnot. And the computer shuts down and starts up within about 3 seconds of the lid being shut/opened, without fail. I could go on about the things I like about it better than any PC I've ever owned, but that's enough sales spiel for now. ;-)
The upshot is: safety in numbers.
I wish I'd bought an extended warranty for the S35, especially having forked out for a new power adaptor and battery only a few months previously. But, you live and learn, and this lesson has proved to be expensive. :-(
I've no idea what's causing the problem with your missus's S35, although it sounds like it's possibly a loose connection somewhere. If you're out of warranty and have nothing to lose, you can take it to bits and see if you can reseat the screen connector. It took me a while to work out how to dismantle the box, but it's fairly straightforward. There are three screws (iirc) on the back that hold on the silvery plastic piece with the "quickbuttons" on it. After you've removed these, said silver plastic piece snaps off, revealing the screws that hold the keyboard in place. remove these and the keyboard lifts out. It's detachable, using a pressure-ribbon connector thingy, just remember to loosen it before ripping it out! ;-) You shouldn't need to do this though, as the video connector is at the back of the motherboard, and you should be able to give it a firm push down to see if this helps with the problem.
Anyway. Hope it all goes well. I'll keep my fingers crossed that you (a) find the receipt, and (b) it's still in warranty...