After several months of tribulations my main PC is back and has basically been renewed completely inside, and on the plus side it seems to be a bit faster than the old insides, yes they took off all my programmes but I have got most of them back, the important ones at least.
Three days ago my printer went duff, the print head for the black ink just wouldn't work, of course before I found this out I wasted another ink cartridge thinking, as you would, that it had run out of ink. No, it was duff, it simply refused every attempt of mine to make it print black. I bought a new one. I got it delivered the next day and during lunch I set it up and hit the Wireless Wizard so he could do his stuff.
Flashing lights and a warning that there was a printer problem was the result of the Wiz's efforts, the printer just refused to go any further. I got Hewlett Packard on chat, which I think is great by the way, and a nice girl called Maria took control and after an hour and a half still hadn't got the printer to work Wireless. I told her it works with the USB cable so stuff the Wireless I was going back to the future, she wanted to keep trying but I was losing the will to live, so I thanked her and off I went. You ever notice that the Wizards employed by all these programmes wouldn't get past the gates of Hogwarts.
This morning I was about to send some maps off to the publisher when I was notified that the files were corrupt, I checked the other folders and they are all OK, only the one set of maps had been eaten up and thankfully they are not complicated but I will still have to do them again. So I now have a quandary, is it just those files that the Gremlins ate or is it the drive, I checked the drive, or got the computer to do it and it said everything was Jim Dandy, but it isn't obviously. I now have to put a couple of hours aside to redo these maps, as I said, not a happy bunny.
I march at dawn tomorrow morning, or dawnish as I travel over to Yorkshire for a day's gaming, I am just about to get my army sorted out, I am taking the Patricians and expect some serious opposition. I believe only six of us have answered the call from Michael and Simon, but I will be happy getting a couple of games out of it.
Right, slightly calmer now I have got my frustrations down on print, must dash.
Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Computer. Show all posts
Saturday, 18 March 2017
Thursday, 9 March 2017
Up and Running(ish)
I was told yesterday, Wednesday, that my computer was ready and could I pay the invoice, I duly rang Scan up and paid, it was only the carraige as the parts were still under warranty, so I got a new motherboard, new graphic card along with a new processor, but it was too late in the day to get it delivered next day so I expected it this Friday. I was nearly out the back door on the way to the shops when the doorbell went, it was my computer, no emails, no warning, just a big box, lucky me, or was I.
Along with the new stuff above I also got a new, clean or 'refreshed' C drive with none of my programmes on it. I then had to spend most of the afternoon persuading several firms I was indeed who I said I was and that I wanted to reload my programmes as I had already paid for them, and no I could not remember the product key from three years ago but you take my cash every twelve months.
I think I have everything up and running now, all the important stuff anyway, thankfully I learned my lesson with Illustrator and saved my preferences so I only had to reload them, no doubt as the days go by I shall go to load something and find it is not there, but at least it is in front of me again instead of on a workbench somewhere.
My son has informed me that Dawn of War III will be released on 27 April, so it would seem I am just in time to lead my Space Marines against the decadent Eldar and disordered Orks, as you know if you are a regular, Dawn of War is one of the few PC games I have enjoyed and this one is arriving just as I shall be getting some me time having nearly finished the new army. I have preordered it to get some freebie's but mainly to have it on day one.
I also recieved four guards to use on my Patrician Rally Point from Footsore in the mail, and there was an added bonus inside the envelope of a free Saxon Noble figure, I got the wrong end of the stick and thought you had to spend over a certain amount to get him, but on checking no, any order this month gets one. Still, a nice gesture from an excellent company.
I was going to take a break from painting this week and only build and prime my Hun Nobles, I once again had a terrible time putting them together as the new metal does not like superglue very much, I gave up with this and turned to a general purpose glue and it worked fine. My disappointment at this was quickly overcome by the excellent look of these figures and although it is not my cup of tea Aventine give you buckets of stuff to personalise each rider, I am looking forward to painting them. I have already started on the horses. If you do buy Aventine and avail yourself of the Nomads or their like then think of using a general purpose glue or an accelerant or, believe it or not, one of the cheaper superglues you can get at the likes of Poundland. Sorted.
I also finished my Roman Commander Aetius this week, just in time to lead his men out on to the field of battle on Sunday.
Along with the new stuff above I also got a new, clean or 'refreshed' C drive with none of my programmes on it. I then had to spend most of the afternoon persuading several firms I was indeed who I said I was and that I wanted to reload my programmes as I had already paid for them, and no I could not remember the product key from three years ago but you take my cash every twelve months.
I think I have everything up and running now, all the important stuff anyway, thankfully I learned my lesson with Illustrator and saved my preferences so I only had to reload them, no doubt as the days go by I shall go to load something and find it is not there, but at least it is in front of me again instead of on a workbench somewhere.
My son has informed me that Dawn of War III will be released on 27 April, so it would seem I am just in time to lead my Space Marines against the decadent Eldar and disordered Orks, as you know if you are a regular, Dawn of War is one of the few PC games I have enjoyed and this one is arriving just as I shall be getting some me time having nearly finished the new army. I have preordered it to get some freebie's but mainly to have it on day one.
I also recieved four guards to use on my Patrician Rally Point from Footsore in the mail, and there was an added bonus inside the envelope of a free Saxon Noble figure, I got the wrong end of the stick and thought you had to spend over a certain amount to get him, but on checking no, any order this month gets one. Still, a nice gesture from an excellent company.
I was going to take a break from painting this week and only build and prime my Hun Nobles, I once again had a terrible time putting them together as the new metal does not like superglue very much, I gave up with this and turned to a general purpose glue and it worked fine. My disappointment at this was quickly overcome by the excellent look of these figures and although it is not my cup of tea Aventine give you buckets of stuff to personalise each rider, I am looking forward to painting them. I have already started on the horses. If you do buy Aventine and avail yourself of the Nomads or their like then think of using a general purpose glue or an accelerant or, believe it or not, one of the cheaper superglues you can get at the likes of Poundland. Sorted.
I also finished my Roman Commander Aetius this week, just in time to lead his men out on to the field of battle on Sunday.
Saturday, 25 February 2017
Gremlins Strike Again
Once more my main PC is away getting fixed, it worked for ten minutes with the guy up the road, then it didn't once I got it back, it was returned to him only for him to bring it back and mumble something about the graphic card. I ordered up a new graphic card and it arrived the next day. Taking the stairs two at a time I ran up and took the offending card out, it took a while as the power lead points were designed to keep the cables locked in until the Zombie Apocalypse, brute force won in the end. Two hours later the machine was still kaput, at times the monitors came up and then died, I phoned Scan up and oh so matter of factly they said the graphics card might be duff, now I paid £250 for that card and it was as nothing to them, it's a lot of money to lay out for something which they cannot guarantee will work first time. It might not be a big deal for them but it's a big deal for me.
The upshot was that still being under warranty it has gone back, it might not have been the graphic card after all, perhaps it is the motherboard, if they tell me it is fine and it comes back and doesn't work because my study is bang in the middle of a wormhole or whatever I am getting a new one, my nerves can't take it and I need to work upstairs as well as downstairs. The fallout is that the missus will get a week off until the PC comes back, because there is no need for two people in the PO and although we have worked together for almost a decade I can't draw maps with her six feet away, it also annoys her when people come in and say 'hello George' while ignoring that she is behind the counter.
Anyway up earlyish this morning and hoping that one of the pub managers comes up with some cash otherwise we will be out of money around lunchtime on Monday, he should bring enough to get us through to Tuesday when our cash is delivered, fingers crossed. This is how the modern, slimline, efficient PO works.
Anyway to get down to important matters, I gave my Huns a gloss coat this morning having completed all the horse furniture last night and sorted out the next unit for the tray, 32 Goth Nobles on foot, sounds like a lot but they are mainly covered in armour so it is no big deal, although I have run out of transfers so will order more up this morning, I am still tempted to get one more Roman unit. I have decided to have a commanders tent guarded by a couple of sentries for my rally point, I will have some shields and weapons scattered about and maybe a standing horse if I can find one suitable.
The rush map job is finished, a wee bit of touching up this morning and then I will have to move on to the lesser important one, I should have trench foot by the end of the month.
The upshot was that still being under warranty it has gone back, it might not have been the graphic card after all, perhaps it is the motherboard, if they tell me it is fine and it comes back and doesn't work because my study is bang in the middle of a wormhole or whatever I am getting a new one, my nerves can't take it and I need to work upstairs as well as downstairs. The fallout is that the missus will get a week off until the PC comes back, because there is no need for two people in the PO and although we have worked together for almost a decade I can't draw maps with her six feet away, it also annoys her when people come in and say 'hello George' while ignoring that she is behind the counter.
Anyway up earlyish this morning and hoping that one of the pub managers comes up with some cash otherwise we will be out of money around lunchtime on Monday, he should bring enough to get us through to Tuesday when our cash is delivered, fingers crossed. This is how the modern, slimline, efficient PO works.
Anyway to get down to important matters, I gave my Huns a gloss coat this morning having completed all the horse furniture last night and sorted out the next unit for the tray, 32 Goth Nobles on foot, sounds like a lot but they are mainly covered in armour so it is no big deal, although I have run out of transfers so will order more up this morning, I am still tempted to get one more Roman unit. I have decided to have a commanders tent guarded by a couple of sentries for my rally point, I will have some shields and weapons scattered about and maybe a standing horse if I can find one suitable.
The rush map job is finished, a wee bit of touching up this morning and then I will have to move on to the lesser important one, I should have trench foot by the end of the month.
Monday, 20 February 2017
The Smooth with the Rough
I got up this morning with a ton of stuff to see to, I had a haircut booked for 09:30 but as I was up early I thought I would get a start on some maps. The monitors failed to come on, so I jiggled, poked and bashed the case and got them up, then I Googled the problem and took the advice of some eight year old from YouTube and got Windows to try and sort the problem, until Windows can change a flat on the car I won't trust it to repair anything again, sure enough I got nowhere "Windows cannot fix the fault". By this time the woman arrived to cut my hair, fuming, I sat through the ordeal. As soon as it was over I phoned the computer guy at the end of the road and asked to bring it up, it resides there now. I am almost sure it is flashed up and sending out rays sitting on his desk and he is shaking his head that the idiot at the Post Office has bothered him again. Oh, and I had the Dentist at 3.00pm, grrrrrr.
Right, the Goth cavalry and the figures for my Strategy Intervention Points are finished and very swish they look too, the former at least, I am unsure whether I will add another unit as I am beginning to think the Huns will be my go to horsemen for this army as they are more likely to be used by Aetius than Goths.
I started my non-Noble Hun cavalry a few days ago and they are lucky they are not all in the bin. The figures are very nice and the smaller horses will look like steppe ponies next to the large Goth mounts, perfect, but the bin you ask. Well the figures come in two parts in the main and are either lancers or bowmen, but you then get everything else separate, shields, bows, quivers, lassos, swords, heads, blankets, cuddly toy. I am far too clumsy to stick this stuff together and I have no patience, some of the stuff simply would not bond, well not with the other metal but it had no problem sticking to my fingers. This is one reason I will not go near plastic figures, too many parts, so at the end of the day, well two days I had a unit ready for painting, they had the barest minimum of equipment needed for the battlefield, the rest now sits in a big bag.
Now do not get the wrong impression here, the figures are Aventine and they are lovely and the examples on their site with all the paraphernalia are a wonder, you can really go to town with these figures but the building is simply not for me, I am happy to put a shield and spear on the guy, the rest I will leave to the sculptor.
I have to say a big thank you to two gentlemen who have helped me out in the last couple of days completely out of the blue. The first is David Bickley from the Tales From GHQ blog, David has recently built the Warbases Roman Villa and was instrumental in it being offered by Warbases, they told me at Vapnartak he has been hounding them to get one on the shelf. He got to work online and gathered mosaics to make his villa the real deal, do check it out, he picked up that I had bought one and offered a complete set of his mosaics through the post, how generous is that. My villa will be on the shelf for some time yet but these lovely decorations now sit with it, so thank you David.
The second guy is Jim, I have no idea who Jim is or what he looks like, but he phoned the other day and said that he had seen me mapping and he had some books he was going to throw out and did I want them. Now usually when I get this kind of offer in the shop I turn it down flat, but he said they were battlefield guides so I thought no harm in looking at them. He turned up today with the books while I was having my haircut, so I still have no clue who he is as the missus didn't call me.
The guides however are superb, they are BAOR guides and the information contained within is priceless to anyone interested in warfare and cover the operations in Northwest Europe and elsewhere from the British point of view. I have drawn several maps of some of these operations for different books but should they be required in the future I am ahead of the pack. Thank you Jim.
Right, the Goth cavalry and the figures for my Strategy Intervention Points are finished and very swish they look too, the former at least, I am unsure whether I will add another unit as I am beginning to think the Huns will be my go to horsemen for this army as they are more likely to be used by Aetius than Goths.
I started my non-Noble Hun cavalry a few days ago and they are lucky they are not all in the bin. The figures are very nice and the smaller horses will look like steppe ponies next to the large Goth mounts, perfect, but the bin you ask. Well the figures come in two parts in the main and are either lancers or bowmen, but you then get everything else separate, shields, bows, quivers, lassos, swords, heads, blankets, cuddly toy. I am far too clumsy to stick this stuff together and I have no patience, some of the stuff simply would not bond, well not with the other metal but it had no problem sticking to my fingers. This is one reason I will not go near plastic figures, too many parts, so at the end of the day, well two days I had a unit ready for painting, they had the barest minimum of equipment needed for the battlefield, the rest now sits in a big bag.
Now do not get the wrong impression here, the figures are Aventine and they are lovely and the examples on their site with all the paraphernalia are a wonder, you can really go to town with these figures but the building is simply not for me, I am happy to put a shield and spear on the guy, the rest I will leave to the sculptor.
I have to say a big thank you to two gentlemen who have helped me out in the last couple of days completely out of the blue. The first is David Bickley from the Tales From GHQ blog, David has recently built the Warbases Roman Villa and was instrumental in it being offered by Warbases, they told me at Vapnartak he has been hounding them to get one on the shelf. He got to work online and gathered mosaics to make his villa the real deal, do check it out, he picked up that I had bought one and offered a complete set of his mosaics through the post, how generous is that. My villa will be on the shelf for some time yet but these lovely decorations now sit with it, so thank you David.
The second guy is Jim, I have no idea who Jim is or what he looks like, but he phoned the other day and said that he had seen me mapping and he had some books he was going to throw out and did I want them. Now usually when I get this kind of offer in the shop I turn it down flat, but he said they were battlefield guides so I thought no harm in looking at them. He turned up today with the books while I was having my haircut, so I still have no clue who he is as the missus didn't call me.
The guides however are superb, they are BAOR guides and the information contained within is priceless to anyone interested in warfare and cover the operations in Northwest Europe and elsewhere from the British point of view. I have drawn several maps of some of these operations for different books but should they be required in the future I am ahead of the pack. Thank you Jim.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)