Yet another instance where an attempt to use the Windows XP operating system has rendered it toast on the bottom side of my MacBookPro. Fortunately, I have a reliable OS on the front side.
It’s bad enough that my latest web design effort includes 30% of the time developing and testing in a web standard browser, and then spending the other 190% of my time trying to find work arounds for Internet Explorer’s misbehaviors. I have my old Compaq PC laptop set up for testing in IE 6 (1/3 the sign of the devil). I had run my site through Browsershots and it showed good results for IE7, but somereports from the field suggested otherwise.
So I booted up the MBP in Windows mode. For some inane reason, instead of going to the IE7 site, I went through Windows Update, and saw its suggestion of 19 “critical updates” including IE7. I figured, what the heck, I have to run to the grocery store, let it do all 19.
How sweet it was when I returned that I hit 18 out of 19 successfully.. and the one that failed was the install of IE7.
But it gets even worse.
On a reboot, I get the deeply meaningful and explanatory message:
winlogon.exe:
This application has failed to start because SHLWAPI.DLL was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this.
What *&@ing application? And is the best y’all can suggest is it may fix the problem?
I know I fixed this once before, but was stumped on what I did. Oh yes, I booted in the operating system that just works, and fished around the Windows dive, looking for archived versions of the DLL in question. I thought they go back into C”\System\win32 or is it C:\System\win32\dllcache ?? Well neither work, the same box, a different cryptic message.
In less than 9 months, I have re-installed Windows XP 4 freaking times. I barely use it, and it still melts down trying to do what it asks me to do.
So, I was going to toast the BootCamp directory since I just got a copy of Parallels, so I can suffer the agony of MicroSplotch without rebooting my Mac.
Meanwhile, the old Compaq laptop is crunching through the IE7 update (like 40 minutes), and almost 4.5 hours later, I may get to test the web site.
PT Barnum was almost correct. You can fool 90% of the people most of the time, those who have been suckered into flying under the 4 colored pirate flag.
I hate windoze. Even more so than before.
Hey Alan… the link to “the operating system that just works” is broken… you probably meant to point it to http://www.linux.org/ 🙂
I hear ya! I just installed Windows XP Home under VMWare server on my Ubuntu Linux machine and it only works because I can keep it under thumb.
I do have boot camp running on my MBP but Windows works fine. Will you post about your experience with parallels?
Thanks!
Chris Craft
Yeah, Sean, that link might work (My first post did have the link wrong due to a missing “http://” due to Google’s insistence on NOT making URLs from the links search results page copyable. Bag google Bad Google Bad Google).
Chris- wonder how many ordinary Jane/Joes out there can handle that. My wonder is how a Major Gazillion Dollar Corporation can seel a product that most of the consumer purchasers could never maintain? I think the bugs a re a conspiracy that keep the businesses of a hundred thousand windows support service techs afloat.
I will be posting soon about parallels, yes. I would be writing this today, if I did not waste my evening trying to update Microsoft windows by going to Update Microsoft Windows.
Alan, I’ve been running Parallels with both XP and Ubuntu. I absolutely love this solution. It’s been much better than running Bootcamp, not exactly sure why but it’s very quick. I don’t run Windows (or Ubuntu) a whole lot, but when I do, it’s all I need and quicker than I expected.
I feel your pain. I wish I didn’t, but I feel your pain. More often than I care to admit, sadly. In order to be relevant to the teachers and administrators I server, I think I must continue to share your pain. But I wish I didn’t have to!