Ok, I built a computer last year for a friend of a friend. They call me yesterday becuase their printer isn't working anymore, it just says it can't communicate with the printer. This is Windows XP and a USB printer, and I've had the same problem myself from time to time.
I go over there tonight, uninstall the printer, use Lexmarks clean utitlity to completely uninstall the driver, download the new driver and start to install the printer. In one step of the installation, it need to extract the files to a folder, so I tell it where to put them, but in the process notice that there are now three hard drives instead of one. Ok. I only put one in, so I ask, when did you get the other hard drives? Nothing, just a blank look. I'm thinking, Ok, maybe I partitioned them, and go on with the installation. About half way through the installation, just before I have to plug the USB cable in, the computer freezes. Shit.
So, I restart the computer, and I'm still curious about this hard drive thing, I don't remember partitioning the drive, and I really doubt this guy has the fortitude to use Fdisk, at least not properly. So I go into Windows Explorer to see what he did. This thing is showing 3 80gig hard drives in Explorer. Whoa! I put ONE, and exactly ONE 80 gig hard drive in this computer. I even cracked open the case then just to ease my mind, and sure enough, there is only one in there, but Explorer is still showing three, one with 70 gigs free, the other two say 74 free. So I start browsing the files on the different drives, and E and F have the same exact files on them. At this point, I decide it's probably not the best idea to shit on his computer room floor, so I tell him I need to take it home with me and run some extensive diagnostics on it.
I get it home and get it going, and now the other two drives are gone. It's only showing the one drive with 70 free.
Now the question is, since he isn't using the space anyway, do I chuck this old 20 gig I've got here in there and steal his 80, or what?
Ok, the real question is, has anyone else here ever seen anything like this?
I swear I wasn't stoned or drunk or on acid, although I realize it would be hard to prove in a court of law.
I go over there tonight, uninstall the printer, use Lexmarks clean utitlity to completely uninstall the driver, download the new driver and start to install the printer. In one step of the installation, it need to extract the files to a folder, so I tell it where to put them, but in the process notice that there are now three hard drives instead of one. Ok. I only put one in, so I ask, when did you get the other hard drives? Nothing, just a blank look. I'm thinking, Ok, maybe I partitioned them, and go on with the installation. About half way through the installation, just before I have to plug the USB cable in, the computer freezes. Shit.
So, I restart the computer, and I'm still curious about this hard drive thing, I don't remember partitioning the drive, and I really doubt this guy has the fortitude to use Fdisk, at least not properly. So I go into Windows Explorer to see what he did. This thing is showing 3 80gig hard drives in Explorer. Whoa! I put ONE, and exactly ONE 80 gig hard drive in this computer. I even cracked open the case then just to ease my mind, and sure enough, there is only one in there, but Explorer is still showing three, one with 70 gigs free, the other two say 74 free. So I start browsing the files on the different drives, and E and F have the same exact files on them. At this point, I decide it's probably not the best idea to shit on his computer room floor, so I tell him I need to take it home with me and run some extensive diagnostics on it.
I get it home and get it going, and now the other two drives are gone. It's only showing the one drive with 70 free.
Now the question is, since he isn't using the space anyway, do I chuck this old 20 gig I've got here in there and steal his 80, or what?
Ok, the real question is, has anyone else here ever seen anything like this?
I swear I wasn't stoned or drunk or on acid, although I realize it would be hard to prove in a court of law.
