PCinfospace

This is a very common problem.  This can also relate to trying to open a document that is sent to you over you office network or through a USB drive or CD or other media.

Here is an example: If you receive an e-mail with an attachment that you can’t open it is probably because you have an earlier version of the software program.  If you have Word 97 and the person that sent the document has Word 2007 you will not be able to open it.  Also, if you do not have the program at all you will not be able to open what somebody sent you.

What about PDF files?
There are quite a few PDF file being sent these days.  In fact a high percentage of all Company attachments are PDF format.  If you don’t have Adobe Reader or a version that is up to date you may not be able to read the PDF form sent to you.

In the past most people were not upgrading their computers or at least not their production packages such as Office.  With the introduction of Window XP many of the old programs were not compatible and people were forced to change.  When Vista came around this became more urgent than ever.  In XP most of the old programs would work in compatibility mode.  Not so in Vista.  Now Windows 7 is here. Prior programs may not work in this operating system either. This quickly weeded out old printers because manufactures did not make drivers that were compatible to older systems.  A wider range of people were buying laptop also.  These all came with the latest and greatest operating system only adding to the already complex problem.

Driver updates
The biggest problem when you change operating system is drivers for video cards, sound or even your network card may need to be updated and/or even totally changed.

Hardware issues
Periodically you may need to change your hardware because the manufacturer doesn’t make a driver or software compatible to the newer operating system.

How to fix this
You can ask the person that sent the document to send you a copy that is farther back or equal to the one you have. Most programs such as Word allow you to save it in an earlier version. This is a fix if you just don’t want to upgrade.  However, the number of times you have to do this may become unbearable.

Try to keep your computer up to date the best you can.  You will most likely be forced to buy the latest and greatest word processing program or other programs that will work with your system. Mostly it should be worth the upgrade.  The newer computers are much faster and have features that may help you in doing things better and maybe faster.

I should define the word packet before I start.  A packet is a message that is sent over the network from one node (Computer) to another node. The packet includes the address of the node that sent the packet, the address of the node the packet is being sent to, and the data.

I feel that a person that uses networks or wants to understand how they work should at least read about this concept.

It is a “model” because it is a general theory.  Defined: O.S.I.  stands for Open System Interconnection Reference Model.  It is a description of layered communications and computer network protocol design.  A protocol is a language needed to communicate between one device or piece of hardware and another. It is normally integrated into the operating system of the computer.

The model divides the Network into seven layers. These layers are: Application, Presentation, Session, Transport, Network, Data-Link, and Physical Layers. Each layer provides service to the layer above it.

The seven layers are:
1. Physical – Controls the layout of cables and devices such as repeaters, hubs and Network Interface Cards.
2. Data Link – Provides  MAC (Media Access Control) addresses  to uniquely identify network nodes and a means for data to be sent over the physical layer in the form of packets. Bridges and switches are layer 2 devices.
3. Network – Handles routing network messages from one computer to another.
4. Transport – Concerns the transfer of information from one computer to another. The purpose is to have packets  transported reliably and without error. This is where you find the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol).
5. Session – Establishes sessions between network applications. Session layers include:  Simplex,
Half-duplex and Full-duplex.
6. Presentation – Converts data so that systems that uses different data formats can exchange information. In other words, the presentation layer transforms data so that the application layer can understand it.
7. Application – Allows applications to request network services. This layer represents the programming interfaces programs such as Microsoft Office or QuickBooks  to request network services. Some Application Layer protocols include: DNS, FTP,SMTP ,SMB, NFS and Telnet.

The above information may or may not be easy to understand.  It is however, a general definition of what every bit and packet of information goes through.  It could serve as a means of troubleshooting.  If you understand which layer is causing the problem you may be able to zero in on why the network isn’t working.

The reason I am writing this article is because I ran into this myself.  The set includes three CDs and a book with the license sticker attached.

Here is what happened: I started by inserting Disk one into the DVD-RW drive.  I booted (started) the computer and let it load. I then followed the instruction as to weather to load the system, delete and format the hard drive etc.

If the disk will not load you may need to go into the setup screen to change the boot order.  The CD or DVD must be the first device to load for this to work.

After the hard drive is formatted the operating system continues to load. It will eventually ask for Disk number 2. Needless to say I inserted the disk and it continued to load.  Some time during the loading procedure of Disk 2 a screen comes up that says “Please insert a compact disc label Windows XP Professional Service Pack 2 into your CD-ROM Drive (D:) and then click OK.”  I figured I was supposed to load the Update Disk which came with the disk set.  I inserted the disk but it said it couldn’t find iexplore and/or i386.  This may sound simple to certain people but at least I was lost.  After searching inside Disk 2 and the Update Disk I decided to cancel to files it was asking for and I let the rest of the system load.  The desktop eventually appeared.  However, there was no way to access the internet and Internet Explorer was nowhere to be found.

I decided to contact people I knew.  One person seemed to have the answer.  He told me the message saying  (to load XP Professional service pack 2) is misleading. You need to reinsert Disk number 1 (one).  I was thinking it couldn’t be that easy.  I decided totry again and reload the operating system.  This time when the message came up I inserted Disk 1.  I couldn’t believe it.  That was the answer.  It loaded great and everything worked.

What about the update disk?

That’s a good question.  I found out you can go to Start>Programs (Windows XP) and then pick Windows Update.  This will give you any and all updates that are available.

Warning! Be sure all your drivers are loaded and that you activate the product. If you don’t include drivers for Sound, Video, Network etc., those devices will not work.  Also, without the network driver you will not be able to access the internet.

If you don’t activate the product it will stop working after 30 days.

This article emphasizes the importance of understanding how operating systems need to be installed.  You may need to find a professional in your area to help you through the installation process if you can’t get it to work or don’t understand it.

Licenses
If you load or reload an operating system of any kind it MUST have a legal license from whichever company made it. If you attempt to use an illegal copy of the software you could be charged with fraud, pirating or other charges.

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