[Chimiti]

It got up to the point of asking me to confirm: Location, Language, Time Zone, etc., but now it says that "There's a problem that's keeping us from getting your PC ready to use, but we think an update will help get things working again."

 

Then it goes on to say that of course Wi-Fi will be needed to download the update.  I do not have Wi-Fi.  I have Dial Up. 

 

My niece is now here.  After lunch we'll be going to her house.  We'll then have access to her Wi-Fi there and hopefully everything will get back to working as it should after whatever update is necessary is downloaded and installed.

 

For now it LOOKS like it's on its way to eventually working, Phill.  I'll let you know in a couple of hours how things went after we have gone over there and continued the process.

 

UPDATE:  My niece and her mom just left.  I offered to go over there right now so as to finish fixing this problem once and for all right now.  But, my sister said they wouldn't be there this afternoon.  She said it would have to wait until tomorrow Sunday.  When she added that they'd be grilling ribs ... who was I to argue?    I'll update y'all tomorrow, Phill, Doc.

Edited by Chimiti, 06 April 2019 - 12:02 PM.

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[phillpower2]

[Chimiti]

Oops!  Sorry about the double post.  The sending of the comment got stuck in some endless loop.  I thought it hadn't gone through.

Edited by Chimiti, 06 April 2019 - 11:58 AM.

[phillpower2]

No problem, we will be around 

 

NB: If it were me I would be off to the nearest place that had free Wi-Fi, even if it meant getting on a bus that had it 

[SpywareDr]

Sounding good! Keep us posted ...

[Chimiti]

No problem, we will be around 

 

NB: If it were me I would be off to the nearest place that had free Wi-Fi, even if it meant getting on a bus that had it 

Yeah, I know.  It's going to be gnawing at me ... the not knowing whether it's going to be completely fixed or if it's going to get ever so close, but not quite make it.  It's going to be torture until the verdict is in.

 

Quick question:  Since that process this morning was "Installing Windows," but technically not yet ready, not completely set up ... should it still be capable of automatically detecting the Wi-Fi tomorrow so as to download whatever updates it might want to download and install?  It almost seems like a chicken vs. the egg situation --- not being ready because it needs the Wi-Fi, yet how can it detect the Wi-Fi if it's still not ready.

Edited by Chimiti, 06 April 2019 - 03:08 PM.

[phillpower2]

If all goes well Windows should load a generic driver for the wireless device, any router security key/passwords will have to be entered manually.

[Chimiti]

Oh, okay.  Thanks, Phill.

 

It's still a couple of hours before I go over there.  When I asked my sister when she wanted me over there, she said - after lunchish.  It left me wondering, "After lunchish?  What about the 'grilling ribs' that you mentioned?"  I don't know.  Maybe they're for the afternoon. Get back to you later, Phill.

[phillpower2]

 

No rush on our behalf 

[Chimiti]

Whew!  I'm back with the verdict.

 

The laptop's progress did pick up where it had left off from here.  Then even Cortana started talking.  Eventually everything SEEMED to be a Go.  I plugged my Flash Drive in to start downloading some apps updates.  Well, no websites wanted to come up.  Uh Oh.

 

The next thing I know, I'm prompted for the Windows password.  I missed it twice and suddenly the computer powered down and it went back to its old tricks of not wanting to boot up.  Nooooooo!   I quickly tried that same Android reset sequence.  It quickly went into a different computer reset than when it was "Installing Windows" before.  That lasted about an hour!  THEN it proceeded into that same "Installing Windows" bit.

 

Finally things again seemed to be all set.  I noticed that my niece then entered some password for the Wi-Fi.  That was something I hadn't done before when it crapped out..  I told my niece to check Google to see if the Net was really working.  It WAS working.

 

My niece then looked for MS Word and didn't find it.  I told her that maybe it was that the reset hadn't been all the way back to like from the factory and that's why Office Suite, trial version as it was, wasn't there.  But, the next thing I knew, my niece had click, click, clicked on who knows what to try and get MS Word loaded or something.  Eventually a message did come up that "Give us a minute.  Microsoft Word is being updated.  It will get back to working fine shortly" or something along those lines.  I couldn't get it out of that status with neither the "Close" button nor the "Copy to Clipboard" button.

 

After quite a while of that, I told my niece that I had to leave and to just monitor the laptop till around 8:00PM to see IF it ever got out of displaying that same message.  I told her if it never got out of that status, to just shut it down.  Then power it back up and see what happened.  Then to call me.

 

In an hour or so, my niece will call me or I'll call her to see what the status is on that supposed MS Word and MS PowerPoint updating.  I have no idea whether that ill-advised key sequence that my niece did in trying to get MS Word was correct.  I wish she hadn't done that.

 

As before, I'll update y'all a bit later.

[phillpower2]

I noticed that my niece then entered some password for the Wi-Fi.  That was something I hadn't done before when it crapped out..  I told my niece to check Google to see if the Net was really working.  It WAS working.

 

 

Did you forget what was post in my reply #22 regarding any router security key/passwords 

 

the next thing I knew, my niece had click, click, clicked on who knows what to try and get MS Word loaded or something. 

 

 

Exactly how the initial problem started and the point at which I would have made a sharp exit as your mission was accomplished, this was a real near miss and your niece should be thankful that you were able to help, these type of computers can be difficult to work with because of the limited type of storage device that they have and I have lost count of how many members have thrown similar devices in the trash after having problems that they could not fix, problems such as no OS found, the keypad not working and likewise the touchscreen not working meaning that the user has been unable to enter any password.

[123Runner]

I have been following this thread because it was interesting. It's to bad your Sister got involved. I suspect (based on your comments) that what you wanted was to get it operational AND then start re-installing the other programs/apps needed. That would have been the proper way.

[Chimiti]

Yes, Phill, my thoughts exactly.  Ill-advised click, click, clicking without pausing to think things through gets you in messes LIKE the one my niece wound up in in the first place AND the 2nd one yesterday.  And yesterday even a friend of my sister tried to advise my niece to get away from that practice of just quickly clicking on any "YES" or "OK" prompt that pops up on your screen.  That friend told my niece, "READ EVERYTHING on whatever prompt pops up."  I seconded that advice.

 

Unfortunately, that advice doesn't enter a LOT of people's heads.  I've tried for years to instill that advice into that same niece, her step sister and even into my sister and her husband when they had a computer instead of just smart phones.  And the advice would obviously not be followed.  Every time I went there to use their high speed Internet, like twice a month ... their computer would be full of malware.  I always had to first scan and disinfect their computer before plugging in my flash drive and using it myself.

 

Anyway, Phill, we'll declare this one RESOLVED!  As far as my initial inquiry / problem, that's been resolved with your Android reset sequence.     As far as the subsequent issue with the Office Suite ... if it doesn't get out of that status of being stuck at that message of that MS Word and MS PowerPoint are being updated, I'll probably just suggest that we just reset it again this coming weekend.  THEN after it's back up running ... THEN leave it be until they BUY  Office Suite to install it instead of trying again to mess around with trying to get the TRIAL version back on there.  If it remains being unstable, I'll definitely suggest trashing it because I agree, this type of cheap laptops definitely do appear to be disposable, not meant to be repaired.

 

Major THANKS for your help, Phill.    

[Chimiti]

I have been following this thread because it was interesting. It's to bad your Sister got involved. I suspect (based on your comments) that what you wanted was to get it operational AND then start re-installing the other programs/apps needed. That would have been the proper way.

123Runner --- It was my niece who got involved there at the end with the click fest that caught me off guard when she quickly got impatient and restless because MS Word didn't want to come up.

 

Exactly.  I just wanted to get the laptop up and running correctly and stabilized.  THEN I wanted to check if MS Word would come up and work.  If not, then resign ourselves to that they were just going to have to buy Office Suite and install it ... and just consider the trial version route a thing of the past.  But, SOMEONE's impatience and restlessness threw a Pterodactyl in the ointment.  

 

When MS Word wasn't coming up, I was even going to suggest Kingsoft's FREE WPS Office.  But, it was too late.  The laptop was already stuck at that "Updating MS Word.  It'll be up running shortly" or whatever the message was.  Out of curiosity, I checked out that WPS Office in the past.  I found it to work very well ... better than the more well-known LibreOffice.

Edited by Chimiti, 08 April 2019 - 09:15 AM.

[phillpower2]

Glad we could help Chimiti and thank you for letting us know that you consider the issue resolved 

 

Worth a look Apache OpenOffice