Didn't think so. Still, here I am. Deal.
The sordid details: It all began when suddenly the "Ethernet" light on my nifty little DSL modem refused to light up. All her siblings were co-operative: Power, DSL, Internet. But. Ethernet refused to get down to work. I tried to coax her with a brand new Ethernet cable. The little light didn't even notice. I took the modem to work with me, where Mr. Techie Co-worker plugged Modem in to another computer and gently fed her through her Ethernet slot. Little Miss Ethernet Light lit up in a great beam of happiness. So I brought Modem back home with me and glared at my computer, one Milady Rose. I ran a diagnostic on Milady's Ethernet card: all appeared to be well. A finger was pointed at the device driver. So I uninstalled that, rebooted Milady, and the "new hardware detected" message came up as expected. But instead of politely requesting a driver reinstall, apparently Milady simply went and got the "proper" (presumably corrupt) driver, reintroduced the two components (hardware and software) and proudly presented me with Local Area Connection(2).
But. Still no Ethernet light.
"I'll show you!" mutters I, as I plug in the cord from the dial-up modem. Yes, Virginia, dial-up still works just fine. So the beat goes on, although considerably more slowly. It's rather like slogging through a waist-high lake of dense mud, but still I can do everything except ::sob:: watch online videos or ::boo-hoo:: log in to resource-intensive 3D worlds like Kaneva, or ::pout:: download anything more than, say, a meg in size.
But even beyond all that, it pains me that Ethernet Light should become so depressed on my watch. I shall delve deeper, explore further, and try to cheer her up. It's the only humane thing to do. And, besides, I *need* her light!
